International Justice Mission is widely known across North America for rescuing victims of slavery and working to end human trafficking. They do incredible on-the-ground work, but many of us can’t do the hands-on work to support their goal.

We partnered with IJM to create a tool that would empower all of us to champion the cause, right where we are. FreedomCommons.org is a central hub that enables local groups to organize, connect and communicate the IJM mission.

To that end, the site is designed around a series of “Action Alerts”—specific tasks the general public can do to support IJM: petitioning the President to prioritise ending slavery, asking supermarkets to sell only slavery-free produce, joining a local IJM group etc.

IJM was already doing this kind of advocacy, but had a variety of disconnected tools that had been created each time a new initiative began. It meant lots of duplicate effort and not much longevity. It wasn’t user-friendly, centralized or cost effective.

FreedomCommons.org brings all of these initiatives together. But it’s much more than just a beautiful, interactive place to promote a good cause. From a technical standpoint, this site stands up as cutting edge  tool—nothing similar exists in the non-profit space. It’s totally integrated with the client’s ecommerce and CRM, thanks to a series of custom Drupal modules created by our team. IJM staff can easily generate web forms for new initiatives and set up new Action Alerts at a national, state or local level. It brings together the previously disparate efforts happening across the nation and lets people engage with the cause, close to their own homes.

The project presented an exciting UX challenge for our team, who got to flex some creative muscle architecting an interface that leads users along a path to deeper involvement. When users register for the Freedom Commons, they can create local groups, add photos, create or register for events, set up goals and track their progress. There are multiple touchpoints that spur action at a grassroots level, empowering everyone to take ownership of the anti-slavery cause.

Within a week of launch the site garnered hundreds of members and non-members who signed petitions and completed nearly 1,000 Action Alerts. It has steadily gained momentum and drawn attention from media outlets, including CNBC.