Caring Crowd: Uniting users to improve public health

Summary

Challenge 

Launching a new crowdfunding platform that could make a meaningful impact on improving public health.

Solution 

• A flexible CMS that enables Johnson & Johnson to adjust content as often as needed

• Panel-reviewed projects that carry legitimacy on improving public health

• User-friendly website that is responsive to any device and uses PayPal to process donations

Results

• A fully-functional platform launched in just six months

• At least one project reached its funding goal every month since October, totaling nearly $90,000

• Improving public health through the power of enterprise

Challenge

Johnson & Johnson set out on an ambitious journey to launch CaringCrowd.org, a crowdfunding platform built to support public health initiatives in communities worldwide. Not only did the platform have to compete with well-established players in the crowdfunding space, but it also critically needed to forge connections between NGOs, communities and individuals in order to fulfill its mission of improving public health.

The platform went live in September 2015 and has already raised tens of thousands of dollars to fund projects globally.

Solution

Knowing that it needed a partner that could lead end-to-end delivery of the project, Johnson & Johnson selected CI&T to build out all aspects of the platform. From user experience design to content creation, CI&T used its proven Agile Growth methodology in order to develop a holistic platform centered around the mission of improving public health.

Importantly, Johnson & Johnson needed a flexible solution to publish and unpublish content on their own terms, and CI&T delivered by incorporating Drupal as the platform’s content management system. As a result, Johnson & Johnson has been empowered with the ability to adjust text on the fly without requiring a development change.

CI&T's role

In addition to the back-end execution, CI&T identified and delivered on the following front-end needs:

Validated Public Health Mission: In order to successfully entice end-users to donate to projects curated on the platform, the projects need credibility. To accomplish this, CaringCrowd uses a panel of experts that carefully vet each project to ensure each one aligns with the platform’s mission and fulfills legitimate needs based on internationally accepted medical standards.

Ease of Payment: With the legitimacy of the projects verified, users need a simple way to donate — the more hoops they have to jump through, the less likely they are to donate. CI&T presented payment processor options to Johnson & Johnson, and based on both companies’ experience working with PayPal, along with the processor’s security features and broad-based familiarity among users, they went forward with PayPal to accept donations from around the world.

Responsiveness: The explosion in internet-connected gadgets necessitates websites that are functional on any device, especially for ones requiring clean user experience like CaringCrowd. CI&T recognized this need and built a responsive website that easily allows users to make donations no matter where they are.

Identifying Gaps to Deliver Simplicity

CI&T’s Agile methodologies enable projects to move forward swiftly and efficiently while still allowing for tweaks along the way. Within the first week of the project, CI&T developed a proof of concept for the platform and was able to identify potential gaps and make enhancements to develop a clear, simple solution for the end user.

For example, CI&T recognized that since users would not be charged for the donation unless the project was fully funded, the payments could not be made anonymously. As a result, users needed log-ins for PayPal so that money could be returned if needed. CI&T identified this potential roadblock and used the information in the decision to choose PayPal over rival payment platforms that are less familiar to users.

Results

In just six months, the platform went live and has fully funded a public health project every month since October. To date, these successful projects have raised nearly $90,000, of which every dollar goes to the projects in full.

CaringCrowd continues to add projects and receive donations, proving the continued success of CI&T’s work to develop a solution that works seamlessly for both project organizers such as NGOs and the end-users making the donations.Through their partnership, CI&T and Johnson & Johnson have used the power of enterprise to make a difference in the world.