A national animal charity
A national animal charity outsources its direct debit payment processing and generates over £100,000 in additional income
The Challenge:
- The charity had ambitious expansion plans around their Direct Debit campaigns
- Their own internal systems were limited specifically around claims and representations
- Needed a provider who worked closely with, and served as an extension of its the Supporter Care team – easing pressure of workload on the in-house team.
- Needed to minimise any disruption to supporters by moving over.
Planned expansion of its Direct Debit campaign activity prompted the charity to move from in-house donation processing to using an external partner for the service. With Rapidata’s solution, the charity now enjoys the benefits of a reliable provider that serves as an extension to its experienced data and supporter services teams.
As part of its remit, Rapidata worked to reinstate failed Direct Debit payments, maximising its valuable supporter base and recovering over £100,000 in rejected Direct Debit payments in the process in the first year.
Establishing the relationship
In addition to its expansion intentions, the charity was also aware that its in-house system could be limited when it came to the processing of multiple claims and re-presentations. This led the charity to explore the option of outsourcing its Direct Debit processing, as Toby, Supporter Services Manager, explains:
“We felt that outsourcing the function and bringing Rapidata on board offered us a host of benefits. We have now mitigated the risks involved with processing our Direct Debits in-house, and can expand our campaign activity with confidence while ensuring that our donors still have a smooth experience.”
Reaping the rewards of Rapidata’s experience
As part of its services, Rapidata analysed the charity’s unpaid Direct Debit donations, and using its industry knowledge and systems, re-presented over 50% of those Direct Debits over the first 12 months of the partnership.
This one action resulted in the charity generating additional income of £112,000 in what would be otherwise-lost revenue due to the donations being “written off.”
By reigniting the charity’s relationship with these donors, Rapidata has helped the charity to maximise its relationship and chances of ongoing support from them going into the future.
Rapidata Account Manager, Bridget May, elaborates:
“By using our established systems to re-present targeted failed Direct Debits, we can not only boost income for the charity in the short term, but also allow them to develop a stronger relationship and nurture those donors for greater support for possibly many more years to come.”
A rosy future
The combination of Rapidata’s donation processing expertise and the charity’s commitment to maximising its supporters through Direct Debit donations, means that the successful partnership continues to flourish.
Sharing her experience of the transition, Bridget, says:
“This is a large national animal charity with lots of data to migrate over, but the transition was completed within a month, accurately and with no disruption to donors. At Rapidata, we’re proud of the strong relationship we have, and the positive impact we’ve made, both in terms of the impact of identifying and representing certain failed Direct Debits and the ongoing effective management of its donation processing.”
Giving his final views on the outsourcing process and results, Toby, concludes:
“Outsourcing our Direct Debit processing has given us the confidence to promote and build our Direct Debit supporter base without worrying about the impact it has on the team’s workload.
“The whole process was smooth and organised and Rapidata updated us regularly along the way. It certainly helps that the Rapidata team is a consistent one, and that we’re still dealing with the same people today as when we first started working with them.
“We have a great deal of trust in Rapidata–we know that we can leave them to get on and do what needs to be done and we’re pleased with our decision to bring them on board.”
