The Giving Gift
Co-Founder and Creator
During my sophomore year of college, I had a lot of time to reflect on what is important to me in my life. Philanthropy has always been something that I greatly value in connection with many communities I am part of. In the pandemic, we all saw the virus plague not only immune systems, but also mental health. That is when I came up with The Giving Gift: a site where people can donate their gifts from the holiday season they forgot to return or got two of in order to raise money for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Through this founding process it was imperative to create a solidified brand that could be trusted by our community and design an efficient website to raise the most money possible. I used Squarespace to design the website.
Role: Founder & Lead designer
Duration: 2 weeks
Location: New Canaan, CT
Mission Statement
Meet the Team
I worked with my mom and aunt to create The Giving Gift. As a family we were able to leverage our connections through different communities to attract a strong group of donators.
Brand creation and identity
The first step in the creation of this website was to establish our brand identity. The way I did this was through creating a name, designing a logo, and carrying the theme throughout the website and marketing materials. I created the logo and graphic in Indesign. The other images I used throughout the site were from Unsplash and some by my own creation in Photoshop.
Logistics of Donations
Collecting regifted items
This website requires a certain level of functionality so that users can make purchases and donations easily online and with credit cards. Making the method for which we gathered gifts was important so that we could add to our storefront on the website. The way we did this was by setting drop-off locations clearly labeled on the site and creating a form where donators could request a pick-up from their home.
Converting donations into sales
The next important step was to create a store front for users to buy the donated items. This conversion is extremely important so that we can get actual cash flow for our donations.
From this the screen of each product needs to be developed with images and in-depth descriptions of the product as to give users more information about their potential purchases. Users are more inclined to buy when they have enough information to fully understand the product they will purchase.
Finally the user needs to be able to add the item to their bag, enter their shipping address, add a credit card/payment method, and purchase the items they wish to receive. Creating an easy and secure line for them to go through this transaction was essential for us to gain donations through this form of sales.
Creating a Functional Website
Other aspects of creating a business came into play when building this foundation. I not only needed something with a cohesive brand, but a site that is accessible and works as the intended shop. Setting up this business with its own email, payment method, and shipping option was required for successful fundraising.
Reflection
Creating this philanthropic foundation is something that I am extremely proud of. Not only did I have the opportunity to raise money for a cause that matters to me, but I was able to advance my design experience. Teaching myself how to create a website on Squarespace allowed me to learn a new skill and apply the design knowledge I already had in a new set of ways.