uRai$e Development Plan
December 13, 2010
CS 410 Yellow Team
Omer Alsayegh
Michael Gordon
Athens Holloway
Filippos Raditsas
Wayne Stilwell
Jay Winborne

4
1 Project Summary (Stilwell) ...............................................................................................4
2 Problem Description (Stilwell) ..........................................................................................5
2.1 Problem Summary ...............................................................................................................5
2.2 Problem Characteristics .......................................................................................................7
2.3 Targeted Customer ...............................................................................................................8
2.4 Current Process Flow ...........................................................................................................9
2.5 Introduction to uRai$e .......................................................................................................10
3 Solution Description (Stilwell) ........................................................................................11
3.1 Goals and Objectives .........................................................................................................11
3.2 Major Functional Components ..........................................................................................12
3.3 uRai$e Process Flow ..........................................................................................................13
3.4 Hardware and Software Identification ...............................................................................15
3.5 Software Development Aspects .........................................................................................16
3.5.1 uRai$e Site Map .................................................................................................................16
3.5.2 uRai$e Screenshots ............................................................................................................17
3.5.3 uRai$e Algorithms .............................................................................................................19
3.5.4 uRai$e Database Schema ...................................................................................................21
References .........................................................................................................................23
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Appendix
Management Plan (Holloway) ............................................................................................ A
Marketing Plan (Raditsas)................................................................................................... B
Staffing Plan (Alsayegh) ..................................................................................................... C
Budget Plan (Gordon) ......................................................................................................... D
Resource Plan (Alsayegh, Winborne) ................................................................................. E
Risk Management Plan (Winborne).................................................................................... F
Evaluation Plan (Stilwell) ................................................................................................... G
Work Breakdown Structures (Gordon, Holloway, Stilwell) ............................................... H
GUI Mockups (Stilwell) ...................................................................................................... I
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In today’s rough economic conditions, many organizations are struggling to make ends meet.
Making matters worse is the inefficiency of traditional fundraising methods. Initiatives like Fill the Boot, charity car washes, and door-to-door fundraisers all handicap their earning potential.
For one, these campaigns are limited to a specific region. A supportive grandparent who lives in another state cannot come to a car wash and give money, for instance. Another issue is that these particular operations only accept cash donations. If someone walks by a cheerleading team outside of a grocery store but they only have their credit card, then the cheerleaders miss out on a donation. Another issue for the cheerleaders is who they are targeting. How much money would they miss out on if more donors shop at a different grocery store? What if people who would donate were not aware of the fundraiser?
The three major goals of uRai$e are targeted fundraiser notifications, social network integration, and support for mobile donations. Based on a user’s profile preferences, uRai$e will suggest fundraisers to donors that they may be interested in. Donors will see these fundraisers on the side of the uRai$e web site when they log in. Some will get email notifications if they allow uRai$e to alert them of new fundraisers that match their interests. Along with reaching current members of the site, uRai$e also takes advantage of social networks. uRai$e will have an application that allows people to donate through Facebook. It will also give fundraiser managers the ability to post Twitter updates from the uRai$e web site. The other important capability of the product will be handling text message donations. The hassle of having to register on a site to donate electronically can turn away potential donors. Donating with a cell phone is the most convenient way to give money, thus encouraging people to give rather than scaring them off. uRai$e will target small nonprofit organizations as customers. Unlike conventional fundraising methods, uRai$e is better suited for a nonprofit’s needs and offers more benefits. These groups will not have to pay for telemarketers or for employees to go door-to-door. It also eliminates the risk of annoying donors by calling them or coming to their home. uRai$e gives nonprofits a global market by utilizing text donations and the Internet. With this application, organizations are not restricted to just their local area and can receive funds from people all over the globe.
The fact that uRai$e lowers costs, reaches more people, and makes fundraising easier is why the system is the best option for nonprofits.
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This section will describe the problem, give characteristics of the problem, explain the targeted customer and current process flow, and then introduce the solution uRai$e offers.
2.1 Problem Summary
America is in the midst of a financial crisis. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the national unemployment rate was at 9.8% in November 2010, up from 9.6% in October.
That means that one out of every ten Americans capable of working does not have a job. Banks are also repossessing homes at high rates. In the first quarter of 2010, banks repossessed close to
258,000 properties. This was a 35% jump from the first quarter of 2009. Then in the second quarter of 2010 almost 270,000 homes were repossessed. In comparison, 38% less homes were taken in the same quarter a year earlier.
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Figure 2.1: Changes in Giving During Recessions
(American Association of Fundraising Counsel) uRai$e Development Plan 5

Obviously with a struggling economy, donations are being affected in a major way. The
American Association of Fundraising Counsel reported that there was a 3.6% decline in total giving in 2009. This was the biggest drop in over fifty years. Contributions to colleges dropped
11.9% in 2009 according to the Council for Aid to Education. This was the greatest decline in university giving ever recorded.
Figure 2.1 demonstrates the relationship between a poor economy and donations. This figure highlights how giving from individuals, rather than corporations, have a higher impact on total contributions. With the exception of 1982, each year that donations from individuals declined there was a drop in total giving. In 1982 despite an 11% rise in corporate donations, and only a
2.4% decline in donations from individuals, total giving did not even go up a full percent.
Figure 2.2: Relationship Between the Stock Market and Donations to Colleges
(Council for Aid to Education)
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Figure 2.2 shows how donations to higher education institutions are also impacted by the economy. Between 1969 and 2009 most years in which the New York Stock Exchange
(represented by the blue portions of the graph) suffered resulted in a decrease in giving to colleges and universities (depicted by the green bars).
2.2 Problem Characteristics
There are several problems with both traditional fundraising schemes and modern Internet-based ones. Door-to-door fundraising is not safe, and prevents donors from giving with their card.
Fundraisers where groups sit in a public location are also restricted to cash only. Another downside to these two is that groups are limited to donors in a specific area. Telemarketing allows nonprofits to reach a wider selection of givers. However with telemarketing, organizations risk aggravating donors and missing out on gifts.
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Figure 2.3: Reasons People Stopped Donating
(Bank of America) uRai$e Development Plan 7

Bank of America conducted a study in 2010 to find the main reasons wealthy households stopped giving to an organization, shown in Figure 2.3. By far the biggest cause was that organizations either asked for money too frequently, or requested too much. Other top motives to stop giving to an organization included wanting to donate to different causes, not approving of the organization’s actions, and not being able to give due to a change in circumstances.
Many websites exist that allow people to sign up and start their own fundraisers. Although these sites let donors give with their credit card and help groups reach people worldwide, they have a few drawbacks. These sites do not integrate with existing applications. Groups have to manually update their own systems in order to keep everything in sync. These sites also do not offer transparency for the donors so that they can see how their money is being spent. Along with failing to automate the sending of thank you letters and tax forms, these applications do not take advantage of mobile donating or social network sites. Donating from a phone is the easiest way for a person to give, and targeting social networks gives groups a larger pool of donors to target.
2.3 Targeted Customer uRai$e will be targeting nonprofit organizations that need to save money on advertising, attract new donors, and maintain communication with current donors. The National Center for
Charitable Statistics reports that there are over 1.6 million nonprofit organizations that are registered with the Internal Revenue Service. uRai$e hopes to capture 1% of this market in the first year of operation, or about 16,000 organizations.
The Urban Institute recently released a fundraising survey for the first nine months of 2010.
They found that almost a fourth of charities, 22%, were forced to use volunteers in what used to be paid positions. This was a 7% increase from the same period in 2009. They also discovered that the more money a group spent, the more likely they were to report an increase in donations.
This suggests that the smaller nonprofits are struggling to meet their financial objectives. In fact, data from the National Center for Charitable Statistics shows that of the 1.1 million groups that reported their revenue, almost 800,000 brought in less than $100,000 (see Figure 2.4).
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800 000
700 000
600 000
Number of
Registered
Organizations
500 000
400 000
300 000
200 000
100 000
0
< $100K $100K -
$249K
$250K -
$499K
$500K -
$999K
$1M -
$5M
Level of Total Revenue
$5M -
$10M
$10M -
$100M
> $100
M
Figure 2.4: Revenue of Nonprofit Organizations as of August 2010
(National Center for Charitable Statistics)
As an initial case study, the Yellow Team will implement their prototype to handle scholarships for Old Dominion University. The Yellow Team has contacts in the Office of Development, who currently handles donations for Old Dominion. They have consulted with Jonas Porter, the
Director of Information Systems, and Natalie Maccall, the Accounting Director. The group has a great understanding of the current process used at ODU, as well as what some of the current drawbacks are.
2.4 Current Process Flow
Figure 2.5 shows the current process for a typical donation on an online fundraising site. After being notified of the fundraiser, the donor goes to the web site. They then chose who they wish to give to, enter their credit card information, and the money is deposited in the group’s bank account.
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Figure 2.5: Current Donation Process Flow
These online sites can cause overhead for nonprofits, as Figure 2.6 demonstrates. This flow chart is based off ODU’s Office of Development and how they currently handle donations from alumni. They utilize a fundraising web site called Acceptiva. After someone donates through the tool, ODU must request the information from Acceptiva. Accountants then have to perform book keeping to make sure their donor databases are up-to-date with gifts from Acceptiva. They then make sure funds go to the right person or department, and manually mail out a thank you letter and tax form.
Figure 2.6: Overhead Involved in Current Process
2.5 Introduction to uRai$e
In an effort to help nonprofits meet their financial needs, the Yellow Team will prototype a donation management tool they call uRai$e. Some of the key unique features uRai$e will offer are targeted donor alerts, mobile donations, and social network integration. Based on a user profile, donors will be able to receive notifications about new fundraisers they may be interested
December 13, 2010 uRai$e Development Plan 10

in. They will have the capability of sending donations with a text message, and having their donation added on to their monthly phone bill. A Facebook application will also be developed to allow donors to give without ever having to go to the uRai$e site. Nonprofits can announce new fundraisers or fundraiser updaters by sending a Tweet to Twitter from the uRai$e web site.
This section will describe the goals of uRai$e, the major functional components of it, the modified donation flow with uRai$e, and the software involved in implementing the system.
3.1 Goals and Objectives uRai$e wants to make the donation process simple, while still maximizing an organization’s earning potential. Targeted fundraiser notifications and social network integration let nonprofits reach more donors than ever. Donors who log in to uRai$e will be able to tag different categories of fundraisers that interest them. If they elect to be notified of new fundraisers in their profile, they will receive emails with links to causes they care about. With this feature, organizations may receive gifts they might never have gotten otherwise.
Facebook Twitter
•
More than 500 million active users
•
More than 100 million registered users
•
Average user has 130 friends
•
People spend over 700 billion minutes per month
•
51% of active Twitter users follow companies, brands or products on social networks
• 26.22% of the World’s population are currently Facebook users
•
Tenth most visited site on the web
•
Second most visited site on the web
•
50 million tweets per day in 2010
Table 3.1: Social Networking Statistics
(PC World, Alexa, Edison Research/Arbitron Internet & Multimedia Study)
December 13, 2010 uRai$e Development Plan 11

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter give nonprofits access to over half a billion potential donors. Table 3.1 highlights some of the jaw-dropping statistics of Facebook and
Twitter. For example, these are two of the ten most visited sites on the Internet. Facebook users spend 700 billion minutes per month on the site, and over a quarter of the world’s population has a Facebook account. While Twitter is not as large as Facebook, it is the fastest growing social networking site. It exploded from 2 million users in 2008, to 32 million in 2009.
The capability of accepting text message donations is the other big sticking point for uRai$e.
Over 80% of Americans have a cell phone, and more than $30 million has been raised so far through mobile donations. Most of this money was from the 20+ mobile campaigns created to support the Haiti disaster. Giving donors a convenient way to give money helps nonprofits bring more money in, rather than scaring donors away.
3.2 Major Functional Components
Figure 3.1 highlights the major functional components of uRai$e. The top of the figure shows a breakdown of what is on the uRai$e server. The server consists of the web site, the database, and the engines used to send donor alerts, generate fundraiser suggestions, handle mobile donations, and process credit card payments. A user accesses the site securely either on their computer or their mobile device. They also have the ability to donate through a Facebook application. If they donate via text, uRai$e processes the transaction and then bills the cell phone carrier. After a donation is processed, funds are then directed to the correct online bank account.
Nonprofits can also post updates to Twitter from the uRai$e site.
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Figure 3.1: uRai$e Major Functional Component Diagram
3.3 uRai$e Process Flow
Figure 3.2 illustrates how uRai$e will modify the donation process flow. An organization will sign up for uRai$e and create a fundraiser. uRai$e then sends alerts through Twitter, Facebook, email, and text message based on donor profile preferences. When a donor is notified of the new fundraiser and decides to donate, they visit uRai$e and pay with their credit card. uRai$e then puts the money in the correct account and automates the sending of thank you letters and tax forms. The application updates donation history, and then updates the integrated accounting system if applicable.
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Figure 3.2: uRai$e Process Flow
Figure 3.3 demonstrates a sample text message donation. The donor sends a text to uRai$e stating how much they want to give and which fundraiser they want to give to. Each fundraiser will have a short, unique identification number for mobile donations. uRai$e replies to verify the amount and the organization the donor is giving to. The donor confirms the donation, and after it has processed, uRai$e notifies the donor their gift went through. It also tells them that their donation will be added to their cell phone bill at the end of the month.
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Figure 3.3: Sample uRai$e Text Message Donation
3.4 Hardware and Software Identification
No hardware will be involved in the development of uRai$e. uRai$e will take advantage of cloud computing, utilizing the Google App Engine. Not only is using Google App Engine cheaper, it is PCI compliant. PCI is a set of standards for servers that will store private information like credit cards. This helps to reduce the risk of identity theft. Based on what
Google App Engine charges, uRai$e estimates that it will cost less than $0.14 for every 1,000 page requests on their web site.
The major software components for the uRai$e system will be the uRai$e web site, the uRai$e
Facebook Application, and the “behind the scenes” processes such as posting a Tweet, forwarding money to a bank account, and billing cell phone providers when uRai$e receives mobile donations. The uRai$e web site and Facebook Application will be written in PHP.
Integration with Twitter can be done with Javascript and PHP, while the other processes will use web services.
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3.5 Software Development Aspects
This section includes a sitemap for the uRai$e web site, screenshots of select pages of the site, various algorithms the site will use, as well as a simplified database schema.
3.5.1 uRai$e Site Map
Figure 3.4 shows the various web pages that will make up the uRai$e web site.
Figure 3.4: uRai$e Site Map
Donors will be able to update and set profile preferences, view previous donations, setup their cell phone for mobile donations, and view new fundraisers they may be interested in. Fundraiser managers can view reports, create or stop fundraisers, manage funds, and export data. The site will have pages explaining what uRai$e is, how it stacks up to the competition, a sign up page, and a page to search for fundraisers.
December 13, 2010 uRai$e Development Plan 16

3.5.2 uRai$e Screenshots
Figure 3.5 shows the donor profile screen. Donors can save contact information and credit cards, tag donation interests, and set alert preferences. On the side, they how past fundraisers they gave to are doing and fundraisers they might like.
Figure 3.5: Donor Profile Screen
Figure 3.6 is a screenshot of the donation screen. Donors can view a description of the fundraiser, what their target goal is, how close they are to their goal, who to contact for information, and when the fundraiser will end. The site can pull saved credit cards, making it quick and easy for a user to donate.
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Figure 3.6: Donate to Fundraiser Screen
Fundraiser managers will utilize the report screen shown in Figure 3.7. They see all donation information for their fundraiser and are able to filter it. They see when a donation came in, who it was from, how much was given, and what means they used to donate. Links are then provided to give the managers an easy way to stay in touch with donors. With the click of a button, they can send an alert or email, as long as that user accepts notifications. Managers can see a donor’s phone number as well.
December 13, 2010 uRai$e Development Plan 18

Figure 3.7: Fundraiser Report Screen
3.5.3 uRai$e Algorithms
Figure 3.8 shows the logic behind the alerts algorithm. This logic runs every time a new fundraiser is created in uRai$e. It pulls all donors who have tags matching the fundraiser. uRai$e then looks at each donor’s profile to determine how they should be notified. If a donor wanted to be notified in every possible way, they would receive alerts through e-mail, text message, and social network sites.
December 13, 2010 uRai$e Development Plan 19

Get Donor Get Donor Tags
Find fundraisers with matching tags
[Found fundraisers]
Create alert message Get suggested fundraisers
[Accepts emails]
Send Email Alert
[Does not accept emails]
[Accepts text messages]
Send Text Message Alert
[No fundraiser found]
[Does not accept text message]
[Accepts Facebook]
Post to Facebook wall
[Does not accept Facebook]
Figure 3.8: Alerts Algorithm
The fundraiser suggestion algorithm is outlined in Figure 3.9. It is a little more complex than meets the eye. Donors will see suggested fundraisers based on two things: tags and donation history. uRai$e pulls all fundraisers that match a donor’s interests, or profile tags. It also pulls fundraisers that donors with similar tags gave to. Third, it pulls fundraisers that donors with a similar donation history gave to. uRai$e aggregates these lists, determines the fundraisers that most likely match a donor’s interests, and then shows the top ranked fundraisers.
December 13, 2010 uRai$e Development Plan 20

Get donor
Find fundraisers with matching tags Find donors with matching tags
Find donors with common donation history
Get new fundraisers
Get new fundraisers
Aggreate fundraisers
Get top ranked fundraisers
[Not for reporting]
[Done ranking]
[Get next fundraiser] [For reporting]
Calculate interest rank Get all suggested fundraisers
Figure 3.9: Fundraiser Suggestion Algorithm
3.5.4 uRai$e Database Schema
A basic representation of uRai$e’s database schema is shown in Figure 3.10. Some of the key tables are the Organization table (the nonprofits), the Fundraiser table, the Donor table, and the
Tag table. Every donor and every fundraiser has tags, stored in the DonorTag and FundraiserTag tables respectively. A fundraiser’s tags describe what the fundraiser is for. A donor’s tags tell what fundraisers interest that donor. These tags help determine what fundraisers will be suggested to donors.
December 13, 2010 uRai$e Development Plan 21

Donor
Id
FirstName
Lastname
Email
Phone
Address
City
State
Zip
Password
Tag
Id
Tag (O)
FundraiserTag
Id
FundraiserId (O) (FK)
TagId (O) (FK)
DonorTag
Id
TagId (O) (FK)
DonorId (O) (FK)
Fundraiser
Id
OrganizationId (FK)
Name
Description
StartDate
EndDate
Goal
CreditCardDonation
Id
DonorId (FK)
TransactionDate
Amount
CreditCardType
Last4OfCreditCardNumber
CreditCardDonation
Organization
Id
Name
Description
Email
Phone
Address
City
State
Zip
Member
Id
OrganizationId (FK)
FirstName
LastName
Email
Phone
Password
URaiseApp
Id
Name
AuthorizationKey
URaiseAppCreditCardDonation
Id
CreditCardDonationId (FK)
URaiseAppId
MobileDonation
Id
DonorId (FK)
FundRaiserId (FK)
TransationDate
Amount
MobileCarrierId (FK)
MobileCarrier
Id
Name
Figure 3.10: uRai$e Database Schema
December 13, 2010 uRai$e Development Plan 22

4 References
"Accept Donations and Payments Online. Church Contributions and Non-Profit Donations and
Payments Online. Acceptiva." Accept Donations Online and Non Profit Payments.
Donation Software. Church Contributions and Donations.
Web. 11 Nov. 2010.
Alexa the Web Information Company . Web. 11 Nov. 2010. <http://www.alexa.com/>.
Blackbaud Fundraising Software: Nonprofit Accounting Software & Nonprofit Management
System . Web. 11 Nov. 2010. http://www.blackbaud.com.
Choney, By Suzanne. "Mobile Giving to Help Haiti Exceeds $30 Million - Technology &
Science - Wireless - Msnbc.com." Breaking News, Weather, Business, Health,
Entertainment, Sports, Politics, Travel, Science, Technology, Local, US & World News-
Msnbc.com
. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34850532/ns/technology_and_science-wireless/>.
Council for Aid to Education. "CONTRIBUTIONS TO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
DOWN 11.9 PERCENT TO $27.85 BILLION GREATEST DECLINE EVER
RECORDED." Web.
<http://http://www.cae.org/content/pdf/VSE_2009_Press_Relsease.pdf>.
"Enrollment in Educational Institutions, by Level and Control of Institution: Selected Years,
1869-70 through Fall 2018." National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home
Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education . Web. 25 Oct. 2010.
<http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d09/tables/dt09_003.asp?referrer=report>.
"Fundraising Software Pricing Info, Price List." Fundraising Software for NonProfit Donor
Management DonorPerfect . Web. 11 Nov. 2010.
<http://www.donorperfect.com/fundraising-software/pricing.asp>.
"Giving Statistics." U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America . Web. 25 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.nps.gov/partnerships/fundraising_individuals_statistics.htm>.
December 13, 2010 uRai$e Development Plan 23

"Mobile Giving: Organizations Collecting Donations by Text | Mobile Commons." Web. 25 Oct.
2010. <http://www.mobilecommons.com/blog/2010/01/mobile-giving-how-yourorganization-can-start-collecting-text-donations/>.
Membership Management Software | Membership Software | YourMembership.com
. Web. 11
Nov. 2010. <http://www.yourmembership.com/pricing/>.
"Quotas - Google App Engine." Google Code . Web. 11 Nov. 2010.
<http://code.google.com/appengine/docs/quotas.html>.
December 13, 2010 uRai$e Development Plan 24