A gamification concept designed for The Salvation Army to engage people to donate and help for a good cause.

1. Trym Stene
@trymstene - 2013

2.  THE SALVATION ARMY HELPED 30 MILLION PEOPLE IN 2012 (USA)
 AS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION THEY DEPEND ON DONATIONS
CONTRIBUTIONS AND VOLUNTEERING IN ORDER TO HELP PEOPLE WITH THE
NECESSITIES OF LIFE.
 SAMANTHA SPARROW, KNOWLEDGE AND INNOVATION MANAGER AT
VINSPIRED SUGGESTS THAT CHARITIES NEEDS TO FIND WAYS TO ENGAGE
WITH A YOUNGER GENERATION OF VOLUNTEERS, SO THEY DON’T LOSE
INTEREST.
Source:
What can charities do to engage more
young volunteers?
bit.ly/17KOU9j
Source:
The Salvation Army Services Statistics (US)
bit.ly/HL3QYX

3. CAN WE INSPIRE YOUNG PEOPLE TO DONATE CLOTHES AND HOUSEHOLD ITEMS?

4. CAN WE MOTIVATE PEOPLE TO VOLUNTEER?

5. THE SALVATION ARMY HAS AN APP FOCUSED ON DONATING
THE SALVATION ARMY FAMILY STORE APP LETS YOU:
- MAKE DONATIONS
- FIND A DROP-OFF LOCATION
- SCHEDULE A TIME FOR DONATION PICK-UP
- GET A RECEIPT FOR YOUR DONATION
- GET COUPONS AND DEALS
- KEEP TRACK OF DONATIONS
Source:
THE SALVATION ARMY FAMILY STORE (iOS)
bit.ly/17KSqAJ

6. THE APP IS USEFUL, BUT ..





IT DOESN’T ENGAGE ITS AUDIENCE
IT DOESN’T ADDRESS POTENTIAL VOLUNTEERS
IT’S NOT EMBRACING THE SOCIAL MEDIA GENERATION
THE VOUCHER SYSTEM ISN’T ENOUGH TO ENGAGE
IT DOESN’T CULTIVATE AMBASSADORS
 IF THE APP ISN’T REMEMBERED AS AN EXPERIENCE
IT’S EASY FOR USERS TO FORGET THAT IT EXISTS
Source:
THE SALVATION ARMY FAMILY STORE (iOS)
bit.ly/17KSqAJ

7. I WANT TO MOTIVATE AND ENGAGE MORE PEOPLE TO
HELP, AND HAVE DESIGNED THIS CONCEPT AS AN UPGRADE
OF THE SALVATION ARMY FAMILY STORE APP
RE-AMPED
DONATING
QUESTING
FOR GOOD
APPLY
DISPLAY
GAMIFICATION INFOGRAPHICS

8. THE SALVATION ARMY
QUEST TO HELP

FEATURE #1

DONATING

GAMIFICATION POWERED
USER SELECTS ITEMS THAT IS
BEING DONATED (E.g. clothes)
USER SELECTS HOW TO
DONATE ITEMS (DELIVERY OR
PICK-UP)
THE SA-REPRESENTATIVE TYPES
IN VALIDATION CODE ON
USERS PHONE TO CONFIRM
AND UNLOCK THE REWARDS
MOBILE APPLICATION

9. THE SALVATION ARMY
QUEST TO HELP

FEATURE #2
QUESTING
GAMIFICATION POWERED
GEOLOCATION BASED MAP

MAP CONTAINS QUESTS
CREATED BY USERS AND
ADMINISTRATORS

DONATION QUESTS WOULD
SUGGEST TO DONATE ITEMS
NEEDED AT CENTRES/EVENTS
MOBILE APPLICATION

10. THE SALVATION ARMY
QUEST TO HELP

FEATURE #2
QUESTING
(part two)

GAMIFICATION POWERED
QUESTS CAN BE TO:
- DONATE SPESIFIC ITEMS TO
LOCATIONS
- CONTRIBUTE AT EVENTS
WITH ITEMS, AS
MANPOWER, SHOW
SUPPORT, TAKE
PICTURES, SOCIALIZE, ETC.
USERS IS REWARDED WITH
XP, BADGES, AND SOCIAL
RECOGNITION FOR
CONTRIBUTING
MOBILE APPLICATION

11. THE SALVATION ARMY
QUEST TO HELP

EVENT-QUESTS WOULD
ENCOURAGE TO SHOW UP TO
HELP AS A VOLUNTEER FOR
DIFFERENT OCCASIONS

THE SA-REPRESENTATIVE
TYPES IN VALIDATION CODE
ON USERS PHONE TO
CONFIRM AND UNLOCK THE
REWARDS FOR
PARTICIPATING
FEATURE #2
QUESTING
(part three)
GAMIFICATION POWERED
MOBILE APPLICATION

12. THE SALVATION ARMY
FEATURE #3
GAMIFICATION
QUEST TO HELP





GAMIFICATION POWERED
PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE
IN ENGAGING PEOPLE TO
DONATE AND HELP
GIVES VIRTUAL REWARDS
GIVES THE USER A SENSE OF
PROGRESSION AND
ACHIEVEMENT
RECOGNITION
PROVIDES GREAT DATA
MOBILE APPLICATION

13. THE SALVATION ARMY
QUEST TO HELP

THE INFOGRAPHIC WILL GIVE
THE USERS STATISTICS OF
HOW MUCH VALUE THEY
HAVE ADDED TO SOCIETY
WITH THEIR HELPING HAND

A BEAUTIFUL EXPORTABLE
INFOGRAPHIC SHOWING
THEIR STATISTICS TO USE
WITH THEIR RESUMES
FEATURE #4
INFOGRAPHICS
GAMIFICATION POWERED
MOBILE APPLICATION

14. THE SALVATION ARMY
QUEST TO HELP
NOW FOR A LITTLE
EXAMPLE ON HOW
THE USER
EXPERIENCE COULD
BE
JUST TO PUT IT IN A
REAL LIFE CONTEXT
GAMIFICATION POWERED
MOBILE APPLICATION

15. QUEST TO HELP – HOW IT WOULD WORK
1
User downloads app
2
User logs in through social networks, or
registers manually (e.g. e-mail)
3
Gets optional choice to invite friends

16. QUEST TO HELP – HOW IT WOULD WORK
User is lead through a process where he fills out his personal
profile, uploads profile picture, and in general presents himself
– each little action leads to a small XP reward, if profile
complete, a badge.
WHEN THE USER IS DONE COMPLETING HIS
PROFILE HE IS CONNECTED TO HIS FIRST QUEST

17. QUEST TO HELP – HOW IT WOULD WORK
4
The user gets directed to
the map, where a firsttime-only message is
revealed
«Hey there! There are people in your area that
could need your help – By donating stuff you dont
use anymore like clothes, furniture, or household
items to the nearest centre you could really help
us out!»
5
App finds nearest TSA-centre through
geolocation and displays it on a small
map
6
Above the pinpoint, is a button
«Items that could help us»

18. QUEST TO HELP – HOW IT WOULD WORK
7
8
9
Button leads to some graphic that shows
items the centre is in need of.
Clothes, blankets, a microwave – and so
on.
User can select e.g. ‘clothes’ and that
activates the quest to deliver clothes to
the centre
The user gets an XP payout for starting
quest and gets two options, pickup or
delivery – user picks delivery

19. QUEST TO HELP – HOW IT WOULD WORK
10
When arriving at the centre, the user can
select a «donate» option in the app
(The app will tell the user to show the
phone to a TSA-representative)
11
The app shows a 4 digit code field. Since
only the salvation army employees
knows the code – they have to type it in
on the users phone upon donation and
press «confirm»
12
When code is validated – user gets XP
payout and receives the first badge

20. QUEST TO HELP – HOW IT WOULD WORK
13
The user can share the badge with the social
media world and apply text to it.
14
User will now level up, and receive the first rank – «Corporal»
(An experience bar tracks users progression to next rank)
15
The user can now navigate the app freely and start a new quest
or check out pictures, friends, the map to find events, his
statistics, and more.

21. THE SALVATION ARMY
QUEST TO HELP
NOTES ON THE
FUNCTIONALITY &
MECHANICS
GAMIFICATION POWERED
MOBILE APPLICATION

22. QUEST TO HELP
MECHANICS & DYNAMICS
DONATE
GAIN RANKS
GEOLOCATION
QUESTING
EARN BADGES
GAIN EXPERIENCE
POINTS
TAKE PHOTOS
LEADERBOARD
INFOGRAPHICS
WEEKLY USER
PROMOTIONS
ACTIVITYFEED

23. QUEST TO HELP
ACTIVITYFEED
THE SOCIAL LAYER
-
Friendslist
Activityfeed (shows friend activity)
View public posts by administrators
View friends activity, rank, and photos.
Invite friends
Share received badges, level ups (ranks), photos on social media
MECHANICS & DYNAMICS

24. QUEST TO HELP
MECHANICS & DYNAMICS
GEOLOCATION
QUESTING
QUESTING
-
-
There could be a small portion of onboarding quests to get the user
comfortable (upload profile picture, write about yourself, share the
app, invite friends etc.)
Different types (Take photo, attend event, different donating-quests, etc.)
Administrators can create quests and give superusers permissions to do so
aswell.
Quests have experience-points payout
Certain quests can unlock special badges
Quests available is based on user nearby area (radius)

25. QUEST TO HELP
MECHANICS & DYNAMICS
GAIN EXPERIENCE
POINTS
POINT-SYSTEM
-
-
-
Delivering a donation to a certain SA-centre should pay out the most points
– since that is the main behaviour we want to encourage, if there is a
distance from user to a centre, an algorithm could add extra points per mile
traveled to deliver donation.
Rewards points by: donating, doing quests, recruit friends, taking photos,
sharing on social media
Different pointmilestones trigger levels(ranks) and badges.
A progressbar is visible to user, user can see current amount and endamount before reaching new level (rank)
Point-score is not visible to other users.

26. QUEST TO HELP
MECHANICS & DYNAMICS
CHECK LEADERBOARD
LEADERBOARD
-
The leaderboard will show users achieved rank (level), the users
username, and the score is <number of recruited friends>
Leaderboard will focus on the user and friends
But – it will also be possible to see list of all other users
The leaderboard is contributing with data when the app is promoting the
user of the week

27. QUEST TO HELP
MECHANICS & DYNAMICS
WEEKLY USER
PROMOTION
PROMOTE THE USERS!
-
-
Every week end a new user is promoted in the activity feed
The one that has contributed the most (gained most points and been most
active), gets a featured post in all users activityfeed with some numbers
The app will also post public to all users if one user has received a big xp
payout or a rare badge.

28. QUEST TO HELP
MECHANICS & DYNAMICS
EARN BADGES
BADGES!
-
-
Users receives badges by donating different items
(clothes, furniture, household items), doing quests, taking photos, and
gaining ranks
There will also be special and rare badges that is gained through
participating in special event-quests.

29. QUEST TO HELP
GAIN RANKS
CLIMBING THE LADDER!
-
Ranks are decided by each XP milestone.
E.g. 2000pts = Corporal, 5000pts = Seargent etc.
Ranks are visualized by small icons
MECHANICS & DYNAMICS

30. QUEST TO HELP
MECHANICS & DYNAMICS
TAKE PHOTOS
CAPTURE THE MOMENTS
-
-
When completing quests you will get the option to capture the moment, if
picture is uploaded to the activityfeed and/or social media, the user gets a
xp-payout
Pictures in special areas or related to different quests can also trigger rare
and exclusive badges

31. QUEST TO HELP
MECHANICS & DYNAMICS
INFOGRAPHICS
SHOW THE USERS HOW VALUABLE THEY ARE
 The infographic will play a strong role in giving the users a visually beautiful
overview of how much they have contributed by doing quests
 The infographic should give users export/print options so it could be added
to their resume
 Another infographic could also display what items the Salvation Army is in
need of in the users nearby area.

32. QUEST TO HELP – THE BACKEND
The Salvation Army administrators would have a backend where they
in easy ways can update the needs of their centre, but also
add quests and events that is displayed for all users
They would also be able to post news and messages globally to all
users activityfeeds, aswell as locally in the spesific areas.
Admistrators could promote superfans and give
them permissions to add quests and content

33. HOW WOULD THIS CONCEPT APPEAL TO THE DIFFERENT
PLAYERTYPES?
ACHIEVER
EXPLORER
SOCIALIZER
KILLER
I suspect the killer
would get the least
benefits amongst all
the playertypes.
The concept is built
so that users XP
score isn’t
visible, and
leaderboards are
based on friend
invites and
ranksymbols
The achiever would
enjoy the feeling of
progress, gaining
ranks, achieving
points, while
increasing the
numbers on the
infographic.
The achiever would
have a lot of fun
using this
application.
The concept isn’t a
full blown hypersocial solution, but
there is a social
layer that provides
enough fun for
everyone to share
their experience
with friends and
others.
Explorers would
love the map and
geolocation system
that would inspire
them to share all
their discoveries
while doing quests
here and there in
their nearby area.

34. STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
- Inspires people to help through the digital sphere
- Engaging mechanics
- Constantly rewarding through challenges and
badges
- Gives users a way to promote themselves as charity
givers
- Could produce important data
- Will users be engaged enough to actually get out of
the couch?
- As the solution is now, it requires Salvation Armyvoulenteers to be informed about the app and know
the verification code to reward the givers
- The app is sensitive to communication, it must be
thought through and flawless. (better than mine :p)
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
- Easy to expand with engaging features (create
teams, geo-notifications. etc)
- Promotes positive behaviour, charity and helping
- Positive PR / Virality
- Requires training, capacity and editorial activity
amongst web editors and TSA-representatives /
employees
- Users could troll the application
- High cost

35. MY REFLECTIONS, THOUGHTS AND ASSUMPTIONS
Gamifying charity is a delicate matter
since you dont want to send the wrong
messages. Hopefully i have achieved that.
With a lot of activity in one
area, other users can get «scared
away». «I dont really need to do
anything, theres already lots of
activity in my area»
Leaderboard is something you have to be
careful about – Every donation helps, it
shouldn’t matter who is the greatest charitygiver. Therefore i chose to base the
leaderboard on ranktitle, and friendrecruitments (score)
I wanted to create the concept
without «notifications» – We have
already plenty of applications that
is craving for attention, i don’t
want the app to beg for it, rather
let the app be strong with its own
intentions.