Women’s Community Shelters is using SupporterHub to grow their impact for women across New South Wales
Sallianne McClelland is the Director of Development at Sydney-based Women’s Community Shelters.
It shocked us to learn that currently, more than one in two women who seek shelter in Australia are turned away from existing facilities because of lack of space.
Working alongside the local communities, Women’s Community Shelters establishes short-term, safe emergency accommodation that is the first step in the process for women to rebuild self-esteem and find fulfilment in their lives.
With development at the core of her role, Sallianne is currently supporting the launch of shelter eight and nine in the New South Wales region. And Women’s Community Shelters is just getting started!
Where they were
When Sallianne approached SupporterHub, the organisation was already using a bigger system that was more complex and, in her own words, “not designed for people who are technology challenged.”
Overseeing seven shelters and a team with varying computer skills, as Women’s Community Shelters expanded its footprint, it soon became evident that to continue building relationships with its most valued donors, an integrated system that was easy for all abilities to use was essential.
Sallianne has 30 years of experience in professional fundraising and business development. She’s used a wide range of systems throughout her career from handwritten notes and Excel spreadsheets to the most complex of systems. Wanting the best from her staff and tools, she openly admits to pedantic tendencies. Sallianne understands that for a system to be effective, the first step is getting people to WANT to use it.
“While your system can have all the bells and whistles with the potential to make life easier, it is only as good as the people who are using it. If it’s not user friendly or doesn’t make their life easier, it simply won’t get used.”
What Women’s Community Shelters loves about SupporterHub
Having come from a platform that was primarily built for for-profits with NFP’s as an add-on module, Sallianne Loves being able to tag people in their specific groups. It is those tags that help build the relationship and take supporters on a journey with the charity.
“Digital communication is so important to the success of a charity. SupporterHub definitely helps you get your message out there.”
While SupporterHub is extremely cost-effective, the level of customer support included with the monthly subscription is like nothing Sallianne has experienced in her 30 years of working in the sector.
“In a busy charity, you want help when you want it. When relying on a system for donor processing, it’s not practical to wait for two days for someone to call you back if there’s a problem. You need to be able to talk to people there and then. With SupporterHub, you can do just that. I know the team by name, and I don’t have to spend time explaining who I am every time I pick up the phone.”
Transfer of data
“The most daunting thing about choosing any new system is the prospect of transferring data from the previous platform. One wrong move and we risk jeopardising all our donor history that will impact fundraising into the future.”
With her vast experience, Sallianne knew she had to trust us with her data to transfer to more streamlined systems. We’re pleased to say that she didn’t have one issue with the data upload.
“We needn’t have worried; the data transfer process was streamlined and smooth and took about three or four days from start to finish. I particularly loved that I could work directly with the SupporterHub team to perfect any issues, rather than going through to a helpdesk or support system where the enquiry falls into a big black hole.”
Sallianne believes in helping people be the best they can be by providing the right guidance and tools. She knows that across head office and seven shelters, the staff and volunteers rely on having the systems in place to excel in their roles and increase the impact for women across New South Wales.
“SupporterHub is the system that can do that and has great potential to build charities into the future.”
At a glance, Sallianne’s benefits of SupporterHub include:
- Focus on not-for-profits
- Australia based
- Excellent customer service where you can talk to real people at a time it suits you
- Specific charity expertise
- Experts in data transfer
- Heavy focus on relationships and communication
- No hidden costs
- Easy to navigate
- Cost
Sallianne is used to wearing costs as they appear, but she knows that a budget with no surprises is key to helping a charity plan for the future. One of the biggest advantages of SupporterHub is that there are no hidden extras.
“We know exactly where we stand each month which helps us build out a strong plan for future budgets.”
We couldn’t resist asking Sallianne what she particularly loved about SupporterHub:
“SupporterHub is easy to navigate. It has the grunt underneath it to grow with our charity as we grow. The most important person in our whole organisation understands and loves it…the financial controller! It is bliss.”
“SupporterHub is a good system for the long haul. Not only does it support us, but it also supports our donors and gives them the level of service that they deserve. People will change, staff will change, but the platform will not, and it will still provide longevity.”
“Any teething issues we have experienced, SupporterHub has fixed them all making the system better for other charities and charities into the future. We plan on sticking with SupporterHub, not only because of a cost-effective system that’s easy to use but also because they see the bigger picture just like we do.”
“SupporterHub enables our network of shelters and our central head office to manage all communications, donor records, fundraising and stakeholder records all in one place. SupporterHub is user-friendly and upfront while underpinned by a solid, reliable and accurate backend. Built with NFP’s as the focus client, SupporterHub will ensure that our volunteer Boards need only have one platform for all their needs.”
