Customer story: English Touring Opera
Conducting change with Donorfy
English Touring Opera (ETO) is one of the leading opera companies in the UK, dedicated to producing and bringing high quality opera to the widest possible audiences. Through touring across the country, they offer a comprehensive programme of community events, and are developing a pioneering access programme that seeks to open opera to audiences of all ages through learning and participation. Here’s how they’re using Donorfy to support their brilliant work.
Product
Donorfy
Charity type
Heritage, Arts and Education
Package
Enterprise
Challenges
- Inherited an underutilised Donorfy system with no involvement in the original setup
- Important data scattered across shared drives and paper files rather than centralised in the CRM
- Lack of structured approach to grant and trust fundraising management
Solution
- Adopted a strategic approach to CRM optimisation
- Implemented systematic use of Donorfy's opportunities feature for grant tracking
- Created custom activities specifically for trust and foundation applications
Results
- Streamlined grant application process with clear progress tracking from submission to outcome
- Improved data accuracy and organisation within constituent records
- Automated event booking data capture through Eventbrite integration
In terms of user-friendliness, Donorfy is great to work with. The support and flexibility are making all the difference to ETO.
Unlocking unused potential
Managing a CRM at a charity can be quite a challenge, especially when the current team wasn't involved in the initial setup. This was the case for the fundraising team at ETO, who are all relatively new in their roles, and inherited a version of Donorfy that was migrated early on in the pandemic and not being used effectively. Recognising its powerful capabilities, they knew they needed to focus on organising and optimising their CRM to better fit their needs.
“We still have information in folders on shared drives and on paper, information that ultimately needs to be in Donorfy,” explains Olivia. “We quickly realised that we needed to use Donorfy for what it’s designed for, and ensure that data is accurately reflected on constituent records.”
Instead of diving in headfirst, they’re taking a steady and strategic approach towards maximising its full potential for long-term success. Each team member is taking ownership of their specific needs based on their role, and they’re on a journey towards a fully centralised and effective CRM system.
Go-to for grants and trusts
Olivia’s primary use of Donorfy revolves around fundraising management, especially managing their trust and grant fundraising activities. Their systematic approach ensures that ETO can track their progress and stay organised throughout the fundraising process. Olivia explains,
“I’m using Donorfy for grant applications now. The opportunities feature is particularly useful for monitoring the different stages of our applications once they’re in the pipeline, from submission to outcome."
Another standout feature for Olivia is the ability to create custom activities within Donorfy. “We've composed a specific activity for trust and foundation applications," she says. "This allows us to input all necessary information, such as the amount applied for, the amount received and the success rate. It’s a great step forward.”
Additionally, Olivia has been enjoying the flexibility Donorfy has to offer, adding:
“I really like the opportunities and campaign features, which I use a lot. We have various types of activities that need to be added to constituent timelines, given the diverse nature of our interactions. Some donors prefer to remain on the donor side, while others enjoy attending our shows. Being able to tailor these configurations to match our specific needs is really helpful.”
ETO has benefited from Donorfy’s support services, too.
“Rich from Donorfy has been instrumental in helping us navigate through some of the complexities,” Olivia notes. “I’ve also spoken to team members at conferences, and you can tell they’re very much based within the charity sector."
Elsewhere in the organisation, colleagues are also revitalising Donorfy to store and report on a diverse range of fundraising and supporter data. They’re starting to use integrations to save time and effort, too.
“Our Head of Marketing and Communications recently integrated Eventbrite with Donorfy. This means that when people book pre-show talks and similar events, their bookings will automatically appear in their timelines, which is really helpful.” Olivia added.
The future: Orchestrating success
As part of their strategic efforts, they’re setting the stage for future enhancements and growth. They’re planning to continue their ongoing efforts to maximise their use of tags, especially for segmenting donor interests, while utilising more integrations to streamline their operations further.
“We’re excited about using further integrations, like MailChimp and Xero. We’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from other charities using Donorfy. Hearing their stories at the Donorfy Conference has given us some great ideas.”
English Touring Opera’s experience with Donorfy is a testament to the power of thoughtful planning and adaptability. By focusing on getting things right long-term, leveraging support resources and harnessing inspiration, ETO is hitting all the right notes. Olivia and her team are excited about their future with Donorfy - and so are we!
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