The Cincinnati Project (TCP) uses the social science expertise from the faculty and students at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Arts & Sciences to help disadvantaged communities and the agencies that serve them. TCP conducts social research to promote economic justice, health equity, racial equality, improved conditions for women, and for other equity issues. TCP faculty engages Cincinnati area community members, non-profits, governments and agencies to form partnerships in order to solve problems and meet the needs of the disadvantaged in the community. A recent example of this research involved a group of students working with a community partner to collect qualitative information at the recent NAACP Conference in Cincinnati.

The Cincinnati Project is still in its infancy as an organization and launched a WordPress website, www.thecincyproject.org, in July 2016 to help build awareness of the organization. In addition to highlighting community partners and providing updates on current projects, the TCP website is part of an ongoing effort to encourage sustained community involvement. Project participants are encouraged to share their experiences by contributing descriptive blog posts. When TCP leadership meets with prospective clients or donors, they can now rely on the website to help illustrate past success stories and pending projects. Social media accounts are also utilized to provide multifaceted outreach.

TCP chose WordPress as a website building platform due to its ease-of-use. Unlike some enterprise-level website building platforms, a WordPress site is highly flexible and customizable. Providing guest user access is straightforward in WordPress. A multitude of plug-ins are available to provide enhanced website functionality. There are multiple avenues for seeking help from other WordPress experts when additional assistance is needed for a particular task. As TCP grows, it will be easy to expand the WordPress website to meet growing organizational needs.

Representatives from TCP will be at WordCamp Cincinnati 2016 and will be happy to share their insights regarding how a WordCamp website can be used to foster community engagement.