Popcause | Laravel MVP of a Nonprofit-Focused App
Vincent Maglione
Popcause
Popcause makes it easy for nonprofit organizations to connect to volunteers and donors. Using Google APIs, nonprofits can add local events and attractions, upload media to their Google Maps listing, and manage user-generated content.
They can also create events and campaigns, and accept payments through the Popcause platform.
Task: Build an MVP/proof-of-concept
In October 2023, Toby C. of Popcause contracted me to build a proof-of-concept for Popcause. We worked together to define a goal for getting the app to a demo-able state.
By January, we had a fully-functioning proof-of-concept, complete with Google Maps-powered location search and payments through Stripe Connect.
The MVP consists of two parts:
The dashboard, where nonprofit organizers can create campaigns, events, locations, and interact with volunteers; and
The frontend, where volunteers and donors can follow organizations, register for events, and donate to their favorite causes.
The dashboard is built using Filament, an admin panel toolkit for Laravel; the frontend was built using an off-the-shelf design, modified to fit our app and brand colors.
Editing a Location as an organizer
Viewing event registration as a volunteer. (I used puppy images for dummy data in development. Don't hate.)
Challenges
We had a tight timeline to get Popcause off the ground, and I was the sole developer on the project.
Further, a large component of the MVP was its tight integration with Stripe Connect, through which organizers can accept donations and other payments. Connect is a fully-featured product, but tooling around Connect in the Laravel ecosystem is still in its infancy; so I had to improvise a few moving pieces.
Results
In about four months, we built an application with lots of juicy features:
Custom Google Maps Autocomplete integration with a server-side rendered live search
Front- and backend reactive UI interactions built with Livewire and some custom Alpine code
A Stripe Connect integration which enables organizers to seamlessly create new Stripe accounts for their organizations, and connect them to Popcause
A sophisticated roles and permissions system which enables organizers to invite members of their organizations to manage locations and events
Automated tests (over 80% coverage and growing by the end of the project) and continuous integration
Don't take my word for it. Toby said:
Vincent...brought great technical knowledge to the project on front-end and back-end components. In an early stage project like this one, I could trust Vincent to make sound design and architecture decisions that we can continue to build upon, even when requirements weren't always simple and clear. He is very thorough in his development process including setting up automated testing.
It was awesome to help an early-stage startup with their MVP. I'll be providing ongoing support and bugfixes as needed. If you need an app built from the ground up, you know where to find me!
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Posted Mar 19, 2024
In four months' time, I built a robust and well-tested application for Popcause, complete with a dashboard and custom integrations with Google and Stripe APIs.
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