Description:

UNICEF Aotearoa, the New Zealand arm of the global children's aid organisation, faced a critical challenge: transitioning to primarily digital donor outreach and engagement. Their existing website was underperforming in acquiring new donors, particularly those willing to commit to regular contributions. As an entirely donor-funded organisation, enhancing their digital presence was crucial to sustaining and expanding UNICEF's life-saving work for children worldwide.

Our research with potential donors across New Zealand revealed three key priorities:

1. Establishing trust through transparency and authentic storytelling
2. Clearly demonstrating the real-life impact of donations
3. Providing an easily navigable, informative, and engaging user experience

These insights formed the foundation of our strategic approach, aimed at transforming UNICEF Aotearoa's digital fundraising capabilities and maximising their social impact.

Our strategy centred on creating a digital ecosystem that would not only attract donors but also educate and inspire them to make ongoing commitments. We conceptualised a website that would serve as both an informational hub and a powerful fundraising tool.

The website's architecture was built around clear task paths, guiding visitors from initial engagement to donation completion. A centrepiece was the interactive donation widget, allowing visitors to explore how different contribution amounts translate into tangible aid across various dimensions of UNICEF's work, such as Nutrition, Shelter, Education, Health, and Water & Sanitation. This feature provides an educational and compelling experience for donors, facilitating informed decision-making and fostering a deeper connection to UNICEF's mission.

Our design expression leveraged UNICEF's established visual brand identity, adapting it for a digital-first environment with a modern, vibrant aesthetic. We crafted a comprehensive library of responsive web components, ensuring accessibility across all devices. By integrating these with Prismic CMS, an easy to use content management system, we empowered the UNICEF team with the tools to independently create and update visually cohesive and impactful web content. This approach not only ensured ongoing design integrity but also supercharged the organisation’s agility in responding to rapidly evolving needs and launching online appeals.

This project transcends typical website redesign by directly amplifying UNICEF's capacity to effect positive change globally. Since its launch in September 2023, the new website has driven remarkable results:

- 476% increase in online donations
- 446% increase in donation revenue
- 560% increase in conversion rates

These figures translate directly into enhanced support for children in need worldwide. The new website has expanded UNICEF Aotearoa's market reach, engaging a broader demographic of potential donors through its accessible and informative design. By optimising the digital donation process, we've helped UNICEF Aotearoa maximise the impact of every contribution. Moreover, by empowering the UNICEF team with user-friendly web content management tools, we've reduced administrative overhead, ensuring more resources are directed to aid efforts.

This project not only revolutionised UNICEF Aotearoa's digital presence but also positioned them as innovators in the digital charity space, setting a new standard for online engagement in humanitarian aid.