Volunteer App | Aishwarya Subramanian

I donate only on my birthday or donate on a special occasion to a charity. I wish I did this more regularly.

Connecting Volunteers with NGOs for Impactful Change

Timeline

8 weeks

Scope

UX Research and Design

Industry

Social Good

01 | THE CHALLENGE

After repeatedly struggling to find volunteering opportunities and clear information about NGOs seeking help, I often felt discouraged—and eventually gave up on giving back.

This frustration led me to ask a simple but important question: Why does this gap exist?

02 | PROBLEM STATEMENT

How might we develop an app that connects volunteers to events around their area?

03 | PROJECT OBJECTIVE

Connect Willing Volunteers with Real Opportunities

Make it easy for individuals to discover, filter, and sign up for volunteering opportunities based on their location, interests, and availability.

Increase Visibility and Support for NGOs

Provide NGOs and grassroots organizations with a simple platform to list their needs, manage volunteer interest, and gain long-term engagement from passionate individuals.

04 | SOLUTION

1 Finding the right event for you

Volunteers can search and filter events by date, location and event category type.
Read through event details before volunteering.

2 Chat with fellow volunteers

Join event groups chats to get to know the group and clarify any doubts you may have

3 Donate to Fundraisers

Browse fundraisers and donate to a cause in need
Be a Super Changemaker by giving back
Help spread the word about the cause

4 Collect Kindpoints and reward yourself

With every event you attend, collect kindpoints and redeem at the kindstore
Redeem gift cards using kindpoints

05 | DESIGN APPROACH

DEFINE

RESEARCH

DESIGN

EVALUATE

Problem Statement
Opportunity Space
Project Objective

Wireframes
Information Flow
Design System
Design

Surveys
User Interviews
Affinity Mapping
Competitive Analysis
User Journey Map

User Evaluation
Design Recommendations

05 | RESEARCH

Popular Event Categories

When are people most likely
to volunteer?

Are users more likely to volunteer if they were rewarded for their effort?

Are you more likely to volunteer if you went along with a friend/family member?

Would you be interested in knowing how many members are attending the event for the first time?

60% would be interested

60% YES

WEEKENDS

WEEKDAY EVENINGS

Children & Education

Pet Rescue & Care

Senior Citizen Support

Food Banks

Homeless Support

Disaster Relief

City Clean-Ups

85%

28%

42%

28%

14%

28%

42%

Have you ever volunteered
before?

66%
YES

Do you think there is a lack of information
on opportunities to volunteer at?

93%
SAY YES

92
SAY YES

06 | USER INTERVIEWS

My interviewees were 2x more likely to volunteer if they had an app to check events in their area.

To understand user motivations and challenges around volunteering, I conducted 10 semi-structured interviews. I focused on understanding their past experiences, barriers, and expectations.

Here are some of the key questions I asked:

What is your opinion on volunteering?
Do you feel the need to give back in a physical or hands-on way?
How do you usually find volunteering opportunities?
What motivates you most to volunteer?
What do you see as the biggest barrier to volunteering?

I wish there was a platform to look for events happening in my area for me to volunteer at, at least once a month.

If I could find something meaningful to do on a Saturday morning, I’d sign up in a second.

have a full-time job, but I still want to make time for causes I care about.

I just moved to a new city — volunteering feels like a way to find my people.

There are so many causes — how do I know which one actually needs me?

07 | AFFINITY MAPPING

I synthesized interview and survey data into an affinity map to uncover patterns, generate insights, and spark design ideas.

Based on the affinity map, I generated the following insights by grouping similar notes under similar headings

Community

When surrounded by other volunteers, the urge to do good and make an impact is higher

Chances of volunteering is higher when accompanied by a friend/family member

Comforting to know the number of first timers attending the same event

Act of Doing

External circumstances lead to internal motivation to do good

Acknowledging privilege prompts the action of giving back

When wanting to create a social impact they are not aware of where to look for voluntary work

Sense of Achievement

Internally feel content for making good use of their time. Higher 'feel-good quotient'

Provides a sense of accomplishment and purpose

Reward based gratification increases chances of them volunteering again

08 | COMPETITION ANALYSIS

Volunteering platforms existed—but not for the everyday Indian

I analyzed two apps in the social impact space in India

Ketto

MyKartavya

Ketto is a crowdfunding platform for social causes in India, while MyKartavya is a corporate-focused volunteering app aimed at making charitable giving more engaging for employees.

However, neither offered a space for everyday individuals to discover and sign up for volunteering opportunities. MyKartavya, though the most prominent in this space, lacked key features like peer-to-peer interaction, donation support, and most critically, accessibility for non-corporate users.

This gap revealed a clear opportunity: to design a volunteering solution that is open, inclusive, and community-driven.

09 | USER JOURNEY

The user journey maps emotional highs and lows across five key stages - capturing how users feel as they move from curiosity to meaningful impact.

Search

Find

Chat

Volunteer

Reward

Happy

Neutral

UnHappy

Experience

Excited about volunteering
Curious to see what events are happening in your area
Check the categories and using filters, search for events

Zeroes in on an an event
Excited and nervous to see what the event experience is like
Gets Volunteer Pass

Join the event group chat and get to know others in the group

Attend the event and feel elated about doing good for the community
Meet like minded people and make new friends

Collect kindpoints from attending the event
Gets rewarded for effort spent on volunteering
Gift card redeemed

Expectations

Easy search to find events in my area and within my interested volunteer categories

Finding and zeroing on an event quickly

Seamless chatting experience

Event starts on time and we meet our goal for the day

Small reward for time put into volunteering

10 | DESIGN

Wireframes

3 UX iterations made in my design

Based on feedback, I continually iterated my design over a span of 8 weeks and here are the 3 major improvements I made

BEFORE

AFTER

1 Joining the Event Group Chat

I removed the bottom navigation from the Volunteer Pass screen and replaced it with a clear “Join Group Chat” button.

This created a more natural flow, allowing users to instantly connect with the event chat right after registering, keeping them informed and engaged.

2 "Change You’ve Made”

A sense of accomplishment is a feeling volunteers have once they have completed the work. To keep the 'feel-good' quotient high, I decided to show the impact their work has had.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

3 Switch Effortlessly Between Chats

The original plan was to support only event chats for group updates and coordination. However, feedback revealed a clear need for private conversations — users wanted to connect one-on-one with fellow volunteers they met through the app.

Since Kindkrew is community-driven, adding personal chat felt like a natural extension to foster deeper connections.

Click here to view the prototype

11 | REFLECTION

Personal Takeaways

Bridging the Gap with Design
As someone deeply interested in volunteering, I noticed a clear disconnect between enthusiastic volunteers and meaningful opportunities. This project helped me explore how design can bridge that gap — and create impact.

Insights Drive Impact
User insights are the foundation of great design. Listening closely to what users need and feel was key in making Kindkrew more intuitive, useful, and human.

Iterations are key
Each version of this project brought me closer to the right solution. From restarting in Figma to refining flows, every iteration played a critical role in shaping a better Kindkrew.

What I'd do Differently

I would like to explore adding a gamification aspect to the app. With the collection of kindpoints users 'level-up' and earn an advantage.
Secondly, I would have also liked to explore the option of 'adding an event'. This could be by an NGO/Charity organization looking for volunteers.

Thank you for reading!

Back to Design Homepage

I donate only on my birthday or donate on a special occasion to a charity. I wish I did this more regularly.

Connecting Volunteers with NGOs for Impactful Change

Timeline

8 weeks

Scope

UX Research and Design

Industry

Social Good

01 | THE CHALLENGE

After repeatedly struggling to find volunteering opportunities and clear information about NGOs seeking help, I often felt discouraged—and eventually gave up on giving back. This frustration led me to ask a simple but important question: Why does this gap exist?

02 | PROBLEM STATEMENT

How might we develop an app that connects volunteers to events around their area?​

03 | PROJECT OBJECTIVE

Make it easy for individuals to discover, filter, and sign up for volunteering opportunities based on their location, interests, and availability.

Provide NGOs and grassroots organizations with a simple platform to list their needs, manage volunteer interest, and gain long-term engagement from passionate individuals.

04 | SOLUTION

1

Finding the right event for you

Volunteers can search and filter events by date, location and event category type.

Read through event details before volunteering.

2

Chat with fellow volunteers

Join event groups chats to get to know the group and clarify any doubts you may have

3

Donate to Fundraisers

Browse fundraisers and donate to a cause in need​

Be a Super Changemaker by giving back

Help spread the word about the cause

4

Collect Kindpoints and reward yourself

With every event you attend, collect kindpoints and redeem at the kindstore

Redeem gift cards using kindpoints

05 | DESIGN APPROACH

DEFINE

RESEARCH

DESIGN

EVALUATE

Problem Statement Opportunity Space Project Objective

Wireframes Information Flow Design System Design

Surveys User Interviews Affinity Mapping Competitive Analysis User Journey Map

User Evaluation Design Recommendations

05 | RESEARCH

Popular Event Categories

When are people most likely to volunteer?

Are users more likely to volunteer if they were rewarded for their effort?

Are you more likely to volunteer if you went along with a friend/family member?

Would you be interested in knowing how many members are attending the event for the first time?

60% would be interested

60% YES

WEEKENDS

WEEKDAY EVENINGS

Children & Education

Pet Rescue & Care

Senior Citizen Support

Food Banks

Homeless Support

Disaster Relief

City Clean-Ups

85%

28%

42%

28%

14%

28%

42%

Have you ever volunteered before?

66% YES

Do you think there is a lack of information on opportunities to volunteer at?

93% SAY YES

92 SAY YES

06 | USER INTERVIEWS

My interviewees were 2x more likely to volunteer if they had an app to check events in their area.

To understand user motivations and challenges around volunteering, I conducted 10 semi-structured interviews. I focused on understanding their past experiences, barriers, and expectations. Here are some of the key questions I asked:

I wish there was a platform to look for events happening in my area for me to volunteer at, at least once a month.

If I could find something meaningful to do on a Saturday morning, I’d sign up in a second.

have a full-time job, but I still want to make time for causes I care about.

I just moved to a new city — volunteering feels like a way to find my people.

There are so many causes — how do I know which one actually needs me?

07 | AFFINITY MAPPING

I synthesized interview and survey data into an affinity map to uncover patterns, generate insights, and spark design ideas.

After repeatedly struggling to find volunteering opportunities and clear information about NGOs seeking help, I often felt discouraged—and eventually gave up on giving back.

This frustration led me to ask a simple but important question: Why does this gap exist?

How might we develop an app that connects volunteers to events around their area?

Browse fundraisers and donate to a cause in need

Problem Statement
Opportunity Space
Project Objective

Wireframes
Information Flow
Design System
Design

Surveys
User Interviews
Affinity Mapping
Competitive Analysis
User Journey Map

User Evaluation
Design Recommendations

When are people most likely
to volunteer?

Have you ever volunteered
before?

66%
YES

Do you think there is a lack of information
on opportunities to volunteer at?

93%
SAY YES

92
SAY YES

To understand user motivations and challenges around volunteering, I conducted 10 semi-structured interviews. I focused on understanding their past experiences, barriers, and expectations.

Here are some of the key questions I asked:

I removed the bottom navigation from the Volunteer Pass screen and replaced it with a clear “Join Group Chat” button.

This created a more natural flow, allowing users to instantly connect with the event chat right after registering, keeping them informed and engaged.