diff --git a/lib/compass/app_integration/stand_alone/installer.rb b/lib/compass/app_integration/stand_alone/installer.rb
index 5c6177de..25d5ea44 100644
--- a/lib/compass/app_integration/stand_alone/installer.rb
+++ b/lib/compass/app_integration/stand_alone/installer.rb
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ More Resources:
 
 NEXTSTEPS
           end
+          puts manifest.welcome_message if manifest.welcome_message
           if manifest.has_stylesheet?
             puts "\nTo import your new stylesheets add the following lines of HTML (or equivalent) to your webpage:"
             puts stylesheet_links
diff --git a/lib/compass/commands/help.rb b/lib/compass/commands/help.rb
index 6cc417e6..dccc313e 100644
--- a/lib/compass/commands/help.rb
+++ b/lib/compass/commands/help.rb
@@ -26,7 +26,11 @@ Available commands:
         Compass::Frameworks::ALL.each do |framework|
           banner << "  * #{framework.name}\n"
           framework.template_directories.each do |pattern|
-            banner << "    - #{framework.name}/#{pattern}\n"
+            banner << "    - #{framework.name}/#{pattern}"
+            if description = framework.manifest(pattern).description
+              banner << "\t- #{description}"
+            end
+            banner << "\n"
           end
         end
 
diff --git a/lib/compass/frameworks.rb b/lib/compass/frameworks.rb
index e9c8ac2b..d11ff8fb 100644
--- a/lib/compass/frameworks.rb
+++ b/lib/compass/frameworks.rb
@@ -18,6 +18,13 @@ module Compass
       def template_directories
         Dir.glob(File.join(templates_directory, "*")).map{|f| File.basename(f)}
       end
+      def manifest_file(pattern)
+        File.join(templates_directory, pattern.to_s, "manifest.rb")
+      end
+      def manifest(pattern, options = {})
+        options[:pattern_name] ||= pattern
+        Compass::Installers::Manifest.new(manifest_file(pattern), options)
+      end
     end
 
     def register(name, *arguments)
@@ -66,6 +73,8 @@ module Compass
       usage_file = File.join(framework.templates_directory, template, "USAGE.markdown")
       if File.exists?(usage_file)
         File.read(usage_file)
+      elsif help = framework.manifest(template).help
+        help
       else
         <<-END.gsub(/^ {8}/, '')
           No Usage!
diff --git a/lib/compass/installers/manifest.rb b/lib/compass/installers/manifest.rb
index 0f1978f5..b90831ff 100644
--- a/lib/compass/installers/manifest.rb
+++ b/lib/compass/installers/manifest.rb
@@ -40,6 +40,30 @@ module Compass
       type :file
       type :html
 
+      def help(value = nil)
+        if value
+          @help = value
+        else
+          @help
+        end
+      end
+
+      def welcome_message(value = nil)
+        if value
+          @welcome_message = value
+        else
+          @welcome_message
+        end
+      end
+
+      def description(value = nil)
+        if value
+          @description = value
+        else
+          @description
+        end
+      end
+
       # Enumerates over the manifest files
       def each
         @entries.each {|e| yield e}
@@ -76,4 +100,4 @@ module Compass
     end
 
   end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end