UX Strategy & UX Design
Optimizing nonprofit engagement & increasing donations by 15%
Project overview:
After the heartbreaking loss of her daughter to neuroblastoma, Lacey channeled her grief into purpose by founding the Finley Forever Foundation. Her mission: to “pay forward” the compassion, generosity, and support her family received during their own battle, extending that same care to other families facing pediatric cancer.
Lacey sought to amplify the foundation’s impact by increasing donations and reaching more families in need. To achieve this, she requested help creating a more user-friendly and emotionally engaging website—one that could benefit from a complete redesign and rebuild.
Project focus:
Restructure, redesign, and rebuild the website
Foster emotional connection through authentic family stories
Streamline and optimize the donation process to boost contributions
Project type:
Academic + non-profit partnership
Timeline:
9 weeks
Teammates:
Ana Ignatescu, Ishan Dutta, Tanvi Dalvi, Gurusha Raskar, and Han Tran
My role:
UX Researcher, UX Designer, UX Strategist
Redesigned website (prototype)
Redefining website architecture with data-driven insights
Challenge: We assessed that the website had poor visual hierarchy, an unclear content structure, and inadequate information about the people they help.
Strategy: The team used a mixed-method research strategy to redefine and validate the new information architecture.
Heuristic Evaluation
Each team member conducted individual heuristic evaluations, then we synthesized the findings collaboratively
Competitive Analysis
We reviewed websites like Alex's Lemonade Stand (national) and Warrior Wagons (local) to gain perspective and brainstorm ideas
Content Inventory
We took inventory of the website content, assessed what might be redundant, out of place, better structured, and what might be included
Card Sort
Using the inventory items as “cards,” participants grouped them into categories that influenced a new information structure:
Participants: 6
Cards: 25
Tree Test
Using the proposed structure, we evaluated whether users could find key information in the navigation:
Participants: 14
Tasks: 7
Success rate: 85%
Original homepage
Original Donation page
Finalized Sitemap
The restructured sitemap consolidates all Events, drives action with a dedicated Get Involved page, redefines the Check Eligibility page with thorough guidelines and FAQ, and includes a dedicated Donation page. It also introduces new content about pediatric cancer and features Stories about the children the foundation has helped.
Impact: The intuitive navigation structure, validated through testing with an 85% success rate will reduce cognitive load and improve content discoverability
Audience segmentation & journey mapping—the website must work for various user motives
Challenge: A single approach couldn't effectively serve the diverse needs of the foundation's supporters.
Strategy: Working with the founder, we identified 5 distinct user groups with different motivations. We developed personas for each segment and created tailored experience pathways to optimize conversion for every audience type.
Potential applicant
Potential applicants must review the eligibility guidelines to determine how to request support
Medical Professional
Medical professionals must understand how to refer their patients to this program
Community Member
The website must educate viewers, entice people to donate, attend an event, or inspire them to get involved
Business owners
Businesses often partner with the foundation and must locate sponsorship opportunities
Potential volunteer
The organization must show users the impact that they can make and be easy to apply as a volunteer
Impact: These personas formed the basis for our tree testing and usability testing scenarios. By understanding and testing different user motivations, we created personalized experiences that increase engagement
Leveraging emotional engagement to make connections
Challenge: The website lacked content about the families the foundation helps, never showing visitors where their donations would go. Testers said the donation process felt transactional and impersonal, which may have deterred potential donations.
Strategy: We applied the Inzovu Curve principle—people start at a neutral emotional baseline and progress through pain, reflection, and hope before taking action.
Increasing emotional connection to take action
Introduced emotional content
Added educational information about pediatric cancer
Foundation stats (# of families helped, # of Courage Kits supplied)
Real patients, real families
Created "Who We Support" section that highlights the recipients with heartfelt family testimonials
Personalized donation process
Developed a donation hub offering users a choice of where they want their money to go
Donation-specific software
Changed donation platforms from Square to Donorbox to introduce auto-donation, personalized messaging, donating in honor/memory of a loved one
Impact: Leverage audience emotions to inspire and drive action. Transformed the donation process from transactional to inspirational.
User Experience Validation Strategy
Challenge: Our design assumptions needed validation to ensure strategic decisions would drive results.
Strategy: We created a high-fidelity prototype and conducted comprehensive usability testing to validate design decisions and identify conversion barriers. Testing tasks were tailored to each of the 5 user types' unique motivations.
- Locate where to make a monetary donation
- Learn about real people the foundation has helped
- Check eligibility for assistance
- Donate to Stem Cell Courage Kits
- Learn about volunteer opportunities
Moderated user-testing
Key data
Participants: 7 potential users aged 22 to 56
Duration: ~30 minutes
Consent: Verbal
# Tasks: 5 scenarios and task-based prompts
77% Success rate
Overall, the testing achieved 77% average success rate with targeted improvements for problem areas
Identified critical insight
100% found general donations but only 42% found specific donation types
Impact: Data-driven recommendations led to a centralized donation hub strategy, improving donation completion rates
Accessibility & Clarity Strategy
Challenge: 63% of users found eligibility guidelines unclear, creating barriers for families needing support.
Strategy: Developed comprehensive information design approach to eliminate confusion and streamline access to services.
Check Eligibility
Created dedicated "Check Eligibility" page directly in the navigation that includes clear guidelines
FAQ
Added detailed FAQ section addressing common concerns
Referral guidelines
Included professional referral requirements and guidance text
Simplified process
Simplified application process with clear next steps
Impact: Reduced barrier to entry for families seeking assistance while ensuring proper referral protocols.
Implemented a unified brand strategy
Challenge: The existing website lacked visual cohesion and didn't follow basic design principles that led to inconsistent brand representation.
Strategy: Developed a system of brand guidelines, including colors, typefaces for headers and body copy, a favicon, and ensured it worked across mobile and desktop interfaces
Impact: Transformed the foundation's digital presence with cohesive branding to build trust and connection through consistency, patterns, and design principles
Wireframes and final design
Homepage wireframe
Homepage and supporting pages
Strategic Learnings
Design for impact
Emotional storytelling balanced with clear pathways to engagement drive people to take action
Not all tools perform the same
Donation platform research showed nonprofit-specific tools outperform generic processors by improving the user experience
Data-driven decisions
User research and testing revealed critical gaps between assumptions and reality, ensuring strategic alignment
Stakeholder collaboration
Direct founder collaboration kept strategic focus on mission impact while meeting user needs
"This was the best decision I have made in a long time. Thank you!"
— Lacey B., Finley's mother & Founder of the Finley Forever Foundation