North West Air Ambulance Charity:

CHALLENGE

Manual Admin Gridlock

NWAA, a charity with sky-high aspirations, found themselves grappling with a system they’d out-grown. With limitations around flexibility, integrations and usability, they were struggling to automate tasks, and some of the team found it tricky to use and navigate.

The level of staff time spent having to do admin is too much at times, and we wanted to reduce that right down so we’re really looking after our supporters, making sure they feel special and that we know everything about them in one place.”  explained Rob Parkin, CRM Manager.

Though they were able to store a great amount of data, being able to connect it all together wasn’t as easy as they would’ve liked, too. It’s a large team, with over 20 people using a CRM in their roles, and they were working in silos.

All charities are different - the team recognised that, while their system could be brilliant for other organisations, they needed a long-term solution that better aligned with their goals, saved them time, and enhanced their overall efficiency.

THE SOLUTION

Charting a New CRM Course

When they embarked on their quest for a new CRM, they went through a thorough tender process, supported by Adapta Consulting. Among the four original contenders, Donorfy emerged as the “best fit and lowest risk,” offering the functionality they needed to move forward.

The Donorfy team were very accommodating," Rob recalls, "They answered questions promptly and provided easy access to senior staff throughout the process."

He also appreciated the team's deep understanding of fundraising.

Speaking to people who understand fundraising makes the conversation take less time and the whole experience easier. The process was really good, really easy,” he added.

Kick starting their journey towards working smarter, Donorfy’s ability to seamlessly integrate with many of the platforms they use stood out for its ease and flexibility.

Donorfy’s solution is to integrate outwards to other platforms, rather than trying to do everything itself, and I think that makes it very flexible. Why try and reinvent the wheel?”

Finally, pricing also played its part in their decision, with Donorfy’s unlimited user model being a big benefit to a large and dedicated team.

MAST Implementation

To navigate the complexities of their migration, they opted for an implementation led by certified Donorfy partners Jackie, Kylie and Neil from MAST.

Our requirements are quite complex and MAST’s experience is brilliant. They do 90% of the legwork. Jackie knows charities like the back of her hand, which makes it so much easier, as she’ll think of the things that people internally aren’t really thinking about. Kylie is also brilliant and can find a solution to anything. Neil’s Power BI flows are coming through really well, too, and will help us a lot with custom reports,”  added Rob.

Security

Security was a top priority for NWAA, and Donorfy's robust measures provided peace of mind. The charity was reassured by Donorfy's ISO certifications, and opted for a Private Cloud solution for enhanced customisation and control. 

 We have to be as risk averse, and as far away from potential security problems, as possible, and Donorfy does that.” Rob explained. “Having Private Cloud was also reassuring, as we have the backup and security of the Microsoft Own Azure infrastructure.”

Private Cloud

Private Cloud was perfect for NWAA, as they needed to tweak certain aspects of their workflows to suit their unique requirements - especially when it came to following regulations. Take their popular lottery, for example. With age restrictions involved, it's crucial to keep track of who's eligible to play to remain compliant. 

Instead of slogging through manual reports, they’ve set up a customised system that automatically spots anyone underage and flags them.

 Our lottery supplier wouldn’t be able to do that check for us, we would’ve had to do that manually, which makes it easier to miss. We hope the list remains empty, but now we’ll be able to spot people and act quickly,”  added Rob.

With their private cloud setup, NWAA can take control of backup frequency too, keeping their data shipshape. Plus, with the large volume of data they handle, having the flexibility to scale up their resources as needed is a “great to have.”

THE FUTURE

CRM Success on the Horizon

We’re trying to get to a point where we’re at the forefront of innovation with data, because we now have the ability to do things we’ve never been able to before.”

And they're starting strong! One exciting development is a custom integration they've created, enabling incoming phone calls to be aligned with stored phone numbers. With just a click, the team can instantly access Donorfy, enabling them to send emails, jot down notes, and gain a quick overview of the caller's profile. 

They’re also on the road to automating much of their data entry, to relieve the team of unnecessary stress and time-draining admin tasks. With everyone using a centralised system, they can foster meaningful conversations and craft effective supporter journeys using the DotDigital integration, too.

And why all the effort? It's simple: more funds mean a better service and improved patient outcomes. 

The more we raise, the more we can sustain the service and improve what we can do on the clinical side. Ultimately that’s what matters more than anything, what we can do for patients.”