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README.md
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# SDCC Redesign Sprint — final deliverable bundle
**Date:** April 25, 2026 · **Working dir:** `~/Projects/student-debt-crisis-redesign/`
This bundle covers a complete pre-redesign discovery for studentdebtcrisis.org: site audit, peer SEO benchmark, demographic research, keyword research, a deep front-page critique, page specs (Cy Pres, Calculators, Book a Call, 20 long-tail landers), photo briefs, and a single working interactive showcase that lets anyone preview 46 redesign themes against three audiences across eight pages with a live critique panel and a revenue-streams modal.
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## 🎯 The headline finding
**SDCC operates at ~$321K annual revenue while peer student-debt orgs run $4M–$33M.** The single asset SDCC owns that no peer matches: **82,475 first-person borrower stories.** Every recommendation in this bundle either removes a credibility blocker that costs SDCC mid-five-figure foundation gifts, unlocks a structural revenue line a peer already has but SDCC does not (Cy Pres, Calculators, Book-a-Call), or stops sending users to studentaid.gov before SDCC has captured them.
---
## 🚀 Open the showcase
```bash
open ~/Projects/student-debt-crisis-redesign/showcase/index.html
```
Two viewing modes:
- **All 46 at once** — click `📑 View all 46` in the header (URL `#all`). Every theme renders as a real mini-card with its actual palette, hero copy, CTAs, stats and contrast score. Click any card to open it full-size.
- **Single theme split view** (default, URL `#t-N` per theme) — full preview on left 2/3, audience-aware critique panel on right 1/3.
**Companion Figma file** (46 frames in a 5×10 grid, one per theme):
https://www.figma.com/design/tymSsryrhOg3dhjFOuzvap
What you can do in the showcase:
- **Theme** dropdown (46): #1–20 unique full rebrands · #21–30 light tweaks of the current SDC palette · #31–45 May 1 Day complete overhauls · #46 Tate Esq attorney-polished
- **Target audience** dropdown: Foundation grantmakers · Borrowers age 45+ · Both
- **Page** dropdown: Home · Stories · Resources (refreshed for April 2026) · News · Calculators (with a live PSLF math demo) · PSLF JSON Inspector · Cy Pres Award · Book a Call (with embedded-video placeholder)
- **💰 Revenue Streams** modal (top right): 12 ranked revenue lines tagged Quiet Money / Hustle Money / Steady, with effort + impact tags
- **Critique panel** (right 1/3): updates per (theme × audience × page) with WCAG contrast scores, pros/cons, peer-benchmark, photo brief, and a "why this gets/doesn't get money" box
The layout is a strict 2-column CSS Grid (2fr / 1fr) with each pane scrolling independently — no overlapping elements at any viewport ≥ 980px; collapses to single-column below that.
---
## 📁 What's in this folder
```
audit/
front-page-deep-analysis.md ← the deep critique of the live homepage
report.html, report.json ← raw Lighthouse report (A11y 93 · BP 73 · SEO 92 · 6 audits failing)
research/
grantee-seo-comparison.md ← top-20 nonprofit SEO + revenue benchmark
audience-demographics.md ← granters + 45+ borrower research
keyword-landers.md ← 20 long-tail landers in 4 priority tiers
specs/
new-pages-and-cypres.md ← Cy Pres, Calculators, Book-a-Call, 20 lander specs
photo-suggestions.md ← page-by-page photo briefs for steve-personal Drive
showcase/
index.html ← the interactive 46-theme × 3-audience × 8-page demo
screens/ ← preview screenshots of the showcase
screenshots/ ← walkthrough screenshots of the live SDCC site
```
---
## 🧭 If you only do five things
In rank order:
1. **Update the © 2023 footer to 2026 today** — fastest credibility fix on the site.
2. **Pick one hero CTA** (currently three two-button blocks compete) and demote the others.
3. **Stand up the Cy Pres page** (full spec in `specs/new-pages-and-cypres.md`). One page, $25K–$250K/year unlocked at minimum.
4. **Add the Candid Platinum seal + 990 link** to the footer (SDCC qualifies; seal-holders raise 62% more on average).
5. **Stamp every Resource "Reviewed [date]"** so foundations see freshness, not abandonment.
The full 30-day, 90-day, and beyond punch lists are in `audit/front-page-deep-analysis.md`.
---
## 🚩 What still needs the user
1. **Google Drive MCP authentication** — run `/mcp` → select "claude.ai Google Drive" → complete OAuth. Once done, photo briefs in `specs/photo-suggestions.md` can be matched to actual file IDs in steve-personal (steveabramsdesigns@gmail.com).
2. **Verify SDCC's most recent 990** on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer — the cohort comparison cites $321K but the agent didn't pin the exact filing year.
3. **Decide rollout window for the May Day themes (#31–45).** Recommend April 25 – May 5 only; pair with plain-language explainer ("We mark International Workers' Day because student debt is a labor issue.").
4. **Pick the one or two themes** from the 46 to take into high-fidelity design. The showcase is a discovery tool; the next sprint is "make this real in production."
---
## 📊 Per-task status
| # | Task | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Click-through audit of studentdebtcrisis.org | ✅ done — 8 page screenshots in `screenshots/`, snapshots captured for each page's a11y tree |
| 2 | Top-20 grantee SEO comparison | ✅ done — `research/grantee-seo-comparison.md` |
| 3 | Donor + user demographic research | ✅ done — `research/audience-demographics.md` |
| 4 | Keyword research for 20 drill-down pages | ✅ done — `research/keyword-landers.md` (4 priority tiers) |
| 5 | Build showcase HTML (46 themes × 3 audiences × 8 pages + critique + revenue modal) | ✅ done — `showcase/index.html` |
| 6 | Spec new pages: Cy Pres + Calculators + Book a Call + 20 landers | ✅ done — `specs/new-pages-and-cypres.md` |
| 7 | Final deliverable bundle | ✅ done — this file |
| 8 | Deep front-page analysis (Lighthouse + heuristic + audience-aware critique) | ✅ done — `audit/front-page-deep-analysis.md` |
| 9 | Photo suggestions per page (from steve-personal Drive) | ✅ briefs written — `specs/photo-suggestions.md` (matching to actual Drive files pending OAuth) |