Customer story: Birmingham Dogs Home

Before making the switch to Donorfy, the team faced a common challenge: using a system not tailored for fundraising. They were using an overarching database that was amazing at holding doggy data and rehoming information, but they were squeezing in donor and supporter data that didn’t naturally fit. 

Operating in isolation, the system lacked integrations and fell short on the fundraising front, including reporting accuracy. It wasn’t fast or simple to generate analytics, and they couldn’t compile lists or segment their supporters.

Having used other databases before, Head of Fundraising Fi knew what she wanted it to do, but couldn’t quite bend it to fit. They needed a new CRM that was built specifically with fundraising in mind, so the search was on.

Unleashing potential

After exploring various options, Donorfy stood out as the most comprehensive choice, offering all the features and functionality they needed to move forward. The pricing model being transparent and simple was a deciding factor too, along with having no upfront licence fee, which was a happy bonus for the board.

They also liked that Donorfy is driven by a team with a strong fundraising background. Fi explained, 

“It’s obviously been developed by people who know fundraising, rather than just being a CRM with some bits for fundraising in there.” 

Integrations were crucial for the team too. They’ve integrated with various platforms throughout their journey so far, including forms on their website, JustGiving, Facebook and Mailchimp. “The techy people were really impressed with how the Donorfy API works.'' Fi added.

With no internal IT department or resource, how their new CRM would be implemented was on their minds too. The team worked with MAST, who handled everything from setup to data input, ensuring a smooth transition and making the process less daunting. A step-by-step approach also helped quash concerns.

“It was a big change for some of the team, who had been using the other system for a long time.” Fi explained. “There was some resistance initially to the idea of moving away. The methodical approach to implementation meant we managed to find better and easier ways of doing things and it helped the change. They spent time with us as a team and individually, setting everything up and helping make sense of the data we were bringing across.”

The result? The transition was completed on time and within budget, ensuring they could hit the ground running with less stress.

We’re pleased to say they’ve experienced a transformative shift in their operations. Their five-strong team are pretty reliant on Donorfy now, “they say they don’t know how they managed without before!” adds Fi.

“We use it in lots of different ways - managing tasks, setting up opportunities, segmenting supporters and monthly management reporting.” 

“You name any aspect of fundraising, and there’s been a huge improvement in each one.” Fi continued. “Things that weren’t possible with the limited system we had before are possible now. We’ve gone from zero to 100 in terms of functionality.”

Data-driven decisions and increased efficiency

This means they can now make data driven decisions instead of taking their best guess for success. Easily segmenting their supporters, creating lists, allocating tags and activities and campaigns have changed the game. “We do a lot with lists for our campaigns, it’s used daily for batched transactions and tags.”

They’re also enjoying improved efficiency, saving time on tasks that used to take much longer. They’re busy, so this has been a big benefit.

“I can’t put a number on it, but everyone’s much more efficient."

Fi continued: "If we wanted to produce a report about a particular type of supporter, that might have taken weeks of manual labour to craft before. Whereas now, we can set something up in a few minutes. There's no comparison, really.”

Personalised engagement with supporters

Managing their Christmas Appeal is more intuitive, too. Supporters donate to help fill the dishes of the 300 dogs in their care or sponsor kennels, and they use Donorfy to put together the data they need.

This enables them to target communications to different types of supporter, be it someone who has adopted a dog in the last 12 months, or someone who’s donated £50 or more.  

“Whatever segment we choose, we can create the data and send an appropriate mailing, including targeted newsletters. That wasn’t happening at all before.”

It’s been great when people get in touch with them too, and having accessible information in one, centralised place made that possible. They can offer a more personalised service for supporters. The small things that make a big difference like knowing, “oh yes, she ran 10K for us last year." “You're able to talk to them like a person rather than just a number.” Fi added.

In summary, Birmingham Dogs Home's use of Donorfy brought about a pivotal shift in their fundraising journey. As our aim is to give charities more time, better tools and the freedom to do more of what truly matters, we couldn’t be more thrilled - and can’t wait to see what they do next.

"I'm very happy to recommend Donorfy. Fundraising is challenging and you need the right tools to stand a chance of real success. It can be a daunting move, but we made the right choice in Donorfy, and we're going from strength to strength."