Customer story: East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity

A mission that goes beyond care

East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity exists to make life better for patients and staff across four hospitals. From funding specialist equipment to creating comforting spaces, every donation helps deliver care that goes above and beyond NHS provision. Hazel Brightman leads communications and engagement, managing everything from social media and press releases to appeals and website updates.

“We raise funds for projects over the remit of the NHS to support patients, visitors and staff. My role includes managing all our communications and marketing activities.”

- Hazel Brightman, Communications and Engagement Manager

The digital challenge

With a small team and everybody needing to be able to update the website, Hazel needed a system that was intuitive, reliable, and easy for anyone to use, without risking broken pages or inconsistent branding. “We’ve looked at moving to a cheaper option a couple of times,” Hazel admits, “but we stayed because Access is simple for non-web people, so it makes our lives easier.”

Why Access was the answer

Access Raise offered exactly what Hazel needed: a hard-coded, user-friendly platform that keeps everything on-brand and consistent. “Even those who aren’t very web-savvy can use it,” Hazel explains. “It’s easy and it can’t go too wrong.”

Making fundraising effortless

The integration with Donorfy CRM has been a game-changer. Donations now flow straight into the system, cutting down admin and freeing up time for engagement. “This has really streamlined the process,” Hazel says. “The Events module and Appeals module are also user-friendly for anyone to post.”

Unlocking potential with Ad Grants

While Hazel hasn’t fully explored Ad Grants yet, she sees huge potential. “I’d like to know more about how they perform and have regular check-ins,” she says. Seasonal updates and reminders could help the charity maximise visibility and attract new supporters.

Streamlining donor management

As a small charity without a dedicated CRM manager, East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity needed a donor management system that was intuitive and efficient. Donorfy, recommended by peers, offered the right mix of automation, integrations (JustGiving, Mailchimp, MuchLoved), and ease of use. It replaced an outdated accounting system, enabling better donor stewardship, faster financial recording, and improved team collaboration.

Since implementing Donorfy, the charity has seen enhanced reporting, increased income, and increased team morale. Features like donor forms and real-time dashboards have empowered fundraisers to work more independently and efficiently. The system now supports smarter decision-making and campaign planning. Looking ahead, the team hopes the Access Group partnership will bring improved event management capabilities to further streamline their fundraising efforts.

“Donorfy has made a real difference to how we work—it's helped us communicate better, manage donor data more efficiently, and ultimately raise more income. I’d definitely recommend it to other charities, especially small teams like ours. It’s easy to use, saves time, and supports smarter fundraising.”

- Bethany McNeil, Head of Public Fundraising, East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity

Impact and reflection

Access has helped the charity maintain a strong digital presence despite limited resources and being used by staff with little web experience. “It’s not as cheap as other website options,” Hazel admits, “but it works for us, it does so much and most importantly, it’s easy for new staff to pick up with minimal training.”

Why Hazel recommends Access

“I would recommend Access for other NHS trusts, especially if they need a system that non-techy staff can easily use and not break!”