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Impact
IMPACT- Donation App
ROLE
Product Designer
UX Researcher
TEAM
Individual
When the COVID Pandemic was at its peak, I came across various problems faced by the people where the ones who were willing to help and support during this pandemic were feeling helpless due to no proper medium to donate or help the charity.
I explored over the internet to check about any donation application or a website that is user friendly and using which one can donate or support the ones who are in need, And I discovered that there is hardly any application that fulfills the user needs and helps users achieve their goals of donating to people in need without any obstacles.
Seeing this faced problems I decided to work on a project and design an app for the donors which is user-friendly and solves the problem.
PROBLEM
The Research that goes behind finding trustworthy charities online could be incredibly time-consuming.
The lack of transparency in charities and the donation process can also cause hesitation amongst potential donors. It is usually observed that the money which is donated on a large scale has no proper accountability and one is not satisfied with his donation.
Many people who are willing to help and support the underprivileged and helpless people with whatever is possible from their end, But most of the time they fail to do so, due to no right medium or source to contribute to the causes they care about.
DESIGN CHALLENGE
How might we minimize the user’s research process that goes behind finding trustworthy charities online?
SOLUTION
An authentic application that makes it effortless to donate and support different charitable organizations that are also reliable without having to search every time.
The Impact is a charity app that aims to connect donors from all over the world who are interested to donate and support needy ones. The main goal of Impact is to target an audience who are interested in activism and social good.
This app is very intuitive and is not limited to a fixed amount of donation. Donations and contributions to various charitable organizations can range from a penny to thousands. It encourages instant donations, enabling anyone to make donations and have a significant impact.
PROCESS
Ok, but how did I actually get there?
USER RESEARCH
Interviews revealed 3 pain points that users were facing.
Interviews helped me to examine user's expectations, needs and imagination of what a donation application should be like, these insights gave me a deeper understanding of the various users who visit such sites and to help and donate to various causes.
Through a synthesis, I was able to extract user's three main pain points that they were facing while donating to a cause.
Finding trustworthy charities online takes a long time.
People want to make charitable contributions. But often, they know only a handful of charities. People especially want to know that their money is going to something credible that will also have an impact.
It's difficult to locate local organizations in your area.
People appear to want to help and contribute to their communities, but they are unable to locate local organizations because there is no reliable medium.
They think a small amount of donation won't make a big difference
When people can only afford to make a small donation, they assume it won't make difference. They see the scale of the problem of the charity & assume that their small contributions won't deliver charities what they need.
and also revealed areas of excitement that I could use to design a user-friendly donation process
Loves to help and donate to
those in need
Among us, there are various people who are willing to help and support the underprivileged and helpless people with whatever is possible from their end,
Trusts recommendations from family and friends.
Users donate to charities selectively. They use their own social network to find out where they can make a donation. They are much more likely to believe recommendations from friends and family.
They want to know the impact they're making
People are more likely to donate to organizations when they're aware of the impact that they're making through their contributions.
QUOTES FROM THE PARTICIPANTS
“It’s annoying when organizations don’t follow up with where your donation went or whom it impacted. I want to know those things.”
“It’s difficult to find organizations that are exactly what I am looking for.”
“There are a lot of local organizations that people don’t know about because they don’t have the resources to market themselves. There needs to be a platform that helps these smaller causes get noticed. I feel I could have a bigger impact at a smaller organization.”
DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES
How could I translate these pain points into design opportunities?
Finding trustworthy charities online takes a long time.
How can we provide a user-friendly and intuitive platform that makes donating simple, allowing users to research and discover charities while also making in-app payments to verified charities without leaving the app?
It's difficult to locate local organisations in your area.
How can we make it easier for users to find local organisations in their area by providing a simple donation process?
They think a small amount of donations is not going to make a big difference.
How can we make users believe that their contributions are making a difference while maintaining transparency?
Overall, people expressed a desire for a product that would not only assist them in making charitable donations. but to be able to see clearly how their charities are making a difference.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
I carried out a direct competitive analysis of the strengths/weaknesses of the apps/websites which also provided a donation platform.
I found two main applications, Share The Meal and Charity Miles, as they are the most popular platforms for providing charity. I also discovered features that current products were missing, such as Donating locally and searching causes by geographic area.
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USER PERSONA
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USER JOURNEY MAP
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USER FLOW
OPPORTUNITY #1
How can we create a platform that allows users to discover charities while also making in-app payments without leaving the app?
Users feel overwhelmed when searching for charitable causes.
Impact is a one stop solution for the users where they can find trustworthy charities while also making in-app payments without leaving the app. Impact reduces the time and effort required to find causes and charities. By providing a fluid and user-friendly interface for donations.
The primary goal here is to provide a seamless method that can assist an individual in going a step further and helping various needy people all around the world.
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OPPORTUNITY #2
How can we make it easier for users to find local organisations in their area by providing a simple donation process?
We discovered that 40% of users are looking for local organisations in their area to help and support their own community.
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Impact is a platform that assists users in locating local organizations that people are unaware of because they lack the resources to market themselves in order to support their community.
Users who make regular donations want to find organizations that also focuses on specific causes (domestic violence, homelessness, childhood development, and so on). Impact assists these smaller causes to get noticed by the community
OPPORTUNITY #3
How can we convince users that their small contributions can have a significant impact on society?
55% think they will not be able to make any changes in society if they donate Small amount of donations.
While there are thousands of needy charitable organizations out there, and it may seem overwhelming to know which ones to devote the little funds you have to give, it’s comforting to know that even small donations go a long way.
Impact does not have a set donation amount, so you can donate any amount you want.
This app is not limited to a fixed amount of donation. Donations and contributions to various charitable organizations can range from a pennies to thousands. It encourages instant donations, allowing anyone to make donations and have a significant impact.
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PRODUCT STRATEGY
At this point, I had a product that addressed user pain points. But, How could it be monetized? How could it grow?
MONETIZATION STRATEGY
Inviting advertisers into your app is the most wide-spread monetization strategy these days.
A lot of apps currently make money from subtly placed native advertising, generally well-liked banners, or even well-liked video commercials with viewing incentives.
With this strategy, Impact will be able to develop a sizable stream of revenue that has the potential to become very stable over time. However, it's crucial to consistently prioritise the user experience first.
GROWTH STRATEGY
Recurring donors give an average of 42% more per year than donors who give one-time donations
Recurring donations are a powerful way to have a predictable revenue stream for Impact. Donors can donate on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual basis thereby supporting Impact regularly. The recurring donation allows supporters to spread the financial impact of their giving across the entire year, lessening the acute financial effect. Supporters end up contributing more on an annual basis, but the distribution of payments across the year makes the commitment more manageable.
This flexibility makes recurring giving an especially effective way to increase donations from committed supporters who might not have the financial resources to move up and become “major donors” with larger one-time donations.
PROTOTYPE
TESTING + IMPROVEMENTS
Adding a Category section to Homescreen
Based on the user’s feedback it was important to add a category section because it will allow the users to filter out the categories they are interested in.
Addition of Comment section to the Details page
By adding the comment section users will be able to get reviews about any cause or the NGO group from other people who have already donated.
REFLECTIONS + WHAT I WOULD DO DIFFRENTLY
I am immensely grateful to be able to work on this app. I got an opportunity to learn a lot while working on this application. I explored and learned about the various processes involved in the UX process so I could see what it really looks like. I have developed my exploring and information gathering skills while working on this app.
On that note, a few things I’ve learned:
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I understood the importance of iterating, there are 100 possible ways to design a screen/element, but only a few of them will work and fit the product & its users’ needs.
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I learned how to take feedback. Initially, we believe that our very first iteration is correct, but that is not always the case. Both UX and UI get better as we reflect on it and pay attention to the details.
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Appreciate the learning process and remember that you are attempting to solve a business problem. It’s all about how creative and innovative one can think and put forward.
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