The brief
UNICEF wanted a better way for supporters to give online. A standard donation form asks for an amount and not much else. UNICEF wanted donors to choose what their money would provide, such as vaccines or school supplies, and to give those gifts on someone else’s behalf. In practice that meant treating donations like products, with a catalogue, a basket and a checkout, while making sure the whole thing still felt like giving to a charity rather than shopping.
The team also had to run it themselves. Campaigns change through the year, gift items get added and seasonal appeals come and go. They needed to change donation options, prices and campaign pages without raising a request with a developer every time.
What we built
A dedicated e-commerce platform for donations, alongside a redesign of the giving journey.
- A gift catalogue. Supporters browse donation options such as vaccines, school supplies and other symbolic gifts, each with a plain description of what it represents.
- Giving on someone’s behalf. Donors can give in another person’s name and send them a personalised gift card. That turns a donation into something people share for birthdays and holidays.
- A custom CMS. Built around how the team worked, so they could add and edit gift items, set prices, launch campaigns and manage listings from one place.
- A secure checkout. A payment gateway handles card details, so they are never stored on the site.
- A shorter journey. Fewer steps from landing page to completed donation, with the cause kept in view the whole way.
Technology
The platform combined a custom-built CMS, a shop-style front end and a third-party payment gateway. The obvious alternative was to bend a general-purpose shop into shape. Building the CMS ourselves let us model gifts, campaigns and personalised cards exactly as UNICEF needed them, and keep the admin screens simple for non-technical staff.
The price of that choice is that a custom system needs a developer to extend it. It is the right trade when an off-the-shelf shop would need just as much custom work to fit, and the wrong one when it wouldn’t.
Deliverables
- E-commerce donation platform with catalogue, basket and checkout
- Personalised gift cards for donations made on behalf of others
- Custom CMS for gift items, campaigns and listings
- Secure payment gateway integration
- Redesigned, responsive donation journey
What this project shows
Charity e-commerce has different priorities from retail: trust, clarity and emotion matter more than upselling. The same applies to any organisation asking people to buy into an idea rather than a product. If you are planning a donation platform, a membership shop or a bespoke checkout, see our e-commerce development and CMS development services, or talk to us.
