From Empathy to Action: The Digital Bridge That Helps People Make a Difference
World Refugee Day is an opportunity we at Koben Digital take to reflect, to honour, and to act. In 2025, the Refugee Council of Australia’s theme, Finding Freedom: Diversity in Community, reminds us that belonging isn’t just found - it’s built. To flee home is to leave behind your life and start over in a world that doesn’t yet feel like yours. But in those moments of grief and loss, what can make the biggest difference is a community that welcomes.
At Koben, we believe digital tools can be a part of that community. When designed with empathy and purpose, they become more than websites or forms - they become bridges, and lifelines.
This World Refugee Day, we’re reflecting on our work with Australia for UNHCR and what all not-for-profits can learn about bridging the gap between feeling moved and moving into action.
Designing for Understanding: Why Empathy is the Starting Point
When people visit a not-for-profit website, it’s rarely random. They’ve seen something. Heard something. Felt something.
In that moment, empathy is already present. It doesn’t need to be manufactured, it needs to be honoured.
Your digital strategy should start with the understanding that someone cares enough to be here. Whether they’re ready to donate, sign a petition, volunteer, or seek support or resources - they’re looking for connection. And what they find online will determine whether that emotional spark turns into something meaningful - or fades away.
Empathetic digital design isn’t ‘soft’. It’s strategic. It acknowledges real human emotion and gives it somewhere to go - without pressure, guilt or overwhelm.
Case in Point: Communicating Crisis with Compassion
As the national partner for the UN Refugee Agency, Australia for UNHCR responds to some of the most urgent and confronting crises in the world - war, disaster, displacement. When something happens, the response needs to be immediate, clear, and trustworthy. But just as importantly, it needs to respect the emotional weight behind every story told. Often times, the first tool to turn to is digital: communications, mobilisation, and/or financial support.
That’s where digital strategy becomes more than just design. In our partnership, we’ve focused on building a robust digital platform that allows UNHCR’s team to:
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Launch rapid response donation pages that are fast, secure, and mobile-ready
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Share stories from the field with dignity and context
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Maintain accessibility for diverse audiences across Australia
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Build trust through transparency and impact tracking
It’s not about using emotion to pressure action. It’s about creating a clear, compassionate pathway when someone says, “I want to help - what can I do?”
Beyond Refugee Work: Building a Strategic Digital Ecosystem That Respects Empathy
While organisations like Australia for UNHCR are often working on the frontlines of global crisis, the challenge they face - guiding people from awareness to action - is something every not-for-profit can relate to.
But too often, digital tools are treated as individual assets - a website here, a newsletter there, a donation form buried somewhere in between. This fragmented approach weakens the connection between empathy and impact.
Instead, NFPs should think in terms of a strategic digital ecosystem: a connected set of platforms that work together to support storytelling, engagement, and action.
Here’s what that can look like in practice:
1. Unify your messaging across every platform
Make sure your website, social media, email campaigns, and donation portals all communicate a consistent tone, purpose, and pathway.
Tip: Use a shared content calendar and messaging framework to align comms teams, even if they’re small or part-time.
2. Audit your call-to-action (CTA) flow
Don’t assume people will know what to do next. Review each digital touchpoint and ask:
“What is the emotional state of someone here - and what action matches that moment?”
Checklist:
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Website landing pages: Clear CTA above the fold?
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Email: Is the CTA positioned after emotional context?
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Social posts: Does it link to a relevant, mobile-optimised page?
3. Integrate your donation tools into your storytelling
Rather than siloing fundraising into separate pages, embed donation functionality where stories are told.
Examples:
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Add in-line donation prompts within blog content
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Use pop-up modals on emergency campaign pages
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Make recurring giving options visible in post-action screens
4. Use behavioural analytics to improve emotional flow
Emotion is dynamic. Use tools like Google Analytics to track drop-off points, button clicks, and scroll behaviour - then adjust based on actual user journeys.
Watch for:
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High bounce rates on donation pages
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Scroll-depth data on impact stories
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Form abandonment trends
Building Digital Experiences with Integrity: The Koben Digital Approach
At Koben Digital, we work with many not-for-profits across Australia who are doing meaningful, often challenging, work. Whether it’s supporting refugees, driving donations, raising funds for cancer research or engaging hard-to-reach communities, we bring the same philosophy to every project:
Empowerment through digital strategy.
With our work with Australia for UNHCR, our job isn’t just technical. It’s strategic. It means looking at their digital ecosystem and strengthening every point where a user might be ready to take action - from homepage banners and crisis landing pages to mobile navigation and payment security.
Core areas we focus on for NFPs:
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Donation architecture: One-off vs recurring setup, payment integrations, mobile responsiveness
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Content governance: Making it easy for internal teams to publish timely updates
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Performance & security: Optimising site speed, uptime, and data safety to build trust
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Accessibility: Meeting WCAG 2.1 standards while designing for humans, not checkboxes
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Analytics infrastructure: Setting up tracking tools that give insights into both campaign success and user journey health
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Members Area: A dedicated members area where patients, carers, and families can create personal profiles. This will enable access to curated resources, support communities, and personalised information based on user preferences and needs
Our work is grounded in empathy - but it’s powered by strategy. Because we know that good intentions without good systems can lead to lost momentum and missed opportunities.
You can find out more about our work with Australia for UNHCR here.
Helping Empathy Find Its Purpose
Empathy may open hearts, but action is what changes lives. When someone feels moved by your mission, your digital tools must help them do something about it .
World Refugee Day is a reminder that freedom and belonging aren’t abstract ideas - they’re built through real, collective action. And in today’s world, much of that action begins online.
The theme Finding Freedom: Diversity in Community speaks to the strength found in connection. That strength is amplified when your digital tools make it easy for people to support, give, share, and advocate right at the moment they feel compelled to help.
When it comes to the online presence for your mission, you can ask yourself:
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When someone chooses to care, can they act with ease?
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Do your platforms support urgency with clarity, or complexity?
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Are your systems helping to build the very community your mission stands for?
A strategic digital ecosystem doesn’t just tell your story, it invites others to be part of it. That’s how we turn empathy into impact.
At Koben, we specialise in strategic digital solutions for NFPs and charities.
We partner with purpose-led organisations to build digital systems that are intuitive, efficient, and human-focused.
Want to learn more about designing empathetic digital experiences that work hard for your mission? Let’s chat.
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