# Donation impact in 3D

Source: https://anishwij.com/blog/making-donor-impact-tangible
Category: Experiments
Published: 2025-01-10T00:00:00.000Z
Updated: 2026-09-22T00:00:00.000Z

Three demos exploring how to measure interactive giving, make scale tangible, and connect donations to a real sanctuary.

In 2025, I built three demos to explore how interactive experiences could help donors picture what their support makes possible. Alongside the visual work, I wanted to understand how we'd measure whether an interaction actually improved donations. These are the current versions of those experiments.

## Cow petting and custom measurement

The cow-petting demo let me test a simple mechanic: stroke the animal and earn hearts. Measuring it needed more than page views and clicks. I had to distinguish active stroking from a pointer resting on the cow, then track its duration and the rewards earned.

The goal was to make changes to the experience testable against donation outcomes. For an A/B comparison, we'd need to connect the version someone used, how they interacted, and whether and how much they donated. This prototype explored how to collect the interaction data for that comparison. Longer play could be interesting without being a fundraising improvement.

[Cow Petting](https://labs.anishwij.com/cow-petting) — Stroke the cow and watch active petting time and heart rewards update.

## Making a large space tangible

The scale demo explored how to simulate a large space while keeping it understandable and responsive. I wanted donors to get a feel for the scale of a contribution, including what a community could make possible together.

I wanted the scene to work as a visual aid, adding immersion without making interaction a step donors had to complete. The human figure makes the scale relatable by helping someone imagine standing among the trees. Changing the amount offers an optional way to explore further.

That experience depends on the rendering approach. Repeated trees share geometry through instancing, while limits on grass detail and rendering resolution control the work each frame requires. The aim was to make an expansive landscape practical on a phone. The donation-to-habitat figures are illustrative.

[Scale Visualization](https://labs.anishwij.com/scale-visualization) — Change the donation amount to explore an illustrative habitat area and forest at different scales.

## Bringing a sanctuary online

For the sanctuary demo, I wanted donors to see the animals and care behind a donation. I based it on Surge Sanctuary: selecting an animal brings the camera closer and opens its photograph and story. Visitors can explore the sanctuary and follow a direct link to donate.

It also needed to be something a sanctuary could keep up to date. I kept animal profiles separate from the scene so stories and photographs could change without rebuilding the environment.

[Animal Sanctuary](https://labs.anishwij.com/interactive-animals) — Select Camila, Nigel, or Paul to move closer and read their sanctuary profiles.