Client: CURE

Role: UX Researcher & Designer

Methods: Competitive Analysis, Stakeholder Interview, Concept Mapping, Interactive prototyping

Tools: Figma, Figjam, Loom,

Group Deliverables: Touchpoint Map, Video Presentation

An organization with a mission

CURE, a MN based non profit organization founded in 1992, is rooted in the movement for rural social justice. The community based grassroots leader works in the areas of climate, energy, rural democracy, water, and connecting people with nature.

With a focus on civic engagement, CURE works to move people to action and build power within rural communities.

CURE’s goal is to expand its audience & members beyond its current active volunteers who’ve been with the organization from the beginning. They know that active and passionate individuals are often involved in multiple organizations and may have limited bandwidth. The client goal for this project was to:

A need to expand their reach

Reach more passionate people by spreading CURE’s mission

  • Better strategies for building our base and connecting

  • Feel connected without being face to face

  • Ways that people communicate have changed

Get them to get involved & take action, despite their limited bandwidth

  • Increase website interactivity

  • Getting people to fill out forms

  • Engage in petitions & public comments

How do we help CURE reach new audiences and initiate action?

With a clear goal in mine, my team set out to develop a strategy to help CURE accomplish it. We asked ourselves..

  • CURE has a (limited) dedicated base of volunteers who’ve been with them from the organizations beginnings, more than 30 years ago.

    They have a facebook page advertising community events and action alerts.

    They have a youtube channel that hosts compelling stories of people living and working in rural communities.

  • There are likely many people who care about CURE initiatives who do not know they they exist.

    While CURE does have social media accounts, the traffic and engagement is limited and could be expanded and better utilized.

  • CURE’s website is a main source of information for users. There is a lot of good information on the site, but there is an opportunity for improvement in how the content is displayed.

    The facebook page includes information about community events and action alerts, but doesn’t seem to receive frequent engagement.

    CURE has found little success with cold calling and door knocking, and is looking for other ways to connect with people.

  • CURE knows that the people in rural communities who care about environmental justice are spread thin trying to support multiple organizations and initiatives. People may not be able to help simply because they do not have the time or energy along with other responsibilities.

    People may not take action if they aren’t clear on how to do it. The harder they have to work to find the information they need and complete the task, the less likely they are to follow through.

Our team worked together to develop a guiding strategy statement and prototype plan. This process was complex for a variety of reasons, and required clear communication, active listening and task delegation.

Not a simple answer

Some roadblocks along the way required our team to pivot, iterate, and lean strongly on our user & client goals.

  • Our team members come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, giving us each a unique perspective on this problem. With a plethora of ideas for possible solutions, we had to work hard to narrow our focus and come to agreement on a solution that would best fit the needs of our users and aligned with client goals and capabilities. We did this by focusing on that intersection of both the client and user goals.

  • We learned a great deal about CURE’s mission and goals during the client intake interview, but still ended up with more questions as we iterated and brainstormed solutions. With limited communication with the client, we had to move forward with thoughtful decisions, despite not having all of the knowledge and information we wish we did.

A mobile strategy focused on reaching a younger audience

Reaching a younger audience through TIKTOK and social media

“If a nonprofit wants to reach people they must go where they are, which is TikTok. As of 2023, there are over 1 billion active users across 154 countries.”

  • Videos less than 15 seconds have a higher engagement rate than long-form media. Attention spans are short right now, and TikTok capitalizes on that. You can, too.

    TikToks are easily shareable. The unique ability of TikToks to go viral and impact millions in the span of a few days holds great potential for cultural influence. So why not leverage it to raise awareness for your cause?

    It’s cost-effective. TikToks are easy and quick to make and require little to no additional resources.

The majority of younger users are going to be accessing CURE’s site on their mobile device, whether clicking on a link in TikTok or coming from the facebook page.

Improved mobile site with clear messaging & calls to action

  • The current mobile site would benefit from improved hierarchy, with visual and scannable content that clearly communicates to users how they can easily get involved and take action.

Strategy in action

Our strategy included multiple user flows, with users accessing CURE content through a variety of access points, including TikTok, facebook, Flyers and the mobile site. Illustrated below is the user flow in which I was responsible for prototyping.

Step 1: Reach more people..

A millennial user sees a CURE flyer in a coffee shop. He scans it, connects to the content, and scans the QR code to visit the Facebook page

On the facebook site, the user sees an action alert post. He easily and quickly scans it to understand what they are asking him to do, why, and how long it should take.

Step 2: Capture Attention & Encourage Action

Recommended Facebook Call to Action

  • Purposeful visuals, language and layout communicate to the user what they need to know (What they are being asked to do, why it matters, and how long it should take), before they even click on the link. The goal is to increase the chance that they will stop scrolling, continue to the CURE website and complete the action.

Current Facebook Call to Action

The user follows the facebook link to the “Action Alert” screen on the mobile site. They scroll down to fill out the message form, review the confirmation message, and the click on the logo to explore the homepage and learn more about CURE.

Step 3: Take action on the CURE mobile site

  • The action alert design immediately gives the user all the information they need to know about what “taking action” involves.

    They are visually guided down the scannable screen to see what they are being asked to do, why they should do it, and how long it will take.

    The comment form is also altered for maximum user experience (if CURE has this customizing capability within Fast Action)

  • The confirmation screen is multi purpose. It provides users feedback to let them know they successfully submitted the form, thanks them, and tells them that their action matters. This could be important in acquiring repeat action takers.

  • The homepage features a revised header, shrinking the logo and moving the hamburger menu up, to free up valuable viewing space below.

    Without scrolling, users immediately see the most important things (header describing what CURE does, & the “Get Involved” call to action.

    They also have the option of viewing a short, compelling video to get a better idea of who CURE is.

The design for the mobile site was centered around improved hierarchy and better use of meaningful visuals to allow users to see the most important information without having to scroll endlessly and search.

Design Strategy Presentation

A hopeful future

Our team’s strategy focused on reaching and engaging young, passionate people living in rural communities through an improved mobile experience and increase action points via social media.

By implementing this strategy we expect to see an increase in CURE’s website traffic and social media interactions, an expanded volunteer base, and a growing number of people completing the action alert opportunities.

It was a pleasure working with CURE to help them grow their audience and deepen their impact within rural communities.