Microsoft Gold Partner, m-hance, is delighted to announce that it has been selected to undertake a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) project with Epilepsy Action, the UK’s leading epilepsy organisation, that will provide the charity with advanced stakeholder engagement capabilities and will underpin its digital marketing strategy.
The project, which commenced in January 2018, will see Epilepsy Action roll out m-hance’s charity CRM solution, NfP 365, across the entire organisation. Based on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform, NfP 365 has been pre-configured specifically for charities and not-for-profit organisations and will enable Epilepsy Action to gain a real-time, 360-degree view of its members, supporters and other stakeholders, including volunteers, advisory groups and fundraisers.
Epilepsy Action made the decision to move away from the current CRM system, ProgressCRM. This decision was taken to enhance IT system integration and develop efficient marketing and fundraising activities. Having used the ProgressCRM system for several years, Epilepsy Action felt ProgressCRM wasn’t in line with the charity’s growth ambitions or strategic digital objectives.
The charity was looking for a solution that would allow it to offer a more personalised and interactive experience for its members and supporters. Combined with this, the charity was looking to enhance its helpline and advice service. Epilepsy Action also wanted a CRM system that would offer seamless integration with digital technologies, including its e-learning website. Through enhanced IT system integration, the charity can transform the way it raises funds to support people living with epilepsy and engage supporters through different communication methods.
It was also important to Epilepsy Action that the new charity CRM solution would offer improved reporting capabilities, allowing staff to spend less time manually processing data and more time analysing data to aid campaign planning. In addition, the charity wanted to ensure it was fully prepared for upcoming and recently introduced data protection and fundraising regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Fundraising Preference Service (FPS).
NfP 365 provides charities and not-for-profit organisations with a single view of an individual supporter, meaning that every interaction can be monitored, allowing charities to better understand their supporters and personalise communications and campaigns. The solution also offers integration with key fundraising platforms such as JustGiving and Virgin Money Giving, together with Microsoft Office 365, enabling charities to access the entire Microsoft suite from one single platform. Furthermore, with NfP 365, charities can ensure their data is safe and compliant as the cloud-based system takes into consideration UK and EU data regulations.
m-hance was selected as Epilepsy Action’s preferred CRM supplier after being shortlisted, along with two other CRM providers, following an invitation to tender. After evaluating m-hance’s proposal and obtaining NfP 365 customer references, Epilepsy Action was sure that NfP 365 was the right CRM solution to meet its objectives, and that m-hance was the right implementation partner. The fact that m-hance has over 20 years’ experience in the not-for-profit sector, working with charities such as Christian Aid, Oxfam Ireland, Amnesty International, Solent Mind and the Irish Cancer Society, further reinforced Epilepsy Action’s decision to move forward with the company as its trusted partner.
Simon Wigglesworth, deputy chief executive at Epilepsy Action, comments: “At Epilepsy Action, our core purpose is to ensure that all people with epilepsy receive the right support, care and treatment, and that through our work, we are raising awareness to end stigma, prejudice and discrimination surrounding epilepsy. To do this, we need to make sure that we have the right systems, as well as the right people, in place to deliver our vital advice and support services, our campaigning and fundraising activities.
“When looking for the right CRM system to take Epilepsy Action forward it was clear that m-hance’s NfP 365 solution offered us the right core product along with flexibility and adaptability to tailor it for our needs. This, along with m-hance’s track record of delivery in the third sector, left us confident we would have a system in place to improve our engagement with and support for our service users and stakeholders. We are really looking forward to rolling the system out to our staff. Most importantly, being able to build personalised campaigns and messages for our supporters will mean we can engage with them in different and more meaningful ways, as well as improving our marketing capabilities.”
Epilepsy Action’s CRM project highlights the growing importance for charities and not-for-profit organisations to start thinking about digital transformation and aligning their digital strategy with their overall organisational strategy. Tory Cassie, NfP new business at m-hance comments: “One of Epilepsy Action’s main objectives was to incorporate more digital technology into its daily activities. Our NfP 365 solution has been developed to allow charities to explore different and new ways in which they can communicate with their supporters and raise funds and donations. We are delighted to work with Epilepsy Action and support such an important cause and we look forward to fully rolling out the charity’s new CRM system and working together on future projects.”
If you’d like to find out more about NfP 365 you can register for m-hance’s upcoming NfP event, featuring talks from Solent Mind and Christian Aid. To find out more about Epilepsy Action, visit epilepsy.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITOR
Each year Epilepsy Action directly helps over 2 million people through a range of services, including the Epilepsy Action Helpline freephone 0808 800 5050, branch network, events and website, epilepsy.org.uk