Oahu App Design · Case study
One platform.A whole nonprofit.
How we built the system that runs Leadership in Disabilities & Achievement of Hawaiʻi: families, staff, events, grants and six Pacific islands, in one place.
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The challenge
A small team. Six islands.
Paper Sign-in sheets at every workshop
Spreadsheets Twelve versions of the same list
Email Reminders sent one by one
Grants Federal reports built by hand
Partners Pacific islands, many time zones
Families Follow-ups that slip through
Every family, every event and every grant number lived somewhere different.So we put it all in one place.
The solution
Three apps. One shared brain.
W
Public website 34 pages. Families find programs, sign up, pay membership and upload documents.
D
Staff dashboard Everything staff do all day, from one screen, sized for small office laptops.
M
Member app Recordings, certificates and learning on any phone.
180 cloud functions working behind the scenes
By the numbers
Built fast. Improved every week.
0 updates shipped since February 2026
0 cloud functions running the work
0 automations that run on their own schedule
0 kinds of records, all connected
0 lines in the staff dashboard alone
0 animated training walkthroughs built in
0 islands served, Hawaiʻi plus six Pacific partners
0 months from first line to all of this
For families
A family signs up once.
1
Sign up Web, app or a QR code on the table 2
Confirmed Branded email in seconds 3
Reminded 5 days and 1 day before, on their own 4
Attends Zoom attendance taken automatically 5
Feedback Survey sent after the session 6
Follow-up Recording and next steps, by email Every email is logged, so staff can see exactly what each family received, and resend it in one click.
For staff
Open the dashboard.
Aloha Malia 4 things need you today
1 OVERDUE
2 TODAY
5 THIS WK
3 CASES
Call back about IEP meeting Kahale family · follow-up yesterday OVERDUE
Send workshop recording Parent Talk Café · 18 attended TODAY
Confirm interpreter Nakamura family · Saturday event TODAY
Review new flyer event Created by AI from an uploaded flyer THIS WEEK
✓ Tasks arrive on their own: follow-ups, overdue cases, missing details.
✓ Every family has one card with their whole history.
✓ Every action is saved in an audit log.
Names shown are made up.
Case advocacy, powered by AI
Every family's progress,
Kahale family
Case open 88 days · follow-up in 2 weeks
Advocate: Malia Self-advocacy readiness
2.0 of 10 Knows the basics
Workshop attended+0.5 IEP workshop+0.5 School meeting, it worked+1.5 Parent led the meeting+1 Bronze certificate+1 Case note+0.5
Getting there. The AI flags the moment a family is ready to close.
Case note · AI read it
“Mom said she
asked the school for the evaluation in writing on her own this time.”
AI: +0.5 self-advocacy
AI Suggests each family's starting point from the intake conversation. Staff confirm it.
AI Checks progress every week : workshops, school meetings, certificates and notes.
AI Flags when a family is ready to close , and when progress stalls.
AI Drafts case reviews for staff to check and send.
Names shown are made up.
AI, built in
Upload a flyer. Get an event.
Family Resource Night Sat · Oct 10 · 5:30 pm
Pago Pago Community Hall
Free · Dinner provided · All families welcome
Referral forms readscreening forms become records
Case reviews draftedfor staff to check and send
Progress scoredfamilies' self-advocacy, weekly
IT help answeredstaff questions, any hour
Across the Pacific
Seven islands. One system.
1 Partners log their own families, events and cases.
2 Local time zones and weather on every screen.
3 Privacy by design: each island sees its own records, never another's.
Grant reporting
Grant reports, built from the work itself.
Workshops
Families
Advocacy
Outreach
Training
Age, ethnicity, disability and island, counted automatically
Onboarding, built in
New staff learn the system
New hire training 1 of 3
Your Home page
Animated walkthroughs, read aloud, with captions.
Quick check!
A · Delete it
B · Leave it ✓
★★★
✓ New hires get the basics first, then the rest.
✓ Short quizzes after each part.
✓ Leaders see who finished, and how long it took.
Trust and security
Everyone sees exactly what
Roles Eight roles, from front desk to executive director to island partner.
Audit log Who changed what, and when, on every record.
Email log Every message sent to a family, viewable and resendable.
Backups Code and data backed up, with release history.
The advantages
What one connected system gives you.
1
One source of truth Families, events, cases and grants in one place, never twelve spreadsheets. 2
Less admin, more mission Reminders, attendance and follow-ups run on their own. 3
Grant-ready data Demographics captured as work happens, so reports are always ready. 4
Built for your people Designed around real staff, real screens and real islands. 5
AI where it helps Reading flyers and forms, drafting reviews, answering questions. 6
It keeps getting better Changes ship weekly, tested first, then made live.
Your organization Custom apps and platforms for nonprofits and small teams in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.
oahuappdesign.com
Learn more → Oahu App Design
Inside the LDAH platform
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