Fundraiser Platform using MERN

A fundraising application, often referred to as a "fundraiser application" or "crowdfunding platform," is a software or web-based platform designed to facilitate the collection of funds for a specific cause, project, or campaign. These applications provide a digital space where individuals, organizations, or businesses can create fundraising campaigns and seek financial support from a wider audience, typically through online donations.

Preview of final output: Let us have a look at how the final application will look like.

Fundraising-Page---Google-Chrome-2023-12-16-14-50-01 — Output

Technologies Used:

Project Structure:

Approach:

Project Initialization:
- Create a new folder for the project and navigate to it.
- Initialize a new Node.js project using npm init -y.
- Install necessary dependencies: express for the server and mongoose for MongoDB connection.
Server Setup:
- Create a server folder.
- Inside server, create a server.js file.
- Set up an Express server in server.js.
- Connect to MongoDB using Mongoose.
- Set up middleware for parsing JSON.
- Create API routes to handle fundraising operations (create, list donations).
Models:
- Inside server, create a models folder.
- Define a Donation model using Mongoose to represent donation data.
API Routes:
- Inside server, create a routes folder.
- Create an api.js file within the routes folder to handle API routes.
- Implement routes for creating and fetching donations.
Run the Backend:
- Start the Express server using node server/server.js.

Steps to Create the Backend Node App:

Step 1: Create a new React App

npx create-react-app <name of project>

Step 2: Navigate to the Project folder using:

cd <name of project>

Step 3: Installing Required Packages.

npm install express mongoose

The updated dependencies in package.json file will look like:

"dependencies": {
    "express": "^4.17.1",
    "mongoose": "^5.13.2"
},

Example: Below is the code for the backend server in nodejs

JavaScript

// server/server.js

const express = require('express');
const mongoose = require('mongoose');
const bodyParser = require('body-parser');

const app = express();
const PORT = process.env.PORT || 5000;

// Connect to MongoDB
mongoose.connect('mongodb://localhost:27017/fundraiser', {
    useNewUrlParser: true,
    useUnifiedTopology: true,
});

// Define a Donation model
const Donation = mongoose.model('Donation', {
    amount: Number,
    description: String,
});

// Middleware to parse JSON
app.use(bodyParser.json());

// API routes
app.post('/api/donations', async (req, res) => {
    try {
        const { amount, description } = req.body;

        // Create a new donation
        const newDonation = new Donation({ amount, description });
        await newDonation.save();

        res.status(201).json(newDonation);
    } catch (error) {
        console.error(error);
        res.status(500).send('Internal Server Error');
    }
});

app.get('/api/donations', async (req, res) => {
    try {
        // Fetch all donations
        const donations = await Donation.find();
        res.json(donations);
    } catch (error) {
        console.error(error);
        res.status(500).send('Internal Server Error');
    }
});

// Start the server
app.listen(PORT, () => {
    console.log(`Server is running on http://localhost:${PORT}`);
});

Start the Backend Server using the following command.

node server.js

Steps to Create the Frontend React App:

Step 1: Create a new React App

npx create-react-app <name of project>

Step 2: Navigate to the Project folder using:

cd <name of project>

The updated dependencies in package.json file of frontend will look like:

"dependencies": {
    "react": "^18.2.0",
    "react-dom": "^18.2.0",
    "react-scripts": "5.0.1",
    "web-vitals": "^2.1.4"
},

Example: Below is the code for the frontend client in reactjs

CSS

body {
    font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
    margin: 0;
    padding: 0;
    background-color: #f4f4f4;
}

header {
    background-color: #333;
    color: #fff;
    text-align: center;
    padding: 1em 0;
}

section {
    max-width: 600px;
    margin: 2em auto;
    background-color: #fff;
    padding: 20px;
    border-radius: 8px;
    box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
}

#totalAmount {
    font-size: 24px;
    margin-bottom: 20px;
}

form {
    display: flex;
    flex-direction: column;
}

label {
    margin-bottom: 8px;
}

input {
    padding: 10px;
    margin-bottom: 16px;
    border: 1px solid #ccc;
    border-radius: 4px;
}

button {
    background-color: #4caf50;
    color: #fff;
    padding: 10px;
    border: none;
    border-radius: 4px;
    cursor: pointer;
}

JavaScript

// src/App.js

import React, {useState,useEffect} from 'react';
import './App.css';

function App() {
    const [donations, setDonations] = useState([]);
    const [amount, setAmount] = useState('');
    const [description, setDescription] = useState('');

    useEffect(() => {
        // Fetch donations when the component mounts
        fetchDonations();
    }, []);

    const fetchDonations = async () => {
        try {
            // Make a GET request to your server's API endpoint
            const response =
                await fetch('http://localhost:5000/api/donations');
            const data = await response.json();
            setDonations(data);
        } catch (error) {
            console.error('Error fetching donations:', error);
        }
    };

    const handleDonate = async () => {
        try {
            // Make a POST request to your server's API endpoint
            const response =
                await fetch('http://localhost:5000/api/donations', {
                    method: 'POST',
                    headers: {
                        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
                    },
                    body: JSON.stringify(
                        {
                            amount: parseFloat(amount),
                            description
                        }),
                });

            if (response.ok) {
                // Update the local state with the new donation
                setDonations(
                    [...donations,
                    await response.json()]);
                setAmount('');
                setDescription('');
            } else {
                console.error('Error donating:', response.statusText);
            }
        } catch (error) {
            console.error('Error donating:', error);
        }
    };

    return (
        <div className="App">
            <h1>MERN Fundraising App</h1>
            <div>
                <label>
                    Amount:
                    <input type="number"
                        value={amount}
                        onChange={
                            (e) =>
                                setAmount(e.target.value)
                        } />
                </label>
                <br />
                <label>
                    Description:
                    <input type="text" value={description}
                        onChange={
                            (e) =>
                                setDescription(e.target.value)
                        } />
                </label>
                <br />
                <button onClick={handleDonate}>Donate</button>
            </div>
            <div>
                <h2>Donations:</h2>
                <ul>
                    {donations.map((donation) => (
                        <li key={donation._id}>
                            Amount: {donation.amount},
                            Description: {donation.description}
                        </li>
                    ))}
                </ul>
            </div>
        </div>
    );
}

export default App;

Starting the React App.

npm start

Output of data saved in the Database:

expense

Output: Visit http://localhost:3000 in your browser to see the MERN fundraising app in action.