Unity
When Help is Needed, People Unite
The problem Unity solves
Unity addresses the fragmentation and inefficiency in volunteer coordination and community engagement by creating a centralized platform that connects three key stakeholders : volunteers & organizations
Current Challenges Unity Addresses:
For Volunteers:
- Scattered Information : Volunteer opportunities are spread across multiple platforms, social media, and word-of-mouth
- Skill Mismatching : Hard to find opportunities that match their specific skills and availability
- Limited Visibility : Difficulty discovering local events and organizations that need help
- No Centralized History : Can't track their volunteer contributions and impact over time
For Organizations:
- Volunteer Recruitment : Struggling to find qualified volunteers with the right skills
- Event Management : Manual processes for creating, promoting, and managing volunteer events
- Coordination Overhead : Time-consuming communication and organization of volunteer activities
- Limited Reach : Difficulty reaching potential volunteers beyond their immediate network
How Unity Makes Things Better
Simplified Discovery
- Location-Based Search : Find volunteer opportunities and organizations near you
- Skill-Based Matching : Connect volunteers with opportunities that match their abilities
- Category Filtering : Browse by cause areas like Education, Environment, Healthcare, etc.
Streamlined Management
Organizations can :
- Create and publish volunteer opportunities with detailed requirements
- Manage volunteer applications and communications
- Track participation and impact metrics
- Build their volunteer community
Enhanced Tracking & Recognition
Volunteers can:
- Maintain a comprehensive profile of their skills and interests
- Track their volunteer history and achievements
- Showcase their community impact
- Build meaningful connections with like-minded individuals
Better Coordination
- Unified Platform : All stakeholders in one place
- Real-time Updates : Instant notifications about opportunities and events
- Secure Authentication : Trusted platform with Civic Auth integration
- Mobile-Friendly : Accessible from anywhere, anytime
Real-World Impact
Unity makes volunteering easier, safer, and more effective by :
Reducing Friction : No more hunting across multiple platforms
Improving Safety : Verified organizations and secure authentication
Maximizing Impact : Better volunteer-opportunity matching
Building Community : Fostering long-term relationships between volunteers and organizations
Scaling Good : Enabling organizations to reach more volunteers and expand their impact
Unity transforms volunteering from a fragmented, inefficient process into a seamless, community-driven experience that empowers everyone to make a meaningful difference.
Challenges we ran into
LogOut Problem with Civic Auth
Challenge: With the custom config below, if I set the value of "logoutUrl" as "/" (which is also the default value, according to the docs), the logout is hanging infinity. This was extremely time consuming & challenging to fix.
import { createCivicAuthPlugin } from "@civic/auth/nextjs"; const withCivicAuth = createCivicAuthPlugin({ clientId: process.env.CIVIC_AUTH_CLIENT_ID!, loginUrl: "/signin", loginSuccessUrl: "/callback", logoutUrl: "/" exclude: ["/", "/signup"], });
Solution: Remove the "logoutUrl" from the config, like this,
import { createCivicAuthPlugin } from "@civic/auth/nextjs"; const withCivicAuth = createCivicAuthPlugin({ clientId: process.env.CIVIC_AUTH_CLIENT_ID!, loginUrl: "/signin", loginSuccessUrl: "/callback", exclude: ["/", "/signup"], });
Tracks Applied (2)
Authenticate with Civic Auth
Civic Technologies
Best Use of MongoDB Atlas
Major League Hacking