Industry

Donation Platform

Timeframe

8 Months

My Role

Product Designer

Service

Web & Mobile App

The Giving Project


A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, TGP believes in doing good, smarter through effective altruism and charitable giving. Building accountability, trustworthiness, and measurable impact.

Mobile Weeb Design

Product Design

User Reesearch

User Exppereince

Overview

A Social Network For Givers

This product idea stems from the challenge donors face in choosing effective charities due to the overwhelming number, inconsistent information, and lack of objective metrics.
“Where does my money go?” “Am I really making a difference?”

The Giving Project is founded on the belief in maximizing every dollar, supporting charities that can significantly amplify the positive impact of each donation, addressing major issues effectively.

This product idea stems from the challenge donors face in choosing effective charities with inconsistent information, and lack of objective metrics.
“Where does my money go?” “Am I really making a difference?”

The Giving Project is founded on the belief in maximizing every dollar, supporting charities that can significantly amplify the positive impact of each donation, addressing major issues effectively.

Challenge

Demonstrate the impact of donations to persuade 10% of ordinary people to contribute $1 per month.

Provide a trustworthy, simple, and straightforward pathway to make a donation with little manual work.

Solution

Discovery

I aimed to understand what motivates people to donate. I interviewed 5 charity managers to learn how they engage donors and spoke with 8 individuals (age 20-30) who range from have donated at least once to monthly givers. Additionally, I conducted a competitive analysis of 4 similar donation platforms.

Key Takeaways

  • People will be more willing to donate if they know the impact of their dollar

  • People will be more willing to donate if asked

  • People will feel like they made a difference if they see their impact in real time

A highly expected customer want to

Help find reputable charities to donate to
Social circle is aware of their donations
Check if a charity is using the money well
Increase awareness of problems in the world
Increase feeling of making a difference in the world
Reduce the time it takes to make a donation

Define

Running charity’s through GuideStar and Charity Navigator to gather high impact charities into our platform

  1. GuideStar

A platinum level signifies that the organization has provided comprehensive information about its mission, programs, finances, and impact, surpassing the basic requirements for transparency

  1. Charity Navigator

A 4-star rating means the organization has exceeded or met best practices and industry standards and likely to be a highly-effective charity

  1. Impact

Impact is measurable, tracked, and calculated down to a dollar amount. Implements an evidence-based intervention with potential to have an impact at scale

User Persona

The following persona help understand who our ideal customers are.
The information was gathered through interviewing our target audience.

Dom, 67y old

Wealthy Professional

Limited options & knowledge; wants to donate but only give money where it will be effective and help the most people possible

Andi, 38 y old

Working Parent

Doesn't have time to research and decide about causes and where to spent money

Andi, 38 y old

College student, up to date with social movements

Want to make a difference and help spread awareness of causes in need

Define

Running charity’s through GuideStar and Charity Navigator to gather high impact charities into our platform

  1. GuideStar

A platinum level signifies that the organization has provided comprehensive information about its mission, programs, finances, and impact, surpassing the basic requirements for transparency

  1. Charity Navigator

A 4-star rating means the organization has exceeded or met best practices and industry standards and likely to be a highly-effective charity

  1. Impact

Impact is measurable, tracked, and calculated down to a dollar amount. Implements an evidence-based intervention with potential to have an impact at scale

User Persona

The following persona help understand who our ideal customers are.
The information was gathered through interviewing our target audience.

Dom, 67y old

Wealthy Professional

Limited options & knowledge; wants to donate but only give money where it will be effective and help the most people possible

Dom, 67y old

Wealthy Professional

Limited options & knowledge; wants to donate but only give money where it will be effective and help the most people possible

Andi, 38 y old

Working Parent

Doesn't have time to research and decide about causes and where to spent money

Andi, 38 y old

Working Parent

Doesn't have time to research and decide about causes and where to spent money

Andi, 38 y old

College student, up to date with social movements

Want to make a difference and help spread awareness of causes in need

Andi, 38 y old

College student, up to date with social movements

Want to make a difference and help spread awareness of causes in need

User Flow

User Flow

Crazy 8 Workshop

The brand manager and I facilitated a design thinking workshop focused on the donation flow. We leveraged Miro for collaboration and utilized Google Slides for the workshop introduction.

-View workshop results-

Wireframes

Team discussions and ideation revealed an opportunity to design a product centered on habitual giving and convenience, aligning with TGP’s mission of maximizing the impact of every dollar.

Wireframes

Team discussions and ideation revealed an opportunity to design a product centered on habitual giving and convenience, aligning with TGP’s mission of maximizing the impact of every dollar.

Color & Typography

Color Contrast Accessibility - A11y

The color contrast for the primary buttons and the small gray fonts behind the white were non-compliant.

I switched the primary color to the secondary dark blue color, and adjusted the text to a darker shade of gray.

High Fidelity Screen

An overview of the charity is provided to assist users in verifying its legitimacy and reputation.

An impact breakdown enhances transparency and helps users understand the tangible difference they can make with their dollar

This page serves as the heart of the project. It provides users with transparency regarding the impact and helps them understand the problem and the solutions the charity aims to address

CTA leading user to donate after understanding the charity’s mission and impact

CTA leading user to donate after understanding the charity’s mission and impact

Usability Testing

  • Showing the impact helped with transparency, allowing users understand where the money goes to

  • Stripe transaction fee stopped 60% of users from donating as it felt like a “hidden fee”

  • Users were unfamiliar with “GuideStar platinum” rating

  • Rated app simple to donate and informative, liked the impact visuals

Case Studies

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