Customer Story: Raystede

• Automation of time-consuming tasks: Charity CRM automated processes that were previously manual, like updating supporter payments and managing Direct Debits, saving significant time and effort.
• Improved access to supporter data: The CRM provides better insights into supporter interactions, allowing Raystede to develop more personalized fundraising campaigns and track key data more effectively.
• Enhanced campaign planning: Charity CRM has improved data segmentation and analytics, enabling Raystede to plan data-led campaigns, such as the Christmas appeal, more efficiently.
• Seamless integration with third-party platforms: Raystede integrated the CRM with MailChimp and JustGiving, streamlining email communications and event participant management, leading to further time savings and enhanced capability.
• Increased supporter engagement and reactivation: The system notifies the team when supporters make changes to their payment plans, enabling quick follow-ups that have led to successful reactivations of support.
• Growth in sponsorship program: The time saved through automation and improved insights has allowed Raystede to focus on expanding their sponsorship program, growing from 200 to 3,500 sponsors.
• Responsive customer support: Raystede highlighted the outstanding support from Access' Customer Success team, particularly their swift and informative assistance with the CRM.

What challenges did Raystede initially face?

Prior to working with Access, Raystede used a competitor charity CRM that did not quite meet the organisation’s requirements. The main obstacle was that it did not automate key processes, meaning that these would need to be manually managed by a member of staff. Not only was this time consuming, it also proved to be especially taxing regarding changes to Direct Debits.

"Whenever changes were made to supporter payments, such as cancellations for instance, these were previously managed manually and took a significant amount of our time to amend. We knew that we needed to automate these processes, so that we could swiftly make these changes and re-engage with our supporters."

How does Access Charity CRM compare with its competitors?

When comparing Charity CRM with the previous platform Raystede had adopted, Marianne was especially impressed by its level of autonomy, while also providing key supporter insights.
Marianne added, “We really like how you can see a snapshot of our fundraising campaigns and the details of our supporters, it’s really useful. Alongside this, I like the analytics and am keen to learn more about this as we continue to use the system.

The autonomy associated with Charity CRM has saved us a significant amount of time as the database now updates itself. The system also sends us notifications when a supporter has made changes to their payment plan. This has allowed us to contact people quicker with reactivation calls if someone wishes to cancel. In this instance, we would contact them directly, thank them for their support, and provide other options whereby they can continue to support, which has proved successful."

Which processes did Charity CRM improve?

Charity CRM has greatly improved the processes surrounding customer tracking and engagement. Marianne explains that the system provides clear touchpoints of how supporters interact with Raystede, which in turn allows them to segment their data and decide on the best method of interaction.

“We can now track all key supporter data through various touchpoints they have with us. This enables us to see how they’ve engaged with us and what their next actions are, helping us build a personalised journey for them. Supporters engage with us in different ways—some might give a one-time donation, while others become sponsors by committing to regular donations. They may also participate in a challenge event or express a desire to leave us a gift in their Will. In some cases, they may do all of the above. With a comprehensive database, we can track every interaction a supporter has with us and respond appropriately to each one.

The system also allows us to segment our data more effectively for mailings, meaning we can report and analyse response rates by segment, something we hadn't done before. This has been really helpful in guiding us on who to reach out to for specific campaigns, such as our Christmas appeal."

What tangible benefits has Charity CRM supported with?

Due to the autonomy and insights provided by Charity CRM, the system has saved Raystede significant time that they would otherwise have spent manually updating the database. Instead, they have been able to concentrate on the development of their organisation, which is showcased by the development of their sponsorship programme.

"Since investing in Charity CRM, it’s enabled us to develop our sponsorship programme. The introduction of this means that more people are able to pay by Direct Debit. When I first joined Raystede, we had around 200 sponsors, and since this time, that number now stands at around 3,500."

Did Raystede integrate any other platforms with Charity CRM?

Raystede are working towards operating Charity CRM to its full potential by integrating the software with other third-party platforms. This has included MailChimp and JustGiving, each contributing towards key areas of Raystede, while filtering useful insights into the system.

“We primarily manage our emails through MailChimp, especially for our appeal mailings. This allows us to pull selections and segments from Charity CRM and use them for our magazine mailings. For those who have opted in, most of our communications include a biannual magazine, which provides all the essential information about Raystede.

We’ve also integrated JustGiving, which has been a significant time-saver, especially with the expansion of our events program. Most participants are signing up and using JustGiving, allowing the data to transfer seamlessly into our database, which we can then access and use as needed."

Working with Access’ Support team

Not only has Raystede been impressed with Charity CRM, but they’ve also had a positive experience with Access’ Support team. Marianne even singles out the Customer Success team for praise.

"The Customer Success team, particularly Tim, is great at getting back to me with answers. I can always rely on them to provide swift and informative support. They’ve been very helpful regarding several areas which has helped our understanding of the charity CRM."

Advice for other charities that are thinking about working with Access

While adopting Charity CRM has been a wise decision for Raystede, Marianne strongly recommends that organisations should plan accordingly before reaching out to a software provider. Most notably, identifying what exactly you want the software to achieve, while also updating key stakeholders about this process is essential.

“I would always say that you need to work backwards. You need to scope out exactly what you need to get in terms of analysis to drive your fundraising forward and then make sure that the database can actually provide that. This ensures that it’s structured so that when you receive a donation, you can produce those reports that enable you to fundraise better in the future.

And also to involve all the key stakeholders, because there's nothing worse than when people are just told ‘you're getting a new database’ without consulting them for their input. I think it's really important to sit with each team and identify what they need to use it for."

Schedule your Access Charity CRM demo

Access Charity CRM is specifically designed to meet the unique needs of charities, offering an intuitive, user-friendly platform that simplifies data management and enhances donor engagement. It provides a unified system that integrates seamlessly with other tools, saving time and reducing errors. Access Charity CRM allows charities to focus on their mission by automating routine tasks, providing in-depth reporting, and enabling organisations to better manage their donor relationships. Schedule your personalised demo today.