// 07 — Nonprofit / Web
Spike's K9 Fund
A dog saved his life — now he's saving theirs.
// The brief
Spike's K9 Fund is a Norfolk/Virginia Beach nonprofit founded by Jim Hatch — a retired special-ops veteran whose life was saved by a dog. He's on a mission to protect service dogs and help rehome them when they retire, and to build a space where dog lovers can support the work. I created their website and collateral and helped get them off the ground.
// The challenge
Jim Hatch — a retired special-ops veteran whose life was saved by a dog — wanted to protect service dogs and help rehome them when they retire, and to give dog lovers a real place to support the mission. Spike's needed a home online and the materials to get off the ground.
A brand-new, founder-driven nonprofit with a deeply personal mission, local to the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area, that needed to look credible and established from day one.
// The work
// The mandate
Create the website and collateral to launch Spike's — a clear, welcoming platform that carries Jim's mission and makes it easy for supporters to show up.
// John's role
- ↳Designed and built the Spike's website
- ↳Created the collateral to support the launch
- ↳Helped get the organization off the ground
The people behind the work
- ↳Jim Hatch — founder, retired special ops
- ↳A direct client relationship
// Key decisions
Lead with the mission and the dogs
Jim's story — a dog saved his life — is the heart of it, so the platform puts the mission and the dogs front and center rather than burying them under nonprofit boilerplate.
Make it easy for dog lovers to show up
A young, founder-driven nonprofit lives on how easily people can rally to it, so the site is built as a clear, welcoming place for supporters to get involved.
// The outcome
- ↳Launched Spike's and got the organization off the ground
- ↳A platform and space for dog lovers to support the mission
// Reflection
I don't work with Spike's anymore, but I loved this one — a local mission with real heart, led by someone who lived it. I was stoked to help Jim get it started.