Powering Purpose

CHALLENGE

Time for a Smarter Setup

Like many charities, the team had outgrown spreadsheets and needed a charity CRM that was both centralised and easy to use.  

Having come from other organisations using more complex systems, they knew they needed something intuitive - that didn’t need a degree in data wizardry to get things done. Helen McCartan, Head of Public Fundraising, said:

 We're experienced in our roles. We knew what we wanted from a CRM going forward, and what we didn't!"

They also needed to streamline and modernise their website - something more aligned with fundraising goals, while being mobile-friendly, and flexible enough for their growing needs. 

While their previous website looked the part, it couldn’t handle online donations well and needed expensive developer input for even the simplest changes.  

SOLUTION

Making Fundraising Flow

With a clear need for simplicity and scalability, and a focus on fundraising, the team settled on a powerful combination: Donorfy, the CRM designed by fundraisers, and Access Charity Websites, websites that put fundraising functionality first.

Doing more with Donorfy

From day one, Donorfy proved to be exactly what the team needed: intuitive, flexible and ready to support their busy fundraising programme. Whether it’s reporting, managing Gift Aid, or tracking donor history, the system makes everyday tasks easier - and helps the team stay focused on impact, not admin. 

From building segmented donor lists to preparing data for print appeals, Donorfy helps streamline tasks that used to be time-consuming and error-prone. For Helen though, the usability was the real point of difference: 

 I've used a few CRMs over the years, but Donorfy is by far the easiest I've used."

A website that works harder

Alongside Donorfy, the team chose to upgrade their website with Access Charity Websites. This has given them a website that not only looks great, but functions as a key fundraising tool. 

Now, Helen and her team have full control. They can create campaign landing pages, build custom donation journeys, and even allow supporters to set up their own fundraising pages directly on the site. 

They recently put these features to good use for their Bristol Cares Walk event, where participants could easily set up sponsored pages, receive automatic thank-yous, and track their progress using visual totalisers. Helen explains:

  It's just so much more professional now. The new website has really helped us improve our supporter journey."

One integration to rule them all

But the real magic happened when they connected the two. As part of their website launch, they implemented the Charity Toolkit integration from Donorfy Partner Andi Best - an automated data transfer setup that syncs donations from the website directly into Donorfy. 

With just weeks to go before launching their biggest appeal of the year, they needed a fast, reliable solution. Cue Andi.  

  Andi was brilliant. We reached out close to our go-live date and he got the integration set up so quickly - it just worked. He asked for a few bits of info, and then the donations just started appearing in Donorfy like magic. One less thing to stress about!"

They now use the integration primarily for one-off donations. This means thousands of donations go straight into Donorfy without the team having to lift a finger, complete with supporter information and communication preferences. When you’re juggling cheque fulfilment, and everything else that comes with busy campaigns, it's the kind of automation that’s a serious time-saver.