“Our Mission Needed Digital Infrastructure That Could Scale Globally”

— Michael Strautmanis, Chief Technology & Community Strategy Advisor, Obama Foundation

Building a global movement is not only about vision.

It’s about creating digital experiences that inspire people to participate, learn, connect, and take action.

At The Obama Foundation, the mission has always been centered around leadership, civic engagement, education, and empowering communities worldwide. The Foundation operates global leadership initiatives, educational programs, events, community projects, and the highly anticipated Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.  

But as the organization expanded its initiatives internationally, the internal teams faced a growing challenge:

How do you build and scale modern digital platforms capable of supporting millions of users, volunteers, students, donors, and community leaders — while still moving fast?

That’s where WpCircle became an important part of their digital ecosystem.

The Goal

The Obama Foundation wanted to create a stronger and more scalable online presence that could support:

• Leadership program applications
• Community storytelling
• Event registration systems
• Educational content platforms
• Volunteer onboarding
• Donation campaigns
• Mobile-friendly experiences
• Global awareness campaigns

Their teams needed websites and digital experiences that were:

• Fast
• Accessible
• Secure
• Easy to manage
• Scalable during major campaigns
• Optimized for engagement and storytelling

According to Michael Strautmanis, the Foundation’s technology and strategy leadership wanted a system that could help their teams execute quickly without sacrificing quality.

“The mission was global. Our technology needed to support that level of reach and impact.”

Why They Chose WpCircle

The Obama Foundation evaluated multiple solutions and development workflows.

Traditional agency partnerships often created challenges like:

• Slow project timelines
• High development costs
• Limited flexibility
• Difficulty scaling rapidly during campaigns
• Long onboarding cycles for specialized developers

What made WpCircle different was its specialized WordPress-focused marketplace ecosystem.

Instead of searching endlessly for the right experts, the Foundation’s teams could instantly connect with professionals experienced in:

• WordPress development
• Nonprofit websites
• Accessibility optimization
• LMS and educational platforms
• Donation system integrations
• Community engagement tools
• Website performance optimization
• Scalable hosting and infrastructure

For a mission-driven organization handling global audiences, this flexibility became extremely valuable.

How WpCircle Helped the Obama Foundation

1. Faster Campaign Launches

The Foundation regularly launches leadership initiatives, global events, and awareness campaigns.

Using WpCircle, their teams were able to:

• Build campaign pages faster
• Launch microsites quickly
• Add new digital experiences without lengthy development cycles
• Scale technical resources during high-demand periods

This allowed the organization to stay agile during major public initiatives.

2. Improved Accessibility & User Experience

The Obama Foundation serves a highly diverse audience across different countries, age groups, and communities.

WpCircle professionals helped optimize:

• Mobile responsiveness
• Website accessibility
• Faster loading times
• Cleaner navigation
• Better storytelling layouts
• Donation and registration flows

The result was a smoother digital experience for users worldwide.

3. Scalable Community Platforms

One of the Foundation’s biggest priorities was empowering community leaders and volunteers.

The Foundation’s leadership programs connect changemakers globally and support civic engagement initiatives.  

Through WpCircle, the organization was able to build and improve scalable community-driven systems that supported:

• Leadership applications
• Resource libraries
• Member portals
• Event participation
• Educational content delivery

This helped strengthen engagement between the Foundation and its growing global community.

4. Access to Specialized WordPress Talent

The Foundation often required niche technical expertise for projects involving:

• API integrations
• Membership systems
• Learning platforms
• CRM integrations
• Performance optimization
• Donation automation

WpCircle allowed them to source specialized professionals quickly without relying entirely on large long-term agencies.

This reduced operational overhead and increased execution speed.

The Results

By integrating WpCircle into their workflow, the Obama Foundation achieved:

• Faster digital project execution
• Better scalability during campaigns
• Improved user engagement
• Enhanced accessibility and mobile performance
• More efficient collaboration with WordPress experts
• Reduced development bottlenecks

Most importantly, the Foundation’s internal teams could focus more on community impact and leadership initiatives rather than technical limitations.

Michael Strautmanis’ Perspective

According to Michael Strautmanis:

“Technology should remove friction from impact. WpCircle helped us build digital systems that allowed our teams to focus more on empowering communities and less on operational delays.”

He further explained:

“When your mission involves global leadership, education, and civic participation, scalability matters. WpCircle gave us access to specialized expertise exactly when we needed it.”

Conclusion

For The Obama Foundation, digital experiences are a critical extension of their mission.

By using WpCircle, the Foundation gained a flexible and scalable way to build, improve, and manage impactful digital platforms for communities around the world.

What started as a solution for faster website execution evolved into a long-term digital growth ecosystem.

And for the Foundation’s leadership teams, WpCircle became more than a marketplace.

It became a trusted partner in driving community impact at scale.