Case study

Streamlining contextual authentication for 60,000 Afghan refugees with Rownd

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"We could not build our own system. We knew we'd have to rely on COTS solutions and Rownd was essential in our tech strategy.

Rownd saved lives.

— Joe Saboe, Founder and CEO, Team America Relief (TAR)

Team America Relief

Team America Relief is non-profit organization comprised of citizenliaison volunteers who—through their collective knowledge, open-source information, and hard work—support ongoing evacuation efforts in Afghanistan. The organization helped rescue hundreds of Afghans and put thousands more on the path to obtaining a U.S. isa.  At its peak, the organization had 250 volunteers.  

Challenges

Allow refugees access to their data

Before Rownd, Team America had no way to allow refugees access to their data, creating a one-way flow of information.

Integrating with existing data-stores

The TAR team used Airtable to store refugee information, but had no way to enable authenticated access to the data.

solution

Rownd Authentication Platform

The Rownd authentication platform protects Afghan refugee case data in its user databases. Rownd integrates with Airtable, and deployed its novel auth platform on the Team America Relief website.  Because the site was hosted on Google Sites (which does not allow custom Javascript), TAR used Cloudflare to inject Rownd in minutes.  Rownd also employed its content and element tagging to add authentication to buttons and dynamically customized the site based on user profile data.

“We were so focused on saving lives that it was great to have a team with a bias toward action and just getting the job done. We had an impossible task. Rownd helped us tackle it head on with confidence.” —Joe Saboe

Featured Solutions

Contextual authentication

Afghans in danger can easily submit requests for help without authenticating. When they return to edit or redact their information, Rownd then authenticates their access. This simplifies onboarding for people in extreme danger.

Element tagging and content gating

Rownd's powerful code snippet can turn any button into an authentication prompt and gate (protect) any page or content without sacrificing agility—even on no-code platforms like Webflow, Google Sites, WordPress, and more.

Results

60,000 Afghans' data secured

Largest repository of Afghan data available to the U.S. State Department

1,500 Afghans rescued

Thousands more continue to receive legal advocacy and U.S. Visa assistance

Giving Afghans confidence that they can come back to edit, redact, or download their data was a major reason that so many trusted Team America Relief with their information.  

“The Rownd team was phenomenal to work with. They were dedicated from day one. They went above and beyond, adding new features and helping us mitigate other security issues. They are true experts in security, authentication, and privacy. ”

— Joe Saboe, Founder , Team America Relief

Read more about Rownd and Team America Relief

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