Apps can be very powerful tools for any organization, especially for nonprofits and associations. Developing an app for your nonprofit may assist you in reaching more people, increasing brand awareness, raising funds for important causes, or improving your productivity. When taking the first step, developing an app may seem complicated, however, new technologies and tools make the app development process easier. The planning of the app development process is important. You need to define the objective of your nonprofit app and how it will provide value to your supporters.
Why nonprofits/associations build custom apps?
There are many reasons to make an app for your nonprofit. Here are some of the key advantages.
1. Collect donations/charity
Building a specialized app for non-profits would help to collect donations. You will be able to interact with users, organize exciting competitions, as well as timely analyze your donations with the help of an app. This, in turn, helps you to maximize your donor’s impact, reward the most devoted ones, and help you keep your most loyal supporters close. United Nations has a great app that allows people to donate for the meals. ShareTheMeal is a charity app, that allows you to seamlessly feed people all over the world with just a few taps on your phone.
Source: The image is taken from an Android app
2. Let members and staff interact with each other
Consider enabling your members to engage with each other and establish their groups. People thrive in teams with others who share similar interests and objectives. You could establish teams for various activities like fundraising events or roadside cleanups. Offering prizes for teams that raise the most money can further incentivize participation. Competition serves as a powerful motivator to encourage users to become more involved.
3. Collect information
Through your nonprofit app, you can gather extensive data about your constituents, which can be utilized to create more tailored campaigns. These campaigns resonate more effectively with your audience, resulting in better performance for your organization.
4. Raise awareness
Mobile apps enable nonprofits to raise awareness about significant causes. They facilitate direct communication with users, informing them about new campaigns. Apps serve as effective tools for spreading awareness, as users often share them with their family and friends, who may also download the app. The National Association of Realtors has a great app to educate its members about new trends and news. The images are taken from here:
Source: The image is taken from an Android app
5. Improve productivity
Nonprofits have several workflows in their operations, and by building custom apps, they can optimize the workflows. Productivity apps allow teams to perform operations functions faster and more efficiently. For example, you can have a custom app that helps your team streamline how donation items are distributed to beneficiaries and also provide reports to donors.
Steps to consider while developing apps for nonprofits
Developing an app for your non-profit can be a challenging but rewarding experience. An app that works seamlessly will help you build good relationships with donors and volunteers. Here are some important things to consider while building a mobile app:
1. Define Your Target Audience and App Goals
In the first stage of building a mobile app for your non-profit organization, you should identify your goals and target audience. Make sure that your app is built to fit the objectives of your organization and the requirements of your target users at the same time. Define the functions you want the app to perform, e.g. donation processing, event registration, QR code scans, or volunteer sign-up. Additionally, consider the primary users of the app: are they donors who want to give funds, volunteers who seek to engage, or participants of the programs who require certain resources? Learning about your audience lets you develop an app that is easy to use and tailored to your audience’s specific needs. After you understand your objectives, you can proceed with the next app development stage.
2. Identify Your App Features
It is necessary to identify the main features that suit your needs as well as the main functionality of your app. Make a list of all the features you plan to incorporate in it, for example, online donation processing, event registration, volunteer sign-up, or program resources. Find out which features are important and which ones can be eliminated. Moreover, evaluate any integrations that you may need, e.g. social media, payment gateways, or email marketing platforms.
3. Determine your budget
Setting a budget for the app can be a difficult task. It depends on so many factors such as app size, complexity, features, and many more. The cost of app development mainly depends on who will build your app. Are you planning to design it yourself? Will you choose a low-code platform, use offshore developers, or hire a freelancer or an app agency for that? Digital projects need maintenance, so make sure you take that into account when you budget. The more platforms you want to cover the greater the maintenance cost. You can also use the app cost calculator to estimate the budget.
4. Find the best app development team
Hiring the right app development company is a critical factor in building a nonprofit app. There are several app development companies available in the global market. Assessing them regarding their experience, portfolio, technology, location, and many more is very important to build quality apps. It will guarantee that your app is bug-free, offers the needed functionality at a reasonable price, and fulfills your business requirements.
5. Design an Intuitive and User-Friendly Interface
When developing an app for your non-profit you should focus on creating a user-friendly interface (UI). User-friendly UI lets users navigate through the app without hassle. This feature simplifies searching as it enables users to locate the needed features. On the other hand, using your branding assets, for instance, colors or logos, assists in creating a consistent and recognizable experience. A good UI can present your app as an engaging one.
6. Choose the Most Suitable Platform for App Development
After finalizing your non-profit app features and functionality, it’s time to select a platform or framework for your app development. Now there are many options: native app development, hybrid app development, and web app development. Native apps are specially built for either iOS or Android platforms and have enhanced performance, however, they require significant time and resources for development.
- Mobile Apps: Native apps are specifically built to work on a particular operating system, such as iOS, Android, or Windows. This implies that each app requires its distinct codebase. Consequently, if you intend to launch your app on Android and iOS platforms, you must develop two separate apps.
Cross-platform mobile development is a strategy for creating software applications that work seamlessly across various mobile operating systems or platforms. These apps are accessible irrespective of the operating system running on the mobile device. They feature reusable code that can be utilized across multiple platforms, streamlining development and reducing costs, especially for repetitive tasks. Faster development often results in quicker time to market for the app. - Web Apps: Web Apps are software programs that can be used with a web browser through a URL, no matter where it is on a mobile or desktop device. The advantage of a web app is that users don’t need to install it from an app store. They have one code base, which performs on all mobile platforms. Nonetheless, web apps often have fewer functionalities than native mobile applications.
- Progressive Web Apps: A progressive web app combines elements of both native mobile apps and web applications, representing a new and innovative technology. Users can operate PWAs through the browser, no need to download them from app stores. Despite this similarity to web apps, PWAs function similarly to native apps, including offline capabilities. Developers utilize web technologies such as HTML5 and JavaScript to build PWAs. Furthermore, PWAs can utilize built-in device features like the camera, further blurring the line between web and native apps.
7. Test Your App to Optimize It and Debug It
After you’ve designed and built the app for your non-profit organization, you must test it a lot. The entire app should be tested, from the way it functions, how users feel, and how well it works. Implement quality assurance (QA) testing tools to catch any bugs or flaws within the app. Also, ensure that it is optimized for all devices. You may use beta testers that would help you with useful tips on usability and features. Testing and adjusting are the critical components of making an app that is successful with the target audience and can get more support for the organization’s mission.
8. Launch and Market
Launching and promoting your nonprofit application is the key to success. Begin with a team-building launch plan with SMM, email campaigns, and press releases. Use your networks and connections to leverage on marketing your app release. Moreover, launching giveaways or incentives for early downloads can attract more users. Through continuous engagement and feedback loops with the users post-launch, you will be able to refine your application and improve its effectiveness in achieving your nonprofit’s mission.
Conclusion
The mobile app development for your non-profit can help you to reach a wider audience, get more donations, increase productivity amongst your staff, and add additional value to your customers/clients. Creating a new application itself could be a rewarding and highly entertaining experience, if the idea seems to be too much, try not to be getting scared. Get in touch and let’s do it!
Simpalm has 13+ years of hands-on experience in app development for Nonprofit industry. We will help you build the app of your dreams and guide you through designing the exact features you may need to solve your existing problems. Whatever it may be such as adding that essential feature, or simplifying the design– we are here to help you.
