Project Create is a Washington, DC nonprofit that provides free art classes to the area’s most vulnerable youth. The nonprofit has largely been dependent on public grants and a small concentration of loyal recurring donors. With minimal grant writing support and a new art studio in Anacostia to pay off, their need to increase online donorship was greater than ever before.
We needed to learn Project Create’s current approaches and effectiveness in generating donations, as well as the organization’s larger goals for utilizing donation funds.
We designed customized interview questions for key stakeholders of Project Create to define the organization’s unique strengths, specific donorship challenges and overall goals for growth.
It was also essential to learn from the perspective of a nonprofit donor which factors motivate them to contribute to a specific organization, and which user experience elements were important in completing an online donorship transaction.
36 participants surveyed
All had donated to a non-profit at least once
To more accurately assess the current Project Create website’s user challenges, we conducted four user tests, evaluating specifically, the user flows of online donorship.
The headline and mission statement didn’t translate on an emotional level, and there was no link to learn more.
The donation button wasn’t very prominent and got lost in the background imagery.
Differences in 3rd party payment options weren’t clear.
Users wanted more specific call-outs on organization goals and what the money went towards.
The option to donate supplies went unnoticed as users didn’t scroll down far enough.
It was also key to compare the online donorship experience of Project Create’s main competitors.
Sitar Arts Center provides frequency option on donation form to encourage repeat contributions.
Sitar Arts Center also has an option for donors to cover the 3rd party payment transaction fee.
Capital Hill Arts Workshop has a donation progress bar and total goal for a big picture perspective of contributions.
Critical Exposure provides tangible results for specific donation amounts helping donors determine value of contribution amounts.
Project Create’s current website doesn’t define its cause well on the home page, or show the benefits and emotional rewards of supporting the organization on its donation page. The user interface design for the donation page also lacks key features that provide users with transparency and security in donating funds.
How might we create a stronger connection to users so that they are more likely to donate money or goods to Project Create?
This website redesign's goal was to create a user journey that enhances the emotional connection that users have with Project Create. We believe that highlighting the specific benefits of donating, providing clear goals the organization is working towards, plus enhancing the online donation form’s user interface design, will establish greater trust with users and motivate them to increase either frequency or one-time donation amounts.
From the research gathered, we envisioned a target donor for Project Create to fit this general profile.
“I donate to nonprofits related to causes I feel passionate about. I do like to know at a high level how my donations are utilized.”
Clearly defines the mission; has a static donation button top of fold, a “featured student” section is added for donors to connect more to the cause.
Form has suggested donation amounts, there is a recurring donation option, donors can choose a category their funds can be allocated to and 3rd party payment options are defined.
Created as a new addition to the website for a more in-depth understanding of the organization’s mission and goals.
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A story of Project Create’s ideal evolution of an in kind donor of art supplies that graduates to a monetary donor, and eventually takes the step to volunteer for the organization as an assistant art instructor.
Based upon research and overall analysis of the current website, LoFi prototypes were designed to address Project Create’s most pressing challenges:
Clearly defines the mission
Has a static donation button top of fold
A “featured student” section is added for donors to connect more to the cause.
Form has suggested donation amounts
There is a recurring donation option
Donors can choose a category their funds can be allocated to - 3rd party payment options are defined
Created as a new addition to the website for a more in-depth understanding of the organization’s mission and goals
It was crucial that users landed on the redesigned home page and could efficiently understand and connect with the mission and cause, then easily locate and connect to the donation page. On a secondary level, students needed to easily locate class enrollment information. From the Lo-Fi to Mid-Fi phases, the following improvements were made:
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An additional Donation button was added to the top of the page.
The headline and CTA buttons were written with more powerful, impactful messaging.
The case registration section was given an expandable menu to minimize vertical length in the initial home screen.
The now “Student Spotlight” section was built out to include a rotating slideshow with images and quotes of the children.
Tabs were created to easily navigation between monetary and in kind donations.
Name and email fields were added to the form to capture contact info for future donor promotions.
Donation amount buttons were reordered from highest amount to lowest.
Differences in 3rd party payment options were explained.
Content was fleshed out to truly define Project Create and their mission.
The redesigned Project Create site ultimately provides the user with a deeper understanding of how the organization supports Washington DC’s local youth through its art education and the direct impact users make through their donations. The newly designed online donation page then provides the features and overall user experience to promote higher levels of contribution.
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Interested in discussing ways that we could collaborate? I’m always looking for new endeavors. Contact me and we can begin the conversation!
- Liz Sacks
lizsacks@olioport.com