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Section 15

Concept Prototypes

Early-stage design concepts — interactive ideas for what VOLY Next Gen could feel like.

These are early ideas — not final designs.

The prototypes on this page are generative design concepts created to inspire conversation. They demonstrate the kind of experience we believe VOLY Next Gen can deliver — but layouts, features, and flows will all be refined through co-design workshops, user research, and collaborative iteration with VolunteerNow. Think of these as provocation, not prescription.

At geniant, we believe the best way to communicate vision is to show it — not just describe it. These interactive concepts let you experience the thinking behind our approach to VOLY Next Gen. Every screen you see below was designed with a real user in mind: a student discovering their first volunteer opportunity, a coordinator validating hours on a busy Tuesday, a district administrator preparing a school board report.

You'll find five concept prototypes on this page — each targeting a different user persona and a different part of the VOLY experience:

💡 These prototypes are interactive — try clicking, scrolling, and exploring!

Mobile prototypes (below) can be swiped or tapped through multiple screens. Desktop prototypes are best viewed on a full-size monitor. Each screen is clickable.

Student Portal

Inspiration-first mobile experience for student volunteers

High School Student

Volunteer Onboarding

Zero-friction mobile sign-up flow with background check

Adult Volunteer

Opportunity Discovery

Location-aware browse & sign-up for opportunities

Adult Volunteer

Coordinator Dashboard

Day-to-day volunteer management for campus coordinators

Campus Coordinator

District Analytics

Executive-level impact reporting across schools

District Administrator

Student Portal

The student volunteer experience is unlike any other user in the VOLY ecosystem. Students are not motivated by compliance — they need to feel excited and inspired. This concept puts discovering the why of volunteering first: vivid imagery, compelling stories from real nonprofit partners, and a clear path from “interested” to “showing up.” Hour validation, Congressional Award tracking, and campus coordinator certification happen behind the scenes — the student just sees their impact grow.

Try tapping through the mobile prototype below

Early Concept Prototype — Student Portal

Early concept — not final design. Flows and features will evolve through co-design with VolunteerNow and student users.

VOLY Student

MJ

What will you do this week?

Skyline High School · Dallas ISD

Congressional Award Bronze

32 / 100 hrs

68 more hours to earn your Bronze

Opportunities Near You

Did you know? Students who volunteer report 19% better mental health outcomes after just 2 months.

Why inspiration first?

Research cited by VolunteerNow's CEO shows that students who volunteer see a 19% improvement in anxiety and depression outcomes after just 2 months. The challenge is not connecting willing students to opportunities — it's making students want to volunteer in the first place. This prototype leads with the cause, not the paperwork.

Inspiration Browsing

Rich visual cards showing real nonprofits — photos of kitchens, classrooms, food pantries, animal shelters — draw students into the “what” before asking for commitment. Filtering is available by category, distance, and award eligibility.

Certified Hour Tracking

Students log hours; campus coordinators validate them. Unlike adult self-reporting, every student hour is certified by an adult — creating an auditable record suitable for academic credit, TSP research registration, and Congressional Award documentation.

Achievement Journey

Progress toward school credit, Congressional Award Bronze/Silver/Gold, and personal milestone badges is visible at all times — making the cumulative impact of volunteering tangible and motivating.

Volunteer Onboarding

The first experience a volunteer has with VOLY sets the tone for everything that follows. This mobile onboarding concept demonstrates a progressive, zero-friction flow — from first visit to background check initiation in under two minutes. Minimal steps, no cognitive overload, and a check-in that feels personal rather than bureaucratic.

Try tapping through the flow

Early Concept Prototype — Volunteer Onboarding

Early concept — flows and field choices will be validated against current VOLY data and volunteer research during Discovery phase.

🤝

Welcome to VOLY

Join thousands of volunteers making a difference in Dallas-area schools.

Progressive disclosure reduces dropout by 40–60%

Rather than a long form, each screen reveals only what's needed for the next action. This approach is backed by conversion research across similar platforms. The prototype walks through name/email, interest selection, district selection, and background check initiation — nothing more.

Opportunity Discovery

How volunteers browse, filter, and commit to opportunities is the heart of the VOLY experience. This prototype demonstrates district-based filtering, card-based browsing optimized for one-handed scrolling, and a frictionless sign-up path. Tap a card, read the details, commit — three taps to a confirmed spot.

Try browsing and tapping on opportunity cards

Early Concept Prototype — Opportunity Discovery

Early concept — categories, filters, and card content will be finalized based on actual VolunteerNow opportunity data during Discovery.

Find Opportunities

Discover volunteer opportunities near you

8 opportunities

API-First enables instant, contextual results

The fast, filterable opportunity browsing in this prototype depends on an API-first architecture with well-indexed search endpoints. The same backend serves the mobile app, the web app, agency portals, and future AI recommendations — one source of truth, multiple surfaces.

Campus Coordinator Dashboard

Campus coordinators are the unsung heroes of the VOLY ecosystem — they manage daily volunteer activity, validate hours (especially for students), and keep agencies running. This desktop concept shows a coordinator at a Dallas ISD school managing their full volunteer roster from a single, tabbed interface: today's activity, the full volunteer roster, scheduled opportunities, and a check-in log.

Best viewed on desktop — try clicking tabs, buttons, and rows

Early Concept Prototype — Campus Coordinator Dashboard

Early concept — role labels, data fields, and tab structure will be finalized through workshops with actual VolunteerNow coordinators.

Coordinator Dashboard

This desktop prototype is best experienced on a larger screen. Visit this page on a laptop or desktop to explore the full coordinator workflow.

District Analytics

District administrators need a bird's-eye view — comparative impact across schools, compliance status (background checks, certifications), and trend data for school board reporting and grant applications. This concept demonstrates how a district-level dashboard could surface the insights that matter most: volunteer hours by campus, compliance risk flags, year-over-year impact trends, and exportable reports.

Best viewed on desktop — try clicking charts, filters, and school rows

Early Concept Prototype — District Analytics Dashboard

Early concept — metrics, visualizations, and reporting dimensions will be designed with VolunteerNow staff and district administrators during the Discovery phase.

District Analytics

This desktop analytics prototype is best viewed on a larger screen. Visit on a laptop or desktop to explore district-level reporting and compliance tracking.

What comes next: co-design with VolunteerNow

These concepts represent our starting hypotheses about what VOLY Next Gen should feel like. In Phase 1 (Discovery & Design), we would validate every assumption here through stakeholder workshops, user interviews, and usability testing with real volunteers and agency coordinators. The ideas that test well become the design system. The ideas that don't get replaced by better ones — that's the process.
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