inKind was a giving platform designed to create transparency and emotional connection. Donors could see exactly where their money went by purchasing specific items needed for nonprofit projects—such as supplies for a Habitat for Humanity build—directly through the platform. Project stories and follow-up photos showed donors the real impact of their contributions, helping nonprofits build trust, stronger relationships, and more meaningful giving experiences.
I concepted and directed the logo in collaboration with Art Director Martin Buchanan. We developed a custom typeface for a fully ownable identity and selected bright, optimistic colors to convey positivity and approachability for both donors and nonprofits.
A video explainer (created with zero budget) was our initial rollout of inKind to nonprofits.
As momentum grew, we refreshed the brand and website around a core belief: meaningful giving is built through stories. I coined the term "Storybuilding" to reflect our approach—working with donors to help build stories of impact through each item donated. Every contribution mattered; the story only came together through the shared efforts of the donor, the nonprofit, and inKind.
Initially we had nonprofits build campaign pages asking for the items they needed to complete their projects.
Phase 2 focused on deeper research into our personas and user experience. Those insights led us to iterate toward a more social, story-driven project and campaign page.
The new experience was launched!
People could browse projects/stories based on location or by the story that spoke to them the most.
From a social media standpoint, the platform was a clear success. Supporters engaged with and shared the content, and nonprofits gained posts that truly resonated. Stop Soldier Suicide alone received more than $10,000 in donated items to help open their office.
As with many startups, the first chapter ended. We didn’t have the resources or time to resolve the technical challenges caused by third-party inventory and pricing changes through Home Depot. Before exhausting investor funding, we made a strategic pivot.
If the real value was relationship-building, we asked a new question: What if we started with what donors care about? GoodUnited was born from that insight—a curated content platform where supporters built their own newsfeeds around causes they cared about. We launched with military and veteran nonprofits.
I named the platform, directed the logo and web design and wrote the content. We were off and running. And our vision was still intact.
Supporters selected the topics they cared about and received content only from nonprofits aligned with those interests.
Supporters visited a personalized newsfeed featuring stories curated by GoodUnited. Nonprofits could also contribute their own content, which appeared in a supporter’s feed if it matched the interests they had chosen.
Nonprofits could see their supporters and the topics each person followed, along with detailed metrics and insights. This removed the guesswork and gave organizations clear visibility into what donors actually cared about.
Supporters received a weekly digest email with story snippets linking back to their personalized newsfeed. From there, they could choose to donate via a sidebar CTA. Interestingly, we found that including images in the digest emails did not increase click-through rates.
