One More Soul's New Logo

Number five in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective NFP Promoters is Creative Presence, which includes an updated and effective web site that utilizes pictures and other media well. Here are a couple of my favorite web sites, including One More Soul’s newly updated web site, a priority of new Exec Director, Jenn Giroux (interview forthcoming). They’ve got a new logo, a slide show of their featured posts, persons and events, and an overall new setup.

One of those fertility-friendly web sites that’s gone through a redux is FertilityCare Centers of America. Well done, FertilityCare Centers!

They’ve harnessed the power of video and YouTube. They’ve kept the text simple, bulleted and readable (as opposed to their sister site of the Pope Paul VI Institute which is text heavy–8 point Times New Roman is not recommended–and virtually image and click-through free). Their color palette is cool, which is relaxing and lends itself I think to a medical feel, affirming their clinical setting. They offered simple and persuasive testimonials, links and very practical information on the p in obtaining insurance codes for natural family planning and fertility treatment through natural family planning.

The only thing I think they could add is a Facebook fan page (there are some hard-core FC fans out there!), an Amazon.com or One More Soul link to purchase their amazing testimonial book “Women Healed.” But it’s a great step in the right direction!

One of my other favorites is New Jersey NFP Association (NJNFP), founded by Damon & Melanie Owens. It’s clean, simple, uses effective and modern NFP terminology, and is organized well. They only thing that they could use is perhaps some embedded video promoting NFP. Damon’s a well known Theology of the Body speaker, so I imagine he’s got some video coverage somewhere! Keep it up Owens’!

From a Catholic Diocesan office point of view, Chicago’s NFP Office got one of the best–if not THE best–NFP sites out there. It’s got a similar color pallette as NJNFP, which gives it a warm glow and comfortable feel. They have a simple but good use of Flash in their header and left sidebar.  My only criticism might be that NFP is generally listed in the engaged area, which sort of makes the assumption that there’s not pastoral need to promote NFP to married couples. Since 90% of Catholic married couples are contracepting, I might make NFP more prominent in their “Marriage Resources” page. Overall, they just have a lot going on over in Chicago, so there’s plenty of coverage of their programs.

FYI, if you’re looking to find out more about natural methods of family planning, or want to help someone else understand NFP or Humanae Vitae, check out this awesome sale at One More Soul, one of the main providers of pro-NFP materials. Sale ends May 10, 2009.

From the One More Soul Newsletter:

Have you ever lamented the fact that modern society sees contraception as the answer to so many of our current problems? Do you ever wish that someone would stand up and propose REAL solutions to these problems? Well, then, read on.

One More Soul’s director [soon to retire], Steve Koob, has given these issues a lot of thought and would like to propose that children are the answer! He believes that ‘more children (and therefore more souls) are the answer to many (and perhaps most) of our culture’s problems.’ He is thus issuing a blanket invitation for all writers to explain how children are the answer to our culture’s problems. Those who are interested can send their paper to cata@omsoul.com.

All serious (and humorous) papers will be posted at One More Soul’s web site, and will help us define a future “Children are the Answer” Symposium. Authors who respond to this “Call for Papers” may be invited to present (or summarize) their work at the CATA symposium.

Papers shouldb e less than 2500 words, and should include a brief abstract with key words underlined. Multiple submissions are permissible. We hope to hear from you soon!

What an opportunity! This is a beautiful follow up to the Contraception is Not the Answer Conference  in Fall 2006 in Rosemont, Illinois. There are so many directions one could go: children and vocations, children and science, children and the economy, etc. Do you have any ideas?