Hand 'n Hand — A multilingual platform that connects vetted nonprofits with global donors and volunteers, matching requests by urgency and location.
The Problem:
Systemic gap between Frontline Services and community action in Digital Giving
Systemic gap between Frontline Services and community action in Digital Giving
Most digital giving platforms handle transactions, not operational needs—like transport or in-kind support—often flagged by frontline workers. Hand 'n Hand addresses this gap through a multilingual, vetted system where nonprofits post requests matched by urgency and location. The design was scoped and prototyped within a hackathon, balancing usability, inclusion, and cross-border applicability.
My Role: Solo Product Designer
Led research, flows, and interface design—delivering 25 screens and a functional design system based on stakeholder input and lightweight modeling. Collaborated with World Vision’s Innovation Lead, IT stakeholders, a PM, and FaithTech facilitators.
Research goals:
( 1 ) Identify low-barrier support needs suitable for micro-volunteering and local aid
( 2 ) Explore filtering mechanisms for urgency, task type, and location
( 3 ) Define ethical standards for request publishing and supporter trust
( 4 ) Clarify impact reporting expectations for nonprofits and donors
( 2 ) Explore filtering mechanisms for urgency, task type, and location
( 3 ) Define ethical standards for request publishing and supporter trust
( 4 ) Clarify impact reporting expectations for nonprofits and donors
Outcomes:
A 25-screen prototype was submitted to the FaithTech Hackathon as a multilingual MVP requested by World Vision Canada, focused on donation, volunteering, and task coordination. It featured filters, dashboards, and vetting logic—excluding backend and admin functions.
Key research questions:
Q.1 - What types of needs are currently excluded from digital giving platforms?
Q.2 - How should requests be structured for transparency and matching logic?
Q.3 - What motivates participation from donors and volunteers in peer-to-peer systems?
Q.4 - What role do nonprofits play in validating requests and closing feedback loops?
MVP Scope: a front-facing system for aid matching
The project began as a 4-week sprint hosted by FaithTech and extended into a 4-month volunteer engagement with World Vision Canada (35h/week). The MVP excluded backend/admin features and focused on front-facing functionality under tight scope constraints.
Insights were drawn from stakeholder input, benchmarking, and exploratory interviews with two social workers and three grassroots leaders in charitable outreach.
What Donors and Partners expect, according to research
Competitive analysis revealed that donation platforms prioritize messaging and fundraising flows, but fall short in making outcomes visible. Dashboards were often generic, buried, or disconnected from user needs.
Donors valued searchability and recognition. Partner organizations looked for data visualization to support reporting. Both groups shared one expectation: accountability through transparent, accessible, and system-integrated feedback.
During stakeholder meetings with the Innovation and IT Directors, the team refined the project vision with a clear focus on the Requesters’ Dashboard—where impact tracking and communication were key concerns. Since the client had conducted prior user research, findings were reviewed, clustered in an affinity diagram, and synthesized into Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) to guide system requirements.
Feature Framing: alignment with World Vision stakeholders
Early in the project, a series of stakeholder conversations helped clarify foundational decisions about system structure, scope, and future expansion. Key topics included: what makes the platform different from traditional giving systems, how funds would be verified and tracked, who qualifies as a partner (individual vs. organization), which languages to support for global use, and what reports or KPIs the system should offer. These inputs directly shaped early feature framing and helped define platform boundaries.
Insights: inclusive roles, public recognition and financial transparency
Research findings revealed three clear directions for feature design. First, rigid application processes and credential-focused roles exclude willing volunteers—especially those without formal experience or travel flexibility. Designing for inclusive, low-barrier participation emerged as a key innovation driver. Second, the absence of human connection in donation platforms reduces engagement. Donors and partners emphasized the value of public recognition, visual feedback, and relational features that make impact tangible. Finally, financial transparency was a consistent expectation: users wanted to see exactly how contributions were used, with clear descriptions and accessible reporting.
Journey Mapping: process breakdown, pain points, and design opportunities
User Personas: fictional users based on real community roles
User Flows and Stories: structuring navigation and priorities
Design Implementation: key features and system logic
In the second month, we finalized the feature requirements and developed 25 wireframes in an iterative design process. Although usability testing was conducted informally within the team (stakeholder Walkthroughs), the design was grounded in stakeholder input and structured for two user groups: donors and requesters.
For donors, features included donation and volunteer toggles, unskilled and remote-only job categories, follow options for preferred organizations, and social proof elements like verified profiles, ratings, and charity media. For requesters, the interface offered customizable public profiles, request management, and the ability to share video or photo reactions with donors—either publicly or privately—as recognition.
The Requester Dashboard was scoped to include campaign monitoring, impact tracking, and troubleshooting features. Accessibility considerations included brightness and contrast options, language switching, closed captions, and a narrator mode. The platform’s revenue model was based on a 3% transaction fee and annual membership from partners.
UI Components:
Visual Design and Platform Features
Visual Design and Platform Features
UX Growth: from first prototype to research maturity
This project was developed in a fast-paced, exploratory environment with no dedicated UX leadership. I led the definition of flows, features, and interface logic while navigating key decisions with stakeholders from World Vision. The experience challenged me to advocate for structure, balance competing inputs, and deliver a working prototype under tight constraints.
In retrospect, I would deepen the Discovery phase using contextual inquiry and architecture validation methods such as card sorting and sketch-based ideation. I also see clear opportunities for optimizing dashboards by user role—prioritizing clarity, feedback loops, and measurable outcomes.
More than a delivery, this project marked a shift in how I now approach design systems, collaboration, and research maturity.