Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts

Industry
Nonprofit / Youth Mentorship

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts (BBBSEM) connects adult mentors with children across a large and diverse region of Massachusetts. Their website plays a critical role in helping families enroll children, recruiting volunteers, promoting events, and engaging community partners.

Getfused partnered with BBBSEM to redesign their website, improve the user experience, and create a digital platform that better supports their mission and the communities they serve.

The Challenge

BBBSEM’s existing website had grown difficult to navigate and maintain over time. Content was spread across multiple disconnected pages, events relied heavily on third-party tools, and regional information was difficult for visitors to locate.

The organization needed a modern platform that could simplify navigation, support regional outreach, improve search visibility, and empower its internal team to manage content more effectively.

This was the foundation everything else would build on.

How We Approached It

Think. Create. Activate.

Think

UX Strategy and Regional Architecture

Through discovery workshops and user-centered design analysis, we mapped how BBBSEM operates across multiple regions and rebuilt the site architecture around that reality. Visitors can now filter events, blog content, and partner listings by the communities they serve.

We refined the main navigation and footer based on workshop insights. Clearer labeling and prominent calls to action within navigation flyouts guide visitors toward the moments that matter: volunteering, enrolling a child, or donating.

What This Unlocks

A site structure that mirrors how BBBSEM actually works. Visitors find local information faster. Every path leads to a clear next step.

Create

Design System and Content Framework

Working closely with the BBBSEM team, we developed a new web style guide that modernized the visual presentation while remaining aligned with the national Big Brothers Big Sisters brand standards. The design introduced a more accessible, visually balanced use of the organization’s color palette, creating a system that the internal team felt confident using across the site.

We also introduced flexible design patterns that let content managers build engaging pages without custom development. These patterns are especially valuable for storytelling, event promotion, and showcasing community impact.

What This Unlocks

Visual consistency across every page. A system the internal team can confidently own. Faster page creation without sacrificing quality.

Activate

Empowering Content and Community Engagement

The new platform brings event content directly into WordPress, enabling richer event pages that highlight each program’s experience while still linking to external registration. This strengthens SEO and lets evergreen events grow their reach over time.

A new partner directory consolidates corporate, community, and college partners into a searchable listing filtered by region and partner type. A redesigned Big Portal centralizes mentor resources, replacing scattered pages with a structured library built to grow. Refined URL structures and regional landing pages further strengthen SEO and help visitors quickly find relevant local information.

What This Unlocks

A platform that supports volunteers, families, partners, and donors. Stronger search visibility. A team empowered to grow content on its own.

Services
Getfused delivered UX strategy, website design, and regional content architecture to create a digital platform that supports BBBSEM’s mission across the communities it serves.
  • UX & Digital Strategy
  • Information Architecture
  • Website Design
  • Website Development
  • Regional Content Architecture
  • Event Page Design Framework
  • Partner Directory & Resource Listings
  • Content Management Optimization

This is a platform built to

grow with the mission.

Start Your Next Move
Assets
Desktop website design comps and wireframe for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts. The primary comp shows the homepage hero with a black-and-white photo of a U.S. Navy mentor and a teenage boy holding a basketball on a city sidewalk, alongside call-to-action panels for "Become a Big," "Get a Big," and "Support Us," each with candid photos of mentor-mentee pairs. A second comp shows a closer view of the homepage featuring a smiling adult male mentor seated outdoors with a young boy wearing a baseball glove. A low-fidelity wireframe is visible to the right, showing the structural layout of the hero and supporting content sections.
The primary comp shows the homepage hero with a black-and-white photo of a U.S. Navy mentor and a teenage boy holding a basketball on a city sidewalk, alongside call-to-action panels for "Become a Big," "Get a Big," and "Support Us," each with candid photos of mentor-mentee pairs. A low-fidelity wireframe is visible to the right, showing the structural layout of the hero and supporting content sections.
Color palette for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts website, showing seven brand colors. Primary colors include Electric Green (#00FC87), Dark Green (#297A54), and Black (#000000), each displayed as swatches with tonal variations. Secondary colors shown as full-width bars include Sharp Gray (#97999B), Modern Grey (#C8C9C7), Background Grey (#C8C9C7), and Background Mint (#D4FFEB).
Typography style guide for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts website, showing heading hierarchy (H1 through H4 and P Title) with size and weight specifications, a body copy example at 18px/140% line height, and two typeface families: Oswald and Zilla Slab, each displayed in Light, Regular, Medium, and Bold weights.
Typography style guide for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts website, showing heading hierarchy (H1 through H4 and P Title) with size and weight specifications, a body copy example at 18px/140% line height, and two typeface families: Oswald and Zilla Slab, each displayed in Light, Regular, Medium, and Bold weights.
Color palette for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts website, showing seven brand colors. Primary colors include Electric Green (#00FC87), Dark Green (#297A54), and Black (#000000), each displayed as swatches with tonal variations. Secondary colors shown as full-width bars include Sharp Gray (#97999B), Modern Grey (#C8C9C7), Background Grey (#C8C9C7), and Background Mint (#D4FFEB).
A collection of desktop website design comps for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts, showcasing multiple page sections and components. Includes a statistics block with impact numbers, a close-up black-and-white portrait of a smiling youth, a three-column card layout with geometric patterned imagery, a mint-green mission section with the headline "Defending Potential and Empowering Youth to Thrive" alongside a photo of an adult mentor and child painting together, and a black-and-white portrait of a young woman looking upward.
A collection of desktop website design comps for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts, showcasing multiple page sections and components. Includes a statistics block with impact numbers, a close-up black-and-white portrait of a smiling youth, a three-column card layout with geometric patterned imagery, a mint-green mission section with the headline "Defending Potential and Empowering Youth to Thrive" alongside a photo of an adult mentor and child painting together.
Desktop website design comps for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts showing multiple page sections. Includes a mission banner with a photo of a female mentor and young girl at a formal event alongside the headline "Defending Potential and Empowering Youth to Thrive," a black-and-white portrait of a young woman looking upward, a dark-background statistics section with the headline "1 in 3 People Will Grow Up Without a Mentor," a regional section headlined "Making a Difference on the Cape" with three candid photos of young girls including one laughing outdoors, one holding a soccer ball, and one in a close-up portrait.
Desktop website design comps for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts showing multiple page sections. Includes a mission banner with a photo of a female mentor and young girl at a formal event alongside the headline "Defending Potential and Empowering Youth to Thrive," a black-and-white portrait of a young woman looking upward, a regional section headlined "Making a Difference on the Cape" with three candid photos of young girls including one laughing outdoors, one holding a soccer ball, and one in a close-up portrait.

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