From Spreadsheets to Segments:

Why Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Charity Chose Donorfy to Power Growth

CUSTOMER STORY

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MY Hospitals charity logo
  • Migrated from: Spreadsheets
  • No of Constituents: 2,000 +
  • Approx Annual Income: £650,000 +
  • Charity Type: Health and NHS
  • Donorfy Package: Professional

 MY Hospitals Charity is on a mission to make a real and lasting difference to the lives of NHS patients, staff and communities across Mid Yorkshire. From funding state-of-the-art MRI scanners to creating calm spaces like staff gardens and supplying craft materials for children and elderly patients, the charity’s work is all about delivering those “above and beyond” extras the NHS can’t fund alone.  

As Louise Caldwell, Community Fundraising Officer, explains:

We don’t buy what the NHS should, or prop up budgets. We provide the little things, and upgrades, that can make a big difference.” 

Quick Glance

Smarter Communications

For the first time, the team can segment audiences and tailor messages, transforming supporter engagement and helping build a strategic year-round comms plan.

Campaign Success

Donorfy handled registrations, payments and comms for their biggest event yet - helping Hands Across Wakefield raise £13,000 and attract attention.

Set for Growth

With clean data, a centralised system, and processes built for the future, the team has already doubled fundraising income - and they’re just getting started.

CHALLENGE

Lost in Spreadsheets

Before Donorfy came along, supporter data lived in a scatter of spreadsheets. It’s a familiar scenario for many growing charities – they couldn’t easily track donor engagement, segment communications or coordinate efforts across a growing team. Louise admits:

It was a glorified address book. We had names and email addresses, but no real way to work strategically with them. We knew we wanted to grow – but we didn’t have the tools to do it easily.” 

 

SOLUTION

The Smart Switch

Although Louise joined just after the decision to move to Donorfy had been made, the reasoning was clear. It came down to strong sector reputation, recommendations from other NHS charities and a great value pricing structure that worked for a charity needing bang for its buck.  

Donorfy is known for having a strong reputation in the sector. Everyone I spoke to said they were either using Donorfy, or thinking about switching to it, and that meant a lot. When I started talking to Gizem in business development, she got what we needed straight away too – and didn’t try to upsell us something we didn’t.” 

As an NHS charity, there are extra procurement steps to follow – and rightly so. From data protection impact assessments (DPIAs) to digital security sign-offs, ensuring everything meets trust protocols is vital. Louise worked closely with Donorfy and her trust’s information governance team to make sure all the boxes were ticked. 

At one point, I suggested Donorfy and our IG team speak directly – and they did. Donorfy understanding NHS processes and being willing to liaise with other teams directly made the process smoother and took a real weight off my shoulders.” 

With a science background and a data-loving streak, Louise took the lead on implementation. The overall process was smooth, and they're a great example of how, for some charities, self-implementation is not only possible, but empowering - giving them full ownership of their data, confidence in the system, and a clear foundation for future growth.

The data import templates were really clear. Once I’d tidied up our messy data, uploading it was straightforward. It all clicked into place really nicely.” 

 

IMPACT

Segmentation & Smarter Fundraising

It may be early days, but using Donorfy's features is already transforming the way the charity thinks – and acts. 

We can now segment our audience – which sounds so basic, but for us it’s huge. Before, everyone got every email. Now we’ve got a comms plan, and we’re reaching the right people with the right message at the right time.” 

For example, here's a dummy-data example of pinned tags, used for segmentation, on a constituent profile in Donorfy:

Example Donorfy Tags for Segmentation Charity CRM
Internally, Donorfy has become the single source of truth, too.

Our team has doubled in size. It means my comms assistant can send a campaign, and I can walk into a meeting with a school the next day already knowing what they’ve seen and said. That’s never happened before.” 

There’s also been a major leap in income. In just one year, the team doubled their fundraising revenue – from £110,000 to over £220,000 – with Donorfy playing a role. 

  We’ve been able to run more in-house events, promote them more efficiently and manage supporters more easily. It’s a game-changer.” 

One standout moment? Hands Across Wakefield, a high-profile awareness event aiming to link 2,000 people hand-in-hand from the hospital to the cathedral. With registration, tracking, segmentation, payments and communication all run through Donorfy, the event went off without a hitch – and raised £13,000 to boot.  Louise adds:

Without Donorfy, managing it would’ve been tougher.”

Here's a sneak peek of what a campaign can look like in Donorfy, using dummy data:

Example campaign page in Donorfy charity CRM-1

Looking Ahead: Future-Proofing Fundraising 

Louise is keen to do even more. She’s exploring automated workflows and reducing reliance on expensive third-party tools that functions in Donorfy can replace. 

There’s also excitement about empowering supporters to manage their preferences directly, bringing better GDPR compliance and a smoother experience. They're focusing on the little things, that take a big weight off of the team's shoulders.

Donorfy has made us think differently about how we communicate, how we work together and what we can achieve. If you’re a small charity, don’t just think about what you need now. Think about where you want to be. Donorfy gives you the tools to grow.”

 

Where next?

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