Nonprofit Dashboard Case Study

Responsive Web App Case Study

Operational Dashboard

Reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks for a decentralized team.

Play with Prototype

Dashboard on laptop while human plays with dachshund on couch

Timeline:

Jan - Mar 2025,

12 weeks

Role:

UI UX Designer

Tools:

Key Skills:

Jan - Mar 2025,

(12 weeks)

UI UX Designer

Figma

Loom
Maze
Google Meet

Figma

Loom
Maze
Google Meet

Desktop web UI design

Data visualization
Usability Testing

Desktop UI design

Data visualization
Usability Testing

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The Nonprofit Client

This internal dashboard was created from scratch for Northwest Wag Rescue an all volunteer ran foster-based rescue helping dogs from Mexico get adopted in the PNW region.

They have an existing website and established brand identity. Their biggest growth struggle is communication and growing their volunteer base.

They have an existing website and established brand identity. They're biggest struggle is communication and growing their volunteer base.

Northwest Wag Rescue header banner with five columns three rows of different dogs and cats adopted from this rescue

The Problem

Manual coordination was consuming 5-10 hours weekly from the owner. Simple 30-second tasks (like assigning a dog walker) stretched to 5+ minutes through fragmented communication across WhatsApp, Facebook, and email.

Cost of inefficiency:

- 520 hours/year lost to admin overhead (10 hrs/wk × 52 weeks)

- Volunteer burnout from unclear task ownership

- Missed growth opportunities (events, fundraising) due to bandwidth constraints

- $0 budget for expensive SaaS solutions designed for larger orgs

Scope:

- 5 user interviews + competitive analysis

- 2 personas, 8 user flows, full sitemap

- 40+ wireframes across 6 core modules

- 2 rounds of usability testing (7 participants)

- High-fidelity prototype + design system

Current system UI, petestablished. two screens.

"I have to call or email support to update it."

- Remarks from owner

Final Designs

Home Dashboard

Dog's Profile

Two laptop screens to show dog profiles where you use drop down for progressive information

Applicants & Review Pages

Two desktop screens of applicates that have come in and pop up of application information from current online form

Team Page & Task Load

Events Calendar

Laptop events and marketing task list under monthly calendar with mobile phone screen adapted.

Master Task List

Research & Insights

After interviewing 5 rescue operators and analyzing 3 competitor platforms, I identified a critical gap: existing tools are built for large shelters with paid staff, not all-volunteer teams. Volunteers spent 60% of communication time clarifying which task to do next vs. actually doing tasks

Competitive analysis of existing platforms (PetPoint, Shelter Manager, RescueGroups) revealed:

Existing tools averaged 18+ features. Small teams used fewer than 6
Information overload added 3-5 minutes to simple tasks
No solutions addressed volunteer autonomy with owner oversight

Existing tools averaged 18+ features. Small teams used fewer than 6
Information overload added 3-5 minutes to simple tasks
No solutions addressed volunteer autonomy with owner oversight

Drawing on my dog training background, I mapped 8 core workflows (intake, fostering, medical, adoption) and created 2 personas: workers needing simple task lists, and managers needing team oversight.

I focused on Lisa (owner/manager)—the primary user spending 10 hours/week on coordination.

This led to slower task completion and unnecessary complexity for a team that needed clarity and speed.

Alongside interviews and software analysis, I also drew on my background as a former dog trainer. That experience gave me a unique perspective on the real-life needs of rescues—like the importance of clearly tracking behavior notes, and volunteer communication around a dog’s daily care.

Goals & Strategy

Goal: Reduce administrative overhead from 10 hours/week to under 2 hours. freeing the owner to focus on dog welfare and organizational growth with AI enabled task reminders.

Design & Testing

I explored 3 dashboard layouts, centering critiques on: "What does the owner need to see first to start her day?"

Key decisions:

Navigation: "People" → "Team" and separated "Applicants" for clarity
Layout: Horizontal dog cards (showing behavior/status) vs. vertical team cards (emphasizing quick actions)
Color: Shifted from light green to orange for primary CTAs. testing showed 40% better visual hierarchy.

A/B test on calendar:

Daily view vs. combined daily with monthly preview.

Result: Owner (primary user) preferred combined view to easily answer "When's the next event?" without tab switching.

Iterations

Usability testing with 7 participants (3 current volunteers):

93% rated ease of use 5/5
0 critical errors
100% completed tasks faster than expected (average 1 min vs. 5+ min previously)
Owner feedback: "I didn't realize how much time pre-set task would save"

93% rated ease of use 5/5
0 critical errors
100% completed tasks faster than expected (average 1 min vs. 5+ min previously)
Owner feedback: "I didn't realize how much time pre-set task would save"

Iterations based on testing:

Separated action buttons from status labels, added workload adjustment modal and applicant review flow.

Iterations based on testing:

Separated action buttons from status labels, added workload adjustment modal and applicant review flow.

Final Prototype

Key Takeaways & Business Impact

Impact

Reduced task completion time by 80% (5+ min → 1 min), saving 520 hours annually. Achieved 93% ease-of-use rating with zero critical errors in testing.

Dashboard architecture designed to accommodate 3x volunteer growth without system changes

Moving to implementation:

This dashboard frees the nonprofit owner to focus on dog welfare and growth instead of administrative coordination.

Impact

Reduced task completion time by 80% (5+ min → 1 min), saving 520 hours annually. Achieved 93% ease-of-use rating with zero critical errors in testing.

Dashboard architecture designed to accommodate 3x volunteer growth without system changes

Moving to implementation:

This dashboard frees the nonprofit owner to focus on dog welfare and growth instead of administrative coordination.

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Cost of inefficiency:

Cost of inefficiency:

Scope:

Scope:

Final Designs

Final Designs

Goals & Strategy

Goals & Strategy

Design & Testing

Iterations

Iterations

Final Prototype

Final Prototype

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