Allies Connect, KSU Capstone

about the project

What is Allies Connect?

Allies Connect is a mobile-friendly platform designed to make it easier for people to find the help they need, when they need it. It also gives nonprofits a simple way to manage their resources, events, and volunteers all in one place.

For many people, finding support like food, shelter, or crisis services isn't easy. Information is often scattered across different websites, social media pages, and documents, making it overwhelming, especially in urgent situations. Allies Connect brings everything together into one place, creating a clear and accessible starting point for users while also helping organizations keep their information organized and up to date.

The platform is built for three main groups: public users looking for resources and volunteer opportunities, service providers (nonprofits and community organizations) managing their programs and events, and admins who help ensure the information stays accurate and reliable. Throughout the design process, our focus was on keeping things simple, intuitive, and easy to navigate so that anyone, regardless of technical experience, can quickly find the support they need.

core features

What the Platform Includes

🗺

Public Resource Finder

Mobile-friendly map and list views with zip code search, geolocation, and filters by category, county, and date.

📅

Events Directory

Calendar and list views for community events, filterable by date, zip code, and category.

🤝

Volunteer Management

Shift-based sign-up forms, slot selection, automated email reminders, and CSV roster exports for nonprofits.

🏢

Provider Portal

Nonprofits register, manage resources and events, and publish volunteer opportunities independently.

🛡

Admin Console

Recent provider registration queue, listing moderation, and a full audit log tracking all key system actions.

🔬

Automation Features

Features stale listing detection to flag outdated resources, and volunteer notification reminders to automatically keep volunteers informed of upcoming shifts.

our approach

Our Approach to Connecting Communities

The Allies Connect platform focuses on simplifying how users find and interact with community resources. By combining a centralized system with a human-centered design approach, the platform makes it easier for people to quickly locate services such as food, shelter, and local support. Built as a full-stack web application, it integrates resource navigation, event management, and role-based access into one system. Guided filtering and intuitive design features help users navigate the platform without requiring technical knowledge, while provider and admin tools ensure information remains accurate and up to date.

tech stack

React RESTful API Supabase Role-Based Access Control Mapbox KSU-Hosted Infrastructure

challenges and growth

How We Overcame Our Biggest Challenge

Early in the project, the team approached Allies Connect the way we would any class assignment, focusing almost entirely on technical implementation. That mindset quickly became a challenge. This platform was not built for developers. It was built for people in need, people who needed access to food, shelter, and community support, fast. People who, in some cases, may not be familiar with how to navigate complex systems.

This challenge became especially apparent when designing the resource filtering system. Filtering is central to navigating the platform's resources, but with guidance from our sponsor, Dr. Nytoyia Laughlin, whose years in community service gave her a deep understanding of the people we were designing for, we realized that some users may not know what filtering is, let alone how to use it. So we asked ourselves: how do we solve this?

Our solution was guided filtering. We incorporated visuals, intuitive symbols, and simple prompts like "What do you need today?" to walk users through the process naturally. These changes made the platform significantly more accessible, especially for users with little to no technical experience.

This challenge sparked a larger shift in how the whole team thought about the project. Our mindset evolved from "How do we build this?" to "How do we make this as easy and intuitive as possible for the people who need it?" By centering the user experience above all else, we were able to design a platform that not only functions effectively, but truly serves the community it was built for.

the people behind it

Meet the team

Five KSU IT students who designed, developed, and researched the Allies Connect platform from the ground up.

Sarah Holland

Team Lead & Full Stack Support

Served as team liaison and managed all operations, meetings, notes, scheduling, and presentations. On the technical side, coded the provider and admin pages, built the activity log system, led volunteer reminder automation, recorded prototype and demo videos, and helped with database integration and troubleshooting.

Neha Anand

Public Frontend Lead

Coded all public-facing pages including the resource and events finder. Led UI responsiveness across devices, helped with documentation, assisted with prototype video recording, and is in charge of the stale listings automation feature.

Aldrick Andoh

Backend Builder

Designed and maintained the database schema throughout the project, ensuring data integrity across all system components. Contributed to backend troubleshooting, API support, and requirements documentation.

Yacine Diop

Volunteer System Manager & API Builder

Built all APIs and designed the volunteer management system, including the shift-based sign-up form. Managed server infrastructure and led QA testing and bug tracking throughout development.

Alex Rogers

Researcher

Conducted all automation research, evaluating the feasibility, impact, and risk of each proposed opportunity. Delivered a Phase II roadmap to provide the next team with a clear path forward.