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Targeting poverty
Since 1988, Robin Hood Foundation has provided over $2.5 billion in funding to thousands of social good services in NYC.
One of the wonderful things about living in New York City is the variety of people and organizations making an effort to change the world. Robin Hood is the most prominent organization working to combat poverty in the city. Board members cover all administrative overhead costs so that 100% of donations go directly to each cause.
We’ve worked with Robin Hood to help strengthen and extend their current application platform and infrastructure. Among many technical challenges, Robin Hood’s many events result in periodic traffic spikes that require specific architecture to withstand.
We additionally built two supporting event sites that integrate with Classy for payment processing and Amazon Web Services for scalability and real-time support from our development team during various events.
After many months of strategy, planning, design, and development, we were incredibly proud and honored to announce the launch of the newly redesigned RobinHood.org.
On May 11, 2020, Robin Hood hosted a virtual benefit that raised over $115 million in one hour to support COVID-19 initiatives. Headlined by Tina Fey as host and featuring numerous A-list New Yorkers—from Jennifer Lopez and Jimmy Fallon to Robert De Niro and Billy Joel—the event drew massive attention.
We’re proud to have played a supporting role in ensuring that their website—the single point of donation—did not fail. The event finished flawlessly thanks to a highly optimized and redundant AWS server architecture.
Normally, the foundation would sell tables for tens of thousands of dollars to the city’s well-heeled donors. But this year, the organization is hoping to get one million people to donate $10 each.
Barron’s
Tina Fey shed tears after announcing that more than $115 million was raised toward supporting New Yorkers impacted by COVID-19.
Associated Press
User experience
Because Robin Hood has many stakeholder groups, part of the challenge was making sure everyone had a chance to communicate their goals for the site. We gave direction to Robin Hood’s team so they could review their goals, explore user stories, and create a preliminary sitemap. We also studied the analytics from their existing site to see if user activity reflected their goals. Our teams worked together to refine site architecture, and create wireframes and prototypes. The biggest challenge was creating the homepage, which had to satisfy all the stakeholders, use obvious calls to action, and be clutter-free.
We designed clear pathways to donation, a grant application, newsletter signup, volunteering, and event.
Style guide
Robin Hood’s brand identity provided fantastic opportunities for enhancements. We devised a vibrant and rich color palette. Existing logo marks and graphics worked perfectly with the fun new look. The new style is bold and inviting.
Iconography
A suite of custom icons, inspired by medieval European and Shakespearean elements, were created to convey a sense of playfulness. The site is adorned with a unique flair that appeals to our unadulterated feelings of empathy and kindness for our fellow New Yorkers.
New York is arguably the richest city in the world, and yet we still have over 1.8 million New Yorkers living in poverty.
David Saltzman
Executive Director, Robin Hood
Investors Conference
Since 1988, Robin Hood has provided more than $2.5 billion in goods and services to the most effective schools, job training programs, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and other vital organizations serving our neediest residents throughout the five boroughs.
Poverty Solutions Conference
Robin Hood and the Russell Sage Foundation have teamed up to present an action-oriented conference aimed at generating innovative approaches to reducing poverty.
Ongoing collaboration
The redesigned site supports the client’s goals with an easy-to-navigate experience that emphasizes their data-driven grant process and philanthropic work.
Our partnership with Robin Hood has been monumentally successful, and we look forward to continuing our work with them into the future.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the Robin Hood Foundation?
The Robin Hood Foundation is New York City’s largest poverty-fighting nonprofit, partnering with more than 250 organizations to fund programs in education, housing, health, and job training for low-income New Yorkers.
What was the main challenge the Robin Hood Foundation faced?
They needed a fast, reliable, and easy-to-manage digital platform that could handle surges in traffic during high-profile fundraising events like the annual Benefit. The site also had to effectively tell their story and inspire action.
What role did ATTCK play in solving this challenge?
ATTCK designed and developed a responsive, performance-optimized website with a flexible content management system, enabling the Robin Hood Foundation team to quickly create and update content without developer assistance.
What services did ATTCK provide for this project?
Services included UX and UI design, responsive web development, content architecture planning, CMS integration, and performance optimization.
How did ATTCK ensure the site could handle large traffic spikes?
We implemented a scalable hosting solution, optimized load times, and streamlined content delivery so the site remained stable even during peak fundraising traffic.
How did the new site improve storytelling and engagement?
The design highlighted compelling visuals, success stories, and clear calls to action. This helped visitors connect emotionally with the mission and encouraged them to donate or get involved.
What technical improvements were made to the site’s backend?
We built a modular content management system with reusable components, allowing the Robin Hood Foundation team to manage pages, events, and campaigns without technical bottlenecks.
How did ATTCK address accessibility and inclusivity?
We followed WCAG accessibility standards to ensure that the site’s content, navigation, and media were accessible to all audiences, including those using assistive technologies.
What was the outcome of ATTCK’s work?
The site now offers a seamless user experience, supports the foundation’s large-scale events, and provides a stable, scalable foundation for future campaigns and initiatives.
More questions? Ask ChatGPT here.
Credits
Producer
Gary Gertz
Alexa Rosato
Miranda Cavanaga
Designers
Masahiro Naruse
Karen Chow
Developer
Mike Cavaliere
Oka Tai-Lee
Mikey Badr