The world was stunned when Russia went on to invade Ukraine at the beginning of 2022. The world showed support through technology but Caspio took it a step further. Caspio is the world's leading no-code cloud platform for building online database applications which have offices in the US, Poland, Philippines and Ukraine. When the invasion broke out, they offered their platform for free to anyone who wants to create apps for the people of Ukraine. They encouraged people to create apps that can support missing person directories, housing services, medical asset management and so much more.
We have always discussed how no-code can be beneficial as a business or start-up but we know this is now what no-code can do. It is a tool to make ideas come to life and even the non-profit ones. Charities, advocacy projects and crisis response teams often have limited staff due to their non-profit nature. With no-code, an investment in time and knowledge can go a long way without the heavy price tag. In this blog, we will see the potential of no-code to assist in creating projects that can directly make the world a better and safer place.
When the pandemic happened, the charity sector was not spared from its effects. According to Grant Thornton, an accounting and consulting firm, the charity sector is experiencing a period of change. This is driven by the digitalization of the economy, growing demands for impact and transparency, and an increasingly complex regulatory environment. Operational and financial stability are also rocked because of Covid’s effects on fundraising activities.
For philanthropies and non-profits, digitization can be beneficial through no-code and low-code. This technology allows them to custom build their own applications or even build websites without the need for a software developer on staff. Citizen software development is a rising trend that presents a lot of opportunities. With this, you can gather creative and functional ideas from colleagues who really know the ins and outs of the process so you can have a product that is highly relevant and customized to your organization’s needs. On top of that, it is more practical for non-profit organizations since it is cheaper to maintain and lower cash out. It can also be launched faster and can adjust to any technology.
Its uses are endless and can befitted to what an organization needs. You can use template codes which are like Canva or Powerpoint templates and you can just drag and drop functions based on your need. These can be used to improve volunteer approval process, merchandising inventory and even donation tracking for transparency. Here are some successful examples:
According to CharityDigital, Charities Trust used Appian to improve its donations and fund management systems, including streamlining on-boarding and lifetime relationship management. The new system is streamlining areas such as long-term relationships, visibility and responsiveness for charities across mobile and another online devices. This is critical since they receive £100m in charitable donations annually supporting 50,000 charities globally.
In Carefree, a UK-based, tech-first charity startup that provides free breaks to full-time unpaid carers using unsold hotel rooms. They used a combination of no-code tools like Webflow, Typeform, Pipedrive, Knack, Airtable, Notion, Intercom, Integromat,and Zapier to make this one. Carefree only uses 20% custom code and 80% is no-code. Through an agile “build-try-test-repeat” approach, they were able to create a user-friendly platform that makes transaction between carers and hotel managers frictionless.
Westminster Foundation for Democracy needed a way to evaluate its 60 programs worldwide more efficiently. The data they were getting is submitted in long Word documents with no standardized structure which made comparison difficult. WFD wanted to improve this process and tried to shop for systems that are practical and would work for them. After months of research, WFD’s Sonja Wiencke partnered with a colleague to build it using a no-code tool called Knack. They built a functional monitoring system that is customizable based on user feedback. The update was easy and can be done in real-time. Not only is it efficient, it boosted organization morale who saw their suggestions implemented swiftly.
The University College London used low-code to launch its ‘connect to protect’ COVID-19 reporting app for students and staff using OutSystems. This made it easy for students and staff to record symptoms, test schedules and results, helping the university to create a detailed reporting to the council during the height of the pandemic
Lastly, with the stronger call tocare to let Earth breathe, Temboo was born. It is the only no-code platform for environmental engagement which enable anyone to access and contribute to environmental data, building more empowered communities. It was used by Gowanus Canal Conservancy which lets local residents report data on storm water absorption rates. The results uploaded led to policy changes and grants, and build a new framework for smart city projects.
Technology is letting everyone solve problems, start businesses and so much more. Technology can also be harnessed by non-profits to maximize the resources that they have. When you think about it, this is the core of no-code. Giving everyone a chance to use technology with a simple idea. As no-code improves, we hope that it can be further used to improve the quality of life, save lives or create a better world.
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