Checklist: Getting Started with Financial Engagement

Get Started with Financial Engagement in 5 Easy Steps! 

1. Locate your Engagement Website
2. Design your Website Pages and Widgets 
3. Present Financial Data 
4. Soft Launch (optional) 
5. Publish and engage! 

⬜ Step 1: Log in and Locate your Engagement Website 

To begin, access your Engagement Website:

• Navigate to admin.courbanize.com 

Sign in using your admin credentials. Once logged in, you will land on your homepage. 

⬜ Step 2: Design your Financial Engagement Website  

As an Admin user, you can fully customize your Engagement Website to align with your organization’s branding and communication goals.

Layout and Widgets

• Rearrange Section Blocks and Widgets by dragging and dropping.
• Add new widgets to highlight financial data, charts, announcements, or educational content
• Remove or hide widgets that are not relevant to your audience

Training article: Section Blocks and Widgets

Style and Branding

• Navigate to Style Settings to:
  • Upload a banner image
  • Add your organization’s seal or logo
  • Adjust colors and visual elements for brand consistency

Training article: Style Settings

Images and Visual Content

• Upload Images to enhance storytelling and provide context to financial data
• Use visuals to make complex financial information more accessible to residents

Training article: Images

Pages and Communication Tools

• Add an About Page to explain your organization, leadership, or budgeting process
• Create a Feedback Page to gather community input and questions

Training article: Create a New Page

Feedback, Questions, and Comments

• Create Question Groups of questions to ask your website visitors. Post your questions on your Engagement Website in the Feedback Widget and watch the comments and responses roll in. 

Training article: Feedback Question Management 

Training article: Feedback Widget

Ongoing Engagement and Analytics

 Publishing is just the beginning. To maximize impact: promote the site regularly, monitor engagement, and adjust content as needed.

Training article: Engagement Website - Analytics

⬜ Step 3: Present Financial Data

Financial Data

• Your organization’s onboarded ClearGov data powers your Financial Engagement site. Keeping this data accurate and up to date is essential.

Training article: Financial Engagement - Revenue and Expenditures

Demographic Data 

• Present your Demographic Data by adding the Demographics Widget. 

Training article:  Financial Engagement - Demographics

⬜ Step 4: (Optional) Soft Launch your Engagement Website

Before sharing your site publicly, consider conducting a soft launch.

Soft Launching your Engagement Website allows you to:

• Review content internally with stakeholders
• Test navigation and user experience
• Ensure branding and messaging are accurate
• Gather feedback from internal teams or select community members

⬜  Step 5: Publish your Engagement Website 

Once your site is ready, it’s time to publish and share it with your community.

Publishing Pages

• Navigate to each page and select Publish in the upper right corner. Note: Each page must be published individually

Training article: Publish your Engagement Website 

Share Your Engagement Website

After publishing, distribute your Engagement Studio URL through email newsletters, social media, public presentations or meetings, or your organization’s official website.