FAQ - Animal Shelter Donation Thermometer

Q: What is the Animal Shelter Donation Thermometer?

A: The Animal Shelter Donation Thermometer is a simple, visual tool that tracks fundraising progress for animal shelter donation campaigns. It generates a thermometer image that updates in real-time as teams reach their fundraising goals.

Q: How do I embed the thermometer on my website?

A: Simply use the image URL provided on the home page. The thermometer is served as a PNG or SVG image that can be embedded anywhere using a standard HTML <img> tag:

Light Mode:

<img src="https://your-domain.com/thermometer-light.png" alt="Donation Thermometer" />

Dark Mode:

<img src="https://your-domain.com/thermometer-dark.png" alt="Donation Thermometer" />

The image automatically updates as donation data is refreshed. Both PNG and SVG formats are available (use thermometer-light.svg or thermometer-dark.svg).

Q: How do I update the donation data?

A: There are two ways to update the donation data:

CSV Upload: Upload a CSV file with team donation data through the admin portal
JSON API: Send a POST request to /admin/config with your updated configuration

Both methods require an authorization key that is provided when the service is deployed.

Q: Is my donation data secure?

A: Yes! Your data is secure:

Authentication Required: All admin operations require an authorization key
In-Memory Storage: Data is stored only in server memory, not on disk
No External Logging: We don't log or share your donation data with third parties
Open Source: The code is open source and can be reviewed on GitHub

Q: What format should my CSV file be in?

A: Your CSV file should have the following columns:

name - The team name
total_raised - The amount raised by the team (as a number)
image_url (optional) - A URL to an image for the team

Example:

name,image_url,total_raised
Team Alpha,,1500.00
Team Beta,https://example.com/logo.png,2300.50
Team Gamma,,1800.00

Q: How do I get my authorization key?

A: The authorization key is set when the service is deployed. If you're running this service:

From Environment Variable: Set THERMOMETER_EDIT_KEY before starting the server
Auto-Generated: If not set, a random key will be generated and displayed in the server logs on startup

Keep this key secure and don't share it publicly, as it allows modifications to your thermometer data.

Q: Can I customize the appearance of the thermometer?

A: Currently, the thermometer uses a default appearance. Future versions may include customization options. If you need custom styling, you can modify the source code (it's open source!) or contact the maintainer for feature requests.

Q: What happens if I update the data while someone is viewing the thermometer?

A: The thermometer image is served with cache-control headers that prevent caching. This means:

Browsers will request a fresh image each time the page is loaded
Updates appear immediately on next page refresh
No stale data is shown to visitors

Q: Where can I report bugs or request features?

A: This is an open-source project! You can:

Report bugs on the GitHub Issues page
Submit feature requests through GitHub Issues
Contribute code via pull requests

Frequently Asked Questions