We built both a website and a set of apps for Moms Demand Action. The website helps new volunteers sign up and get started while the app keeps them engaged over time. In both cases, joining the movement needed to be effortless and taking action needed to feel immediate.
the 2M-download library started here, as a testing chore →
01Tech Stack
We built the native app with NativeScript (a rather new technology at the time) and Vue.js. We integrated with existing legacy APIs, Firebase, Cloud Messaging, ActionKit, and more. We built out a centralized API with Node and Express to serve as the ultimate source of truth, connecting all these systems to give developers an easy-to-use RESTful API.
02My Role
I was the Lead Engineer on the app, which was a path to action for new volunteers and seasoned leaders alike. Actions depend on your volunteer level and the priorities for the day. We also built one-tap RSVP-ing for events, which drastically reduces registration time.
As lead, I led the effort on building a centralized API that communicated with all of our services. Because the API powered so much, it was important that we had a robust testing solution, including how we communicated with Firestore. This led me to create firestore-jest-mock, which has since been downloaded over 2 million times.
The same API powered a web-based admin, also built in Vue, where staff push and prioritize content for chapter leaders, who then pass it on to their volunteers and students.
03Impact
The weekend after the new site launched, a gunman killed 22 people in El Paso, Texas. The next day, 9 more people were killed in Dayton, Ohio. Nobody wanted the rapid-response tools to be needed that soon. But they held up: Moms Demand Action raised almost $150,000 in three days, and the new homepage tools got over 11,000 people to sign an urgent petition, far beyond what the old site could handle.
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