Phase 1: Bridging the Gap
How a Mobile App Unlocks Scale for a Nonprofit Museum
This is Part 1 of a 4-part series on building mobile solutions for nonprofit museums. Part 2: React Native & Expo | Part 3: AWS Backend | Technical Appendix
Without Replacing the Systems That Already Work
Many nonprofit museums aren't struggling because they chose the wrong tools. They're struggling because their tools were never designed to work together — especially on mobile.
A typical setup looks like this:
- Shopify powers public-facing content, merchandising, and ticketing
- Salesforce manages campaigns, donors, members, and constituent relationships
- A small shared IT or support team keeps everything running
- Museum staff are experts in their platforms — not in custom software
Individually, these systems work well. Collectively, they leave a gap.
That gap is the visitor and member experience.
The Real Problem: Fragmentation at the Point of Experience
From the museum's perspective, business operations are covered.
From the visitor's perspective, the experience is fragmented:
- Content lives in one place
- Tickets in another
- Membership or donor engagement somewhere else
- No single, cohesive mobile experience that ties it all together
Staff feel this too:
- Engagement data is split across platforms
- Insights are delayed
- New initiatives require workarounds
- Innovation feels risky because it touches too many systems
The museum doesn't need new systems. It needs a new layer.
The Mobile App as the Bridge
This is where a custom mobile app changes the equation.
The mobile app is not introduced to replace Shopify or Salesforce. It's introduced to connect them — and to meet users where they already are.
The app becomes:
- The primary visitor-facing experience
- The place where content, tickets, and engagement converge
- The modern interface layered over proven business platforms
Behind the scenes, the museum keeps operating exactly as it always has.
How the Pieces Fit Together
At a high level, the architecture looks like this:
Visitors & Members
↓
React Native Mobile App
↓
AWS Integration Layer
↙ ↘
Shopify Salesforce
What this enables:
- Shopify continues to manage content, merchandise, and ticketing
- Salesforce remains the system of record for campaigns and relationships
- The mobile app consumes and presents that data in a unified experience
- The cloud layer keeps everything synchronized and governed
The museum doesn't lose control — it gains cohesion.
Why Staff Adoption Actually Improves
This approach works because it respects reality.
Museum teams already know:
- How to manage campaigns in Salesforce
- How to update content and offerings in Shopify
- How to operate within existing processes
They don't have to relearn their jobs.
Instead:
- Their work reaches users in new ways
- Engagement becomes visible faster
- Mobile activity feeds back into systems they already trust
The technology adapts to the organization — not the other way around.
Designing the Bridge Before Building It
Even with a clear need, we don't jump straight to code.
We start with storyboards and system mapping using tools like Figma, Miro, or Mural to answer very practical questions:
- What does the visitor do in the app?
- Where does each piece of data originate?
- What must sync immediately vs asynchronously?
- What happens if connectivity drops?
- What should never be embedded in the app?
Once those decisions are agreed on, we lock them in.
Mermaid Diagrams as Living Contracts
Finalized flows move into Mermaid diagrams stored directly in markdown.
Why this matters:
- Architecture lives with the code
- Diagrams stay versioned and reviewed
- New team members can onboard faster
- Training and documentation stay aligned
The diagrams aren't decorative — they're governance artifacts.
Back-Porting Today Enables Tomorrow
All mobile activity:
- Syncs back to Shopify and Salesforce
- Preserves reporting and compliance
- Improves data quality at the source
At the same time, the cloud layer — built on Amazon Web Services — becomes the long-term stabilizer.
If the museum later decides to:
- Introduce a custom backend
- Reduce reliance on Shopify
- Replace Salesforce workflows
- Add kiosks, tablets, or web portals
The mobile app doesn't change. The bridge is already there.
This Is How You Scale Without Forcing It
The museum solves its immediate problem:
- A fragmented visitor experience
- Limited mobile engagement
- Disconnected systems at the edge
At the same time, it creates optionality:
- Scale when ready
- Modernize incrementally
- Invest where it matters most
No rip-and-replace. No all-or-nothing decisions. No wasted institutional knowledge.
Connect What Works
If your organization:
- Already relies on Shopify and Salesforce
- Has limited internal technical capacity
- Needs a cohesive mobile experience now
- Wants the freedom to evolve later
Then a custom React Native mobile app — designed as a bridge, not a replacement — is often the most sustainable next step.