Enhancing Charity Through Technology:

CHALLENGE

Navigating Growth

As Blythswood expanded, its operational demands grew, necessitating a more sophisticated approach to managing data and donor relationships. Their locally-hosted system was becoming outdated, prompting a shift towards modernising their technological infrastructure.

Moving to a cloud-based CRM would enable them to spend less time wrestling with an on-site system, and more time focusing on enhancing operational efficiency. Given their familiarity and previous positive experiences with Ben and Robin, the founders of Progress CRM and Donorfy, Donorfy was invited to tender, and became their future CRM supplier.

THE SOLUTION

Cloud Powered Transformation

By transitioning to a cloud-based environment, Blythswood Care was able to significantly streamline their operations, eliminating the need to maintain physical servers. As an added bonus, this strategic shift reduced their overhead costs long-term, too.

Opting for a private cloud setup from the outset, they gained the ability to manage their substantial database of supporters with greater control and customisation. This setup also ensured heightened data security and accessibility, which were crucial for their day-to-day operations. Mike Crockett, Database Coordinator, reflects:

It’s one of the tools that helps us manage having a large number of constituents."

Supporting Traditional Fundraising Methods

The team needed a system that made sense for their traditional fundraising methods, such as direct mailings. The system's bulk upload feature has been particularly beneficial for this.

I bulk upload all the time. When we send out an appeal letter, people often send back a cheque. Bulk uploading is really handy for that, especially since we can code the cheque to a particular campaign,"  Mike explains.

Gift Aid Made Easy

One of the popular features that Donorfy offered is the Gift Aid integration. This has transformed how the team claims Gift Aid, saving substantial time each month. Mike notes:

The time it saves is uncountable, really. Each month is usually over 700 entries, which would take a long time to manually pull together. The Gift Aid integration is a quick way for us to claim what’s usually a significant sum of money.”

Expert Support

Another key aspect of Donorfy that the team appreciates is the fundraising expertise of the people behind it.

The people at Donorfy, they know what charities need. With their fundraising backgrounds, they understand the important and core points." 

This expert knowledge ensures that the support Blythswood Care receives is not only technical, but also deeply informed by a genuine understanding of the needs and challenges specific to charities.

IMPACT

Enhanced Engagement and Efficiency

Empowering the Team

Recognising the importance of effective CRM utilisation, they’ve established a Donorfy Users Group (DUG) internally. Led by Mike, this initiative ensures that all team members are using Donorfy to its fullest potential.

The first DUG tip of the week was 'here’s what send to Donorfy does,' which seems like such a simple thing, but it’s so effective and can save people lots of time," shares Mike.

Direct Mailing Mastery

Direct mail appeals are a significant part of Blythswood fundraising strategy, and Donorfy’s robust CRM capabilities allowed for better management of donor information and interactions. Features like lists, and GDPR compliance tools, have helped them efficiently handle donor preferences and compliance requirements, which is crucial for their direct mailing campaigns. They can also see the success of these appeals quickly and easily.

Donorfy’s an integral part of our mailing campaigns. Filtering constituent lists is really handy, it makes a huge difference in getting the information that we need. Without Donorfy, we wouldn't be able to do the direct email and postal mailings that we do, as easily as we do it."

Seeing Supporters Clearly

Donorfy serves as our primary tool for donor management. It consolidates all our campaigns and constituent information into one central repository, making it essential for managing our operations efficiently.”

Many of their donors have supported them through legacy donations over several years. Utilising Donorfy as a centralised data repository, they effectively track and manage these enduring relationships. The comprehensive constituent records in Donorfy offer a complete overview of each supporter’s engagement history, encompassing details such as donation frequency, amounts and event participation. This detailed visibility enables them to maintain a deep connection with each donor, fostering ongoing support and involvement.

Elevating Event Management

From afternoon teas to elegant spring balls, the team organises a variety of fundraising events throughout the year. Utilising platforms like Eventbrite and Enthuse, ticket sales data seamlessly integrates into Donorfy, ensuring no valuable information is lost. Additionally, the capability to bulk upload data into Donorfy proves invaluable, particularly when managing details from event activities.

For a recent event, we used Ema Live for the auction. I could simply take a spreadsheet and upload it directly into Donorfy, which was incredibly efficient. All that helpful information was then added directly to our constituents' timelines." added Mike.