Online Donations Software
Launched an online donations platform that processes over $100K in donations annually
Brick River Donations is an online fundraising product built from the ground up and integrated into Brick River's existing nonprofit CRM. It helps organizations create donation pages, collect one-time and recurring gifts, and manage fundraising campaigns.
Working alongside three back-end developers, I was responsible for the product's UX/UI design and front-end development, from user research and initial workflows through development, quality assurance testing, and launch. My focus was on simplifying the donor experience while giving nonprofits greater flexibility to manage their fundraising efforts.
Design ChallengeDesign a high-converting donation platform while giving nonprofits the flexibility to manage campaigns, payments, and donor information.
User Research
During a user meeting with 80 nonprofit professionals, group discussions revealed a need for integrated campaign management, reusable content, and donation pages that demonstrate fundraising impact.
These insights helped shape the new donation platform integrated into Brick River's CRM, giving nonprofits tools to manage campaigns and engage donors.
Personas
Using insights from this qualitative research, I developed user personas to identify key audience needs and guide the donation platform's design.
Design Requirements
Tell a Compelling Story
Use strong imagery, success stories, and clear examples of what different donation amounts can support.
Make Giving Easy
Keep the donation form simple and offer familiar payment options to reduce friction.
Show Progress and Impact
Use fundraising goals, progress indicators, and supporting visuals to help donors understand where their contribution goes.
Support Recurring Giving
Make it easy for donors to set up and manage ongoing contributions.
Build Trust
Use clear messaging, familiar payment experiences, and supporting content to help donors feel confident in the organization and the donation process.
Donation Page Design
I designed the full donation experience in Figma, including the fundraising page, form states, validation, and confirmation screens.
I incorporated video to increase engagement and encourage conversions, along with suggested donation amounts paired with imagery to help donors visualize the impact of their gifts. Fundraising goals, progress tracking, and social proof provided additional motivation to give, while giving nonprofits the flexibility to tell their campaign's story.
Form Prototype
I broke the donation form into manageable steps to prevent it from feeling overwhelming and reduce friction. Labels were placed above each field for clarity, with clear validation messages to help donors identify and correct errors.
To build trust, I added a security indicator in the top-right corner. I also clearly identified the message field as optional, making it easy for donors to distinguish required information from optional input.
Adapting to Technical Constraints
As development progressed, additional custom fields and payment requirements made the original donation form longer and more complex than anticipated. Rather than squeezing everything into the existing layout, I revisited the design to preserve clarity and ease of use.
Redesigned the Layout
I moved the donation form into a dedicated column, giving additional fields room to breathe while keeping campaign content visible and separate from the giving process.
Introduced an Additional Step
I separated payment details and fees into their own step, grouping related information to reduce cognitive load and prevent donors from facing one overwhelming form.
Real World Impact
The Final Product
Campaign Management
Custom donation pages, campaign hubs, and shareable fundraising links.
Flexible Giving
One-time and recurring gifts with credit card, ACH, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
Payment Integration
Stripe integration for secure payment processing and management.
Donor Engagement
Donation reporting, donor activity, and personalized thank-you emails.
Reusable Content
Pull existing CMS content into donation pages to maintain consistency and simplify campaign creation.
Customizable Donation Forms
Give nonprofits the flexibility to add custom fields and collect information specific to their fundraising needs.
ConclusionBuilding Brick River Donations reinforced the importance of balancing user needs with technical requirements. Working alongside three back-end developers, I adapted the design as the product evolved while keeping the donation experience simple and approachable.
The result was a fully integrated fundraising product now used by hundreds of nonprofits to collect donations, engage supporters, and manage campaigns.