Get clear on the purpose and use of the team's other website.

We're always grateful for critical feedback. Some TA supporters have let us know that the use of two different websites is confusing, and that the ICDU site is not very user friendly. We've done our best to make it simple and functional, so I'd like to take a little time to explain why we have a second website and how you can use it. Just click on the picture thumbnails to enlarge them and follow along with the text below.

You can get to the ICDU site by typing www.icduperu.org in your browser or by going to the home page of this site and clicking on the link under the ICDU tab.

The ICDU site exists separately from the team website first and foremost because we hope ICDU will outlive the team. We think it wisest to give ICDU its own infrastructure from the ground up, so that no matter who takes over operations in the future--hopefully Peruvians!--it will continue to function seamlessly. In a virtual world where the next website is only a click away, we hope that this is not too inconvenient for our supporters. Although we will duplicate and link to ICDU vital news here on the TA site, many functions will only be available on the ICDU site.

The two basic user functions of the site are information and financing. One nice thing about having a separate site is that all urban development-related projects are self-contained and uncluttered by other issues. A primary goal of the website is to provide users project-specific opportunities, because many people prefer the personal involvement of choosing where their money goes. ICDU projects are divided into two types: giving and lending. Each of these has its own section of the website, which you can navigate by clicking the tabs on the home page.

Once you're at the GIVE page, for example, you will see a Project Menu to the right and some featured projects toward the bottom of the page. It will be helpful if you take a moment to read the instruction entitled "How to Give" in the center of the page, before proceeding to examine the projects.

Each project has a button that allows you to add one or more $25 "units" of each project to your cart. For example, if you wish to give $100 worth of books, you would purchase 4 units of Books under the Biblotecas Vivas project. You can either adjust the number of units in the Qty field before clicking "Add to cart" or you can adjust the number afterward when viewing your cart.

Once you click "Add to cart," the webpage will change to display your cart, but you will still be able to see the Projects Menu and the Featured Items. If you do not have any changes to make to the order displayed, you can either proceed with the check out or continue browsing the site. If you go back to the GIVE page, you will see that Your Cart on the right reflects the additions you have made. Once you are done browsing the website, you can click on "Show cart" under Your Cart and follow the "How to Give" instructions to complete the process.

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