Overview
Metrocare is Dallas County’s largest provider of mental health and disability services, serving more than 55,000 individuals annually. This project focused on redesigning Metrocare’s online donation experience to make giving more intuitive, accessible, and emotionally engaging—removing excessive text and helping the organization better support its mission of person-centered care.
A redesigned donation experience for Metrocare — built to be mobile intuitive, mobile-first, and emotionally engaging.
From the first screen, users see a clear donation CTA with impact messaging, reducing barriers and building trust.
The Obstacles Before Redesign
The existing donation flow presented significant barriers:
- Donation page relied on excessive text before calls-to-action.
- Donation buttons were hidden behind menus.
- No embedded form was present, forcing users to scroll to the end or email for help instead of donating quickly and effortlessly.
- A lack of trust signals (secure payment, confirmation screens) reduced donor confidence.
The original mobile site buried donation options behind menus, forcing motivated donors to hunt for ways to give.
Research & Design Process
User research included personas, problem statements, and journey mapping to uncover pain points and guide design decisions.
From these insights, the design goals emerged: simplify navigation, surface donation CTAs above the fold, and build trust through confirmation and secure payment indicators.
Key Design Decisions:
- Donation form placed at the top of the page to capture motivated donors immediately.
- Impact-driven messaging replaced long, text-heavy content.
- Clear, singular CTAs guided users through the process without distraction.
- Mobile-first layout ensured usability for smartphone-only donors.
- Confirmation overlays and trust signals reinforced security and transparency.
Final Mobile Design
Donation options begin immediately above the fold, streamlining access for mobile-only users.
Integrated impact messaging shows donors how their contributions support Metrocare programs in real time.
Additional impact messaging displays real quotes from Metrocare clients, and staff.
A clear form and confirmation page reassures users with a success message, receipt, and next-step engagement options.
Final mobile iteration combines clarity, trust indicators, and emotional storytelling to maximize conversions. Also included, are ways to share via social media to build engadgment
Final Desktop Design
The homepage now includes a prominent donation module above the fold, solving the buried CTA issue.
Program impact stories are embedded alongside the form to strengthen emotional engagement.
The donation form was restructured into a single, intuitive flow with multiple payment options.
A confirmation overlay provides instant feedback and receipts, reinforcing donor trust.
Final desktop screen displays additional impact messaging with real quotes from Metrocare clients and staff.
Design Outcomes & Metrics
The redesigned donation experience was built to reduce cognitive overload, increase trust, and improve overall usability. Based on UX best practices, industry benchmarks, and usability principles, the following outcomes were expected:
Donation Path Visibility
- Expected Impact: Up to 30–40% reduction in donor drop-off.
- Why: When CTAs are hidden behind menus, motivated users abandon quickly (Nielsen Norman Group). Placing a clear “Donate” button above the fold ensures immediate visibility and reduces the steps needed to take action.
Form Completion Rate
- Expected Impact: ~25% increase in successful donations.
- Why: An embedded, mobile-friendly form eliminates the need to scroll or navigate away, reducing friction and capturing intent when motivation is highest.
User Trust & Confidence
- Expected Impact: 20% improvement in perceived trustworthiness.
- Why: Secure payment indicators, confirmation screens, and donation receipts address one of the top reasons users abandon nonprofit transactions: uncertainty about whether their contribution was processed.
Cognitive Load Reduction
- Expected Impact: Decrease in time-to-donate from 90+ seconds to under 45 seconds.
- Why: Replacing long paragraphs with concise, impact-driven messaging improves scanability and decision-making, reducing the mental effort required to complete a donation.
Emotional Engagement
- Expected Impact: 35% increase in donor recall of campaign purpose.
- Why: Highlighting how contributions support Metrocare’s mission (rather than generic text) strengthens donor connection and provides emotional reinforcement. Memory tends to be stronger when there is an emotional connection (Kensinger & Schacter, 2008).