A Chance In Life
Enhance the user experience of the donation process to attract and capture donations from younger potential donors.
Client: A Chance In Life (in conjunction with Harness Projects)
Role: UX Designer / Student
Duration: May 2024 - July 2024
Background:
I participated in a project with Harness Projects, a UX bootcamp, in collaboration with A Chance In Life. A Chance In Life is an international nonprofit organization focused on empowering at-risk youth through education and leadership development.
Problem:
The organization is experiencing a decline in donation numbers. Most recurring donors are over the age of 60. Younger generations are not stepping in to replace those older donors who have passed away. A Chance In Life sought our help to revamp their donation process to encourage younger donors to contribute.
Challenges:
Through our research, we discovered that A Chance In Life faced larger issues beyond just the donation process. Problems such as brand identity, apparent transparency, and trust were preventing visitor conversions. For a nonprofit, establishing transparency and trust is crucial for increasing the likelihood of potential donors contributing.
We decided to enhance the user journey from the point of discovery to the submission of their payment method, focusing on the landing page as part of the overall donation experience.
Another challenge was that while the research phase was conducted collaboratively as part of a team, the ideation and prototyping phase required individual work, which was more difficult for me as I thrive in a collaborative environment.
My Impact:
During the research phase, I collaborated with my team to understand why younger people were hesitant to donate. After completing the research and insight phase, I independently ideated and developed a functioning prototype using Figma to solve the main issues plaguing A Chance In Life. My focus was on encouraging donations, particularly through improving the landing page, as it often represents the first impression of an organization. The improvements focused on increased storytelling to encourage users to empathize with those they consider donating to. As a nonprofit, I aimed to make minimal changes that aligned with the existing style and brand to keep costs down.
Process
Research:
My cohort split into two groups to research why younger generations were less likely to donate to A Chance In Life. We employed various tools, including interviews, affinity mapping, comparative analysis, user personas, and journey mapping. We found that people are motivated to give because it makes them feel good and aligns with their values. However, they often hesitate to donate due to misaligned beliefs, financial constraints, or a lack of trust in the organization.
To foster donations, we identified that users need assurance that their contributions will be used appropriately, sensitivity to their financial situations, and compelling stories that resonate with them.
In short, users need: Trust & Connection
- “If you told me about the people that it would affect or provided hard facts on how much my donation would help, make it tangible for me.”
- “Two things I need to see before I’ll donate: real and recent success stories, and who the leadership is.”
- “I would love to know about the organization and where my resources and efforts are going.”
Ideation:
Focusing on storytelling and building trust, I started sketching and wireframing concepts for A Chance In Life. Drawing inspiration from other organizations and personal experiences, I aimed to create a fresh identity that communicates the organization's mission and highlights who benefits from donor contributions.
Building Empathy by telling stories
The interactive world map showcases the locations of A Chance In Life programs. When users click on a specific location, the interface presents a story from that country along with brief descriptions of the programs operating there.
This design also allows users to donate directly to a specific program that resonates with them, rather than contributing to a general fund. This feature gives donors more control over how their donations are used and allocated.
Building Trust by giving donors control
Below the map, animated metrics provide users with vital information about current donation levels, the number of active programs, and the number of children impacted by these donations. Keeping these numbers up to date, or even updating them in real time, would help donors immediately see the difference their contributions make while also informing visitors about the organization’s current progress.
Building Pride by showing donors their impact
Walkthrough of the Final Prototype
What I learned:
This was the first UX project I had the opportunity to work on. I hold an Industrial design degree and have worked as a designer for several years, so the research phases were very similar, but the application of that research, the ideation, and the prototyping stages were very different because I had to think differently. I had to think digitally rather than physically, creating a web solution rather than a product solution that I could hold.