Animal Welfare League + two Animal Shelters websites

Overview

North Fork Animal Welfare League has been a caring part of Long Island since 1963. Known affectionately as "the League," this wonderful nonprofit runs two friendly shelters — Southold Animal Shelter and Riverhead Animal Shelter. The project included creating three related websites: the League's main site and one for each shelter, helping to connect and support the community's animals and their loving families.

Design

Each site had its unique visual style while sharing a clear structure. The League's website served as the main spot for editing and fundraising, featuring a prominent donation progress bar on the homepage that displayed live campaign totals (currently $145,203 out of a $250,000 goal). A live Twitter feed, events calendar, and news updates kept the content lively and engaging between campaigns.

The hero photos were thoughtfully used across all three sites — full-width animal portraits with simple, heartfelt messages overlayed. Phrases like "Though we give them our best, it is not as good as a loving family" resonated more than any donation button could. The choice of images and the straightforward, sincere wording created a feeling that was less like a charity website and more like having a gentle, honest chat with visitors.

The Riverhead Shelter site was created when NFAWL took over the management of the Riverhead facility in March 2013. It also needed to share the news of this change and build trust with a new community.

Both shelter sites included links back to the League and to each other, with consistent prompts for donations, adoptions, and volunteering throughout.

Outcome

A set of three interconnected websites designed to support fundraising, shelter operations, adoption promotion, and volunteer recruitment throughout the organization's entire footprint on Long Island's North Fork.