Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM): Creating online community across Michigan and around the world

Logic Solutions completed a new social networking phase to the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary IHM web site, www.ihmsisters.org. Originally launched in 2006 and developed by Logic Solutions, the web site serves IHM’s 480 vowed sisters, 120 associates and 220 staff members in their creation of a close, active, online community.

Social networks for social good. Recent enhancements add two new dimensions to the Monroe, Michigan campus’s outreach mission of providing education, pastoral care, ministry and social services to poor communities worldwide:

• The “What’s New” module on the home page highlights important news and events, giving users an at-a-glance view of the most recent information affecting the IHM community. Event descriptions of concerts, seminars, publications and fundraising offer links to more detailed information. IHM staff can quickly update the announcements with a content management tool, enhancing interest, knowledge and participation of members, friends and the general public.

• New user forums on the private side of the web site encourage members to interact online. Features of the new user-friendly message boards include a WYSIWYG Rich Text Editor, threaded topics and posts, buddy lists, forum statistics including latest posts and who's online, RSS support for content sharing and export, a powerful and flexible permission system, a feature-rich administrative control panel, AJAX Web 2.0 interface for improved usability, avatars, announcements and sticky topics.

Logic Solutions imported member names and profiles from the IHM database and integrated the forums with IHM’s current user permissions. Members logging in to the private portal can seamlessly gain access to the user forums without an additional log in.

Embracing a vision. Although established in the frontier settlement of Monroe, Michigan in 1845 to educate young girls, IHM has grown in both vision and scope. With a strong emphasis in sustainability, IHM has pioneered the use of environmentally sustainable principles in the green renovation of the Motherhouse, which is now an award-winning, national model of sustainable living.

This leading-edge approach also encompasses the IHM web site. The site’s content management tools allow IHM to craft a deep, highly informative and inspiring web site, a prominent showplace of what lay people can do given good tools and plenty of vision and hard work.

Web site features include:

		Content management system that allows site administrators complete control to add, edit or delete images, text and pages, increasing flexibility and expansion options
		A streamlined homepage, increasing accessibility for internal and external audiences
		Easy to use navigation and enriched user experience
		Page content and keyword search capabilities
		An secure private side of the Web site for sisters and associates that includes message boards, a calendar of events, the ability to submit an item to the Web site, private news and documents, and a members directory
		Updateable news articles, press releases and publications
		Web site usage statistics for tracking and reporting
		E-news sign up
		E-commerce donations

Ready to tap into the power of social networking? At Logic Solutions, we look forward to teaming with you to make your vision a reality with effective technical solutions for your organization’s challenges.

Website: www.ihmsisters.org