Bridging the Gap Between Donors and Grassroots NGOs
About Connect
Connect is a groundbreaking non-governmental organization (NGO) designed to address the disconnect between donors and smaller, grassroots NGOs that struggle with visibility, trust, and access to funding opportunities. By embedding smaller NGOs into a central platform, Connect ensures that these organizations have a credible, accessible space to showcase their work, gain trust, and attract much-needed donations, grants, and partnerships.
My role
As the sole designer, I led the entire design process for Connect, from research and ideation to prototyping and final delivery. My role involved: needs.
- Conducting user research to understand the needs of donors, NGOs, and volunteers.
- Developing user personas and empathy maps to guide design decisions.
- Designing wireframes and high-fidelity prototypes for a seamless user experience
- Iterating on feedback to ensure a user-centered, impactful design.
My tools
Figma, Slack, Figjam, Google docs
Project timeline
Project duration was 4 weeks
Target audience
The platform is designed for three primary groups:
- NGO founders: Grassroots organizations seeking visibility, funding, and trust.
- Donors: Individuals and organizations looking for credible NGOs that align with their interests and causes.
- Volunteers: Passionate individuals eager to contribute their time and skills to impactful projects.
Measuring success
The platform is designed for three primary groups:
- NGO registration: Growth in the number of smaller NGOs joining the platform
- Donor contributions: Increase in the total number of donations made via the platform.
- User engagement: Metrics such as search activity, profile views, and donations per session.
- Accreditation success: Number of NGOs verified through the platform’s accreditation system
- Feedback: Positive testimonials from users (donors, NGOs, and volunteers) on transparency and usability.
Problem discovery
The NGO sector in Nigeria faces significant trust and visibility challenges, particularly for smaller, grassroots organizations. These NGOs often operate in areas with the most pressing needs but lack the credibility, funding, and network to make a sustainable impact.
The NGO sector faces key challenges, including a widespread distrust among donors who perceive many organizations as fraudulent or lacking transparency, leading to hesitancy in contributing. Smaller NGOs also struggle with limited visibility, making it difficult for them to showcase their work and attract support. Additionally, both donors and volunteers often experience challenges in locating NGOs nearby or those that focus on specific causes they care about due to limited searchability.
My solution -connect
The NGO sector in Nigeria faces significant trust and visibility challenges, particularly for smaller, grassroots organizations. These NGOs often operate in areas with the most pressing needs but lack the credibility, funding, and network to make a sustainable impact.
Key features
- Accreditation system: Verifies the authenticity of smaller NGOs to build trust with donors.
- Location-based search: Enables donors to find NGOs near their residence.
- Interest-based search: Helps donors identify NGOs working on causes they care about.
- Flexible donations: Simplifies the donation process for individuals and organizations.
- Comprehensive NGO profiles: Provides detailed insights into an NGO’s mission, projects, and impact metrics.
Design Process
The design process was guided by a user-centered approach, ensuring that the needs of NGO founders, donors, and volunteers were central to every decision.
- 1. Understand: Conducted in-depth research on the challenges faced by NGOs and their donor networks, including interviews and empathy mapping.
- 2. Define: Framed key problems and identified opportunities to enhance transparency and accessibility.
- 3. Ideate: Brainstormed features that bridge the gap between donors and NGOs while addressing trust and visibility issues.
- 4. Design: Created wireframes and prototypes, iterating based on user feedback to achieve a polished, user-friendly design.
Interview process
To truly understand the challenges faced by our target audience, I conducted in-person interviews with NGO founders, donors, and volunteers. Over the course of several weeks, I spoke with more than 60 individuals, uncovering critical insights about their pain points, motivations, and aspirations.
NGO founders
Discussions with 25 grassroots NGO founders highlighted their struggles with visibility and funding. Many shared stories of impactful projects that failed to gain traction due to a lack of trust from potential donors. A recurring theme was the overwhelming challenge of competing with larger organizations for grants and partnerships.
Donors
In conversations with 20 donors, I discovered a deep-seated frustration with fraudulent NGOs and the difficulty of verifying organizations. Many expressed hesitation to contribute due to a lack of transparency and accountability in how funds are utilized.
Volunteers
Engaging with 15 volunteers provided valuable insights into their desire for streamlined access to NGOs and projects that align with their passions. They expressed a need for better ways to connect with NGOs within their local communities.
This feedback shaped Connect into a trustworthy platform with
accredited NGOs, transparent profiles, and flexible donation options
tailored to user interests.
Empathy mapping
Insights gathered from user interviews were mapped to guide the design
Says:
- Avoids donating due to mistrust.
- I want to see how donations are utilized.
Thinks:
- Most NGOs are fraudulent.
- Can I hold them accountable?
Does:
- Avoids donating due to mistrust.
- Searches for ways to contribute but gets
frustrated.
Feels:
- Frustrated by the lack of transparency.
- Excited when discovering trustworthy
NGOs
User persona
I proceeded to creating user personas from the interview conducted.
Key metrics
These metrics underline the urgency and importance of Connect’s mission.
- 46,000+ Registered NGOs in Nigeria.
- 10,000+ Unregistered NGOs in Nigeria.
- 20 million Children out of school in Nigeria.
- 56% Mortality rate in Africa.
- 63% of Nigerians are multidimensionally poor.
Developing a strategy
Building trust and facilitating easy connections between donors and NGOs.
Based on my research and interviews, it became evident that the strategy for Connect needed to focus on trust, transparency, and accessibility. Users expressed a desire for a platform that not only verifies NGOs but also provides detailed, trustworthy profiles and simplifies the donation process
To address these needs, I designed a system that prioritizes:
- Verification: Implementing an accreditation feature to build credibility for smaller NGOs.
- Detailed profiles: Showcasing each NGO’s mission, ongoing projects, impact stories, and financial accountability.
- Interactive search tools: Enabling users to filter NGOs by location, cause, or project focus, ensuring seamless connections between donors and NGOs that align with their interests.
These strategies ensure that donors like Austin can confidently contribute to vetted organizations, fostering a sense of security and purpose while supporting impactful projects.
Design goals
Build trust through transparency and an intuitive user interface.
Simplify the process of finding and supporting NGOs based on location and interests.
Enhance user engagement through easy navigation and detailed profiles.
Empower smaller NGOs with a platform to showcase their work effectively.
Promote community impact by connecting donors, volunteers, and NGOs seamlessly.
System architecture
Streamlined user flow for efficiency and simplicity.
1. NGO founders
- Web platform accessible to NGO founders, donors, and volunteers
- Intuitive dashboards for registration, donation tracking, and project management.
- Search functionality for NGOs based on location, cause, or project type.
2. Application layer
- NGO Accreditation Module: Verifies NGOs based on pre-set criteria.
- Search and Filter Module: Allows users to browse NGOs by interests or proximity.
- Donation System: Facilitates secure payments and flexible donation options.
- Profile Management: Enables NGOs to upload impact stories, projects, and financial transparency data.
- Volunteer Matching: Connects volunteers with relevant opportunities.
3. Data layer
- Stores user information (donors, volunteers, NGOs).
- Maintains records of verified NGOs and their projects.
- Tracks donation histories and engagement metrics.
4. Integration layer
- ayment Gateway Integration (e.g., Paystack, Flutterwave).
- Geolocation Services for finding NGOs nearby.
- Email/Notification Services for user updates.
5. Security layer
- Secure login for all user roles
- Role-based access control (NGOs, donors, volunteers).
- Ensures secure transactions and data storage.
Low-fidelity wireframe
Establishing the foundation with essential layout and structure
During this stage, I created low-fidelity wireframes to map out the website’s core functionality and user flow. These initial drafts served as a blueprint to visualize the fundamental design without focusing on intricate details. The goal was to prioritize an intuitive layout that directly addressed the needs of our user personas. This process allowed for quick iterations and valuable feedback, ensuring the foundation was solid before moving on to more polished, high-fidelity designs.
High-fidelity wireframe
Accreditation
High-fidelity mockup refinements: During the high-fidelity prototype testing, users commended the platform’s professional and user-friendly design, which fostered trust and transparency—key elements for connecting donors with NGOs. The accreditation feature, which verified NGO credibility, and the intuitive search function, enabling donors to find NGOs aligned with their interests, were particularly well-received.
Users also highlighted the clarity of NGO profiles and the seamless donation process as significant strengths. Overall, the design effectively enhanced user engagement and confidence while maintaining simplicity and accessibility.
Impact
The Connect platform creates a bridge between donors and smaller NGOs, fostering trust and visibility in the sector. By empowering grassroots NGOs, Connect has the potential to:
- Increase donations and partnerships for smaller NGOs.
- Build trust in the NGO sector through transparency.
- Foster stronger community engagement across Nigeria.
Final thoughts
Connect is more than just a platform; it’s a movement to restore trust and empower smaller NGOs to make a meaningful impact. By providing a central hub for verified NGOs, donors, and volunteers, Connect aims to rewrite the narrative of grassroots philanthropy in Nigeria.