Dorson Community Foundation
Overview
A ground-up website redesign and rebuild for an education nonprofit aimed at empowering and enriching students from underserved communities.
My Role
I worked as a UX researcher and designer on this project.
Goal
Support fundraising efforts for DCF through UX optimization. Redesign and implement new website based on UX findings.
Timeline
September 2020 - January 2021
Team
6 other UX Researchers/Designers
Tools
Figma • Miro • Jira • Brizy
Methods
Heuristic Analysis • User Interviews • Persona Development • Wireframing • Usability Testing • Prototyping • Content Strategy • Development
Background
Dorson Community Foundation (DCF) is a nonprofit whose mission is to address the equity gap in US college admissions that has been affecting underserved communities and minority groups.
I was brought onto the project with a team of UX designers, researchers, and content strategists to drive donations and fundraising efforts to their website.
What started off initially as providing UX research and recommendations turned into a full rebuild of their website on the Brizy platform.
What attracts people to donate?
User Interviews
First-time donors were the group with the most potential in increasing fundraising. Interviewees were screened based on their history of donating to nonprofits that they care about.
Interview Objectives
We interviewed 6 participants to learn the behaviors, motivations, needs, and context of donors to better understand DCF’s target audience.
Areas of Interest
Overall sentiment for donating
Motivations to donate
Decision-making process
Donor expectations
Methods of donating
Key Insights
I want to be sure that my donation is going directly to the cause or the people.
Participants expressed a desire to know where exactly their donations are going i.e. how their money is going to be spent.
I need to be able to trust the organization or website enough to donate.
Individuals need to know that the site or organization they are donating to is trustworthy and will follow through with its promises
I support organizations that have a clear vision and/or are transparent about their record and results
Regular donors often choose organizations that have a clear mission and a record of their successes and results.
I want the donation process to meet my expectations - no surprises
Interviewees stated that they do not like surprises, unforeseen charges, or spam when they decide to donate.
Persona
To better guide our designs, insights were synthesized into the following persona:
Dorsina has donated to organizations that align with her values but feels that sometimes her contributions don’t go towards the causes she believes in.
How might we help Dorsina to donate to an organization that matches her values and makes an impact?
Key Pages
In the process of solving Dorsina’s problem, there were three main areas to be overhauled according to Dorson. ‘Homepage’, ‘About Us’, and ‘Dorson Scholars Program’ comprise the majority of the important content necessary to be included in the Dorson Community Foundation redesign.
Homepage
While relatively simple and straightforward to begin with, the original Dorson homepage had immediate discrepancies in the font, contrast, and scannability.
About Us
Info about the Dorson Foundation and mission was split across a couple of pages. Some of the most important content needed in the redesign included the details about Dorson’s ‘Mission’, ‘History’, and ‘Team.’
Dorson Scholars Program
Dorson’s hallmark Scholars program needed to be highlighted in some capacity in the redesign. The page needed to highlight Dorson’s education model, program opportunities, and where to apply.
Ideation
Here is some of the ideation that was done on the “About Us” section of Dorson.
Sketching
Initial sketches showed info deemed useful to the prospective donors (mission, donate, history) all consolidated on a single scrollable “About Us” page.
Lo-fi
Wireframes of the “About Us” page expand upon Dorson’s notable history and the biographies of their notable team members.
Update in Progress….
The completed site can be viewed live at dorsoncommunity.org