The Knights of Columbus Council #2469 in Gilroy has run an annual crab dinner fundraiser for decades. For most of that time, ticket sales meant phone calls, paper sign-up sheets, and cash or checks collected at church. Volunteer coordinators spent hours managing lists, chasing payments, and answering the same questions repeatedly.
The goal: build a professional fundraising platform that matches the dignity of the organization and makes it easy for the community to buy tickets, make donations, inquire about sponsorships, and volunteer, all online.
Using Claude as the primary development partner, I designed and shipped a full event website for the March 21, 2026 crab dinner, complete with ticket purchasing, real-time countdown, donation flow, and a rich content experience that communicates the council's 100+ year history and charitable mission.
The site uses a modern full-stack architecture (Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Clerk for auth, and Stripe for payments) deployed to Vercel. The design uses the official Knights of Columbus color palette (navy and gold) with mobile-first responsive layouts.
AI-assisted development makes enterprise-grade web platforms accessible to organizations that couldn't previously afford professional development. A fundraiser for youth scholarships in Gilroy now has the same digital presence as a Fortune 500 event, built in days, not months.