Gló - Platform for Communication and Fundraising

Gló is an Icelandic non-profit organisation dedicated to increasing the participation of children and young people with diverse needs and abilities. Since its founding in 1952, the organisation has been a pioneer in services for children and young people with disabilities and their families, originally established by parents of children affected by a severe polio epidemic in Iceland.

Today, Gló provides early intervention and family-centred rehabilitation services through Gló Rehabilitation Centre. It also offers summer camps, weekend stays, and a range of leisure activities at Reykjadalur and elsewhere in Iceland. Gló creates a platform for collaboration between families, researchers, and professionals to develop, generate, and share knowledge and services that support the participation and development of children and young people with disabilities.

The organisation recently rebranded from SLF (Benefit Society of Disabled Children) to Gló - a name that reflects its mission to create inclusive opportunities and support meaningful participation for children and young people across Iceland.

Gló’s broad range of activities and diverse user groups place high demands on clarity, accessibility, and ease of use across its digital platforms. Accessibility is a core priority, ensuring that all users can engage with the organisation’s content and services. A significant part of Gló’s work relies on fundraising and product sales, some of which are seasonal or campaign-based. This makes it essential that supporting the organisation online is simple, accessible, and seamless for users.

The project focused on creating a digital platform that provides a clear overview of Gló’s three core areas of activity, while supporting communication with both service users and the general public, as well as the organisation’s fundraising efforts. The platform combines advanced editorial tools, an accessibility-first design, and e-commerce functionality for fundraising products, including payment gateway and shipping integrations. It also features performance optimisation, an SEO-friendly structure, and automated translation capabilities.

In addition, the system handles special fundraising campaigns with unique sales rules, ensuring certain products are only available during predefined time periods.

Gló approached 1xINTERNET during a period of organisational transformation as the organisation prepared to introduce its new brand identity. Their existing website no longer reflected the organisation or the work it does. The design and overall look of the site had become outdated, making it difficult to communicate Gló’s mission and values in a clear and engaging way.

Accessibility is a core priority for Gló, as the organisation works to support children and young people with diverse challenges and support needs. However, their previous website did not meet the accessibility standards required to serve all users effectively, particularly those relying on assistive technologies such as screen readers.

At the same time, the editorial experience was limited. Content editors had very little flexibility when managing the site and often had to rely on developers to implement even small changes. This slowed down content updates and reduced the organisation’s ability to manage its own digital presence.

Gló also wanted to expand the functionality of the website to support fundraising activities and product sales. These campaigns often involve unique rules, such as products that are only available during specific fundraising periods. Their previous platform did not provide the flexibility required to manage these types of sales efficiently.

To support their new brand and future digital needs, Gló required a modern, accessible, and flexible platform that would give their team greater control while enabling new functionality such as e-commerce and campaign based sales.

The new platform gives Gló a strong digital foundation that supports both its communication and fundraising efforts. By combining accessibility, flexible content management, and integrated e-commerce, the organisation now has the tools needed to manage its online presence independently and efficiently.

The website clearly reflects Gló’s renewed identity while ensuring that information and services remain accessible to everyone, including users relying on assistive technologies.

With a scalable Drupal platform in place, Gló is well positioned to continue expanding its digital services and fundraising initiatives. Future integrations, such as deeper connections with product and donation systems, will further streamline operations and enhance the experience for both supporters and the organisation’s internal teams.

Together, these improvements ensure that Gló can focus on what matters most: supporting children and young people with diverse needs and helping them participate fully in society.

The platform was built using Drupal alongside the CMS solution developed by 1xINTERNET, providing a flexible and scalable foundation for Gló. Drupal was chosen for its flexibility and extensibility, making it ideal for custom e-commerce workflows, while its strong content management capabilities and built-in support for structured content and editorial workflows gave the team full control over their website.

With robust accessibility standards and the ability to integrate easily with external systems like payment providers and logistics platforms, Drupal ensured the site met Gló’s technical and operational needs. Using CMS solution developed by 1xINTERNET further accelerated development by providing prebuilt features and best practices, delivering a stable, efficient, and digital platform ready for growth.