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ASK DN: Will you help me finish this fundraising app for Watsi?

over 7 years ago from , Conceptual Engineer. Dribbble.com/numecca

http://app.groundbreakr.com

I made this fundraising app over a weekend to demo the concept. It's been sitting for half a year collecting dust.

Right now it uses JSON I got from Watsi to display projects, but it needs manual entry of projects to make this concept work.

I've already discussed the details with Watsi, and would like to finish this app with a little help from my friends :) Anybody Down? Email me. trauma.barbara@gmail.com

13 comments

  • Netta MarshallNetta Marshall, 7 years ago

    This is rad, here's to hoping it gets finished up soon!

    1 point
    • Brendan SaundersBrendan Saunders, 7 years ago

      I love this concept! A buddy of mine just finished running 5k a day (for all of November) for a friend of his that's battling T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. http://callmeaaron.com/5kaday/ I bet he'd love to see this become a reality. I'll point him this way, maybe he can help.

      0 points
      • Numecca .Numecca ., 7 years ago

        Nice! I have JSON for standbuy.us

        You should check it out if you haven't already. Would be awesome to be able to fund people's treatment by crushing some miles.

        0 points
    • Numecca .Numecca ., 7 years ago

      Thanks Netta!!

      0 points
  • Matthew SaforrianMatthew Saforrian, 7 years ago

    This looks cool, could you explain a little more what this does and what you need?

    I'm going to email you anyways but I think others will have the same questions.

    0 points
    • Numecca .Numecca ., 7 years ago (edited 7 years ago )

      Hey Matthew,

      I was about to post this to HN, so I'll also drop it here.

      Rundown on the app:

      A brand purchases a charitable project by committing to its funding target.

      Users connect their Runkeeper account (fitbit/jawbone up/etc.), select a project to run for, and then for every mile they run, they'll accrue a micro-donation towards that project (provided by the brand sponsor) until the project is fully funded.

      It's Charity Miles with measurable initiatives, which I think is just a better model because when a user runs and shares that activity to FB, Watsi would get an impression in the Newsfeed showcasing the project that the user is currently running for. This advertises the actual work that they're doing rather than just the organization. I also think it's more interesting to share stories with a measurable impact associated with my milage. Stories are dynamic; they're constantly changing as projects get funded rather than the repetitive data of my milage as a stand alone update.

      It solves a problem for Nonprofits. Advertising is expensive, and NPO's receive criticism for aggressive ad spend, which they need to do to keep the donations rolling in so that they can continue their work. See Dan Pallotta's TED talk. The reliable source of funding is a nice plus too.

      Brands are presented with a more interesting avenue for cause marketing than what is currently available. With Cause Marketing, the typical trigger for donation is Likes, RT's, and purchase triggered donations. However, with a system like this, the brand is engaging and getting an impression in a lifestyle context where the trigger is "go work out." They're basically saying that "if you invest in you, then we'll invest in you AND the world." They're also getting what is potentially a timeline of initiatives through the projects that they've funded, which tells the (story) of their impact. I think this is a really powerful proposition to brands and I can go on and on about it.

      The take away here is that it's worth exploring. For me, it's something that I want to complete, but am not necessarily interested in ownership. These systems, which provide much needed support for nonprofits should exist, and so I'm willing to contribute to creating this. If you want to run with it, awesome! I'll help you get brands on board, and I'll help you with the design.

      It's in Rails.

      0 points
      • Zach JohnstonZach Johnston, 7 years ago

        Are you looking for someone to help out across the spectrum (back/front/design) or are you looking for something specific (e.i. just backend help)?

        0 points
        • Numecca .Numecca ., 7 years ago

          Hey Zack,

          I would say full spectrum, but if you were only open to doing backend work, that would awesome. Either way, awesome awesome!!

          0 points
          • joe andersonjoe anderson, 7 years ago

            If you could list out the different things you need help with, I'm sure several can contribute (code/design)! The idea sounds really cool

            1 point
            • Numecca .Numecca ., 7 years ago (edited 7 years ago )

              Joe, thanks for letting me know!

              Who do I need to complete this?

              A Rails Dev

              We can strip this back and finish something deployable in a weekend.

              Lots of frontend peeps have reached out. Thanks for your support!

              0 points
  • Sasha MSasha M, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    Great idea. Maybe it'd be better to take projects data from Watsi (via API or by parsing necessary pages — with their permission, of course)?

    0 points
    • Numecca .Numecca ., over 7 years ago

      Hey Sasha,

      The issue is that it's read only, so while projects are being funded through people's activity in the app, those same projects are being funded quite rapidly on their site. A project on Watsi could be funded entirely on Watsi.org and still be live in the app, so it's a bit problematic. After talking with Grace from Watsi, it seems the best way to facilitate this is to create designated projects that are exclusive to the application and are manually uploaded.

      0 points