Division: Charity

Case Studies Charity

Worldwide Cancer Research

28 September, 2023

Elovate helps Worldwide Cancer Research create a seamless online Direct Debit experience.

At Elovate, we understand the need for a totally flexible approach to Direct Debit processing. Some charities prefer us to manage everything for them; others are happy processing offline Direct Debits themselves in-house, but need the services of a trusted partner when it comes to managing the online side of things.

We helped Worldwide Cancer Research get set up with our online Direct Debit service. When they onboarded with Elovate, the most important thing for the charity was to avoid any impact on their supporters.

Communicate CG

“The change was seamless, and anyone coming to our website to sign up for a Direct Debit has a quick, easy and secure experience. And for our internal teams, Elovate has ensured that data extraction and reporting are just as easy, so we can access what we need, precisely when we need it.”

– Worldwide Cancer Research

Whatever a charity needs, we can provide a simple, pain-free solution that fits.

“Our Direct Debit service is designed to meet the demands and expectations of today’s charities and their supporters – through insight, technology, and exceptional service, we aim to provide the very best experience possible for everyone involved. We totally understand that our clients need a flexible Direct Debit service that fits in around their needs and brand, not ours; giving them control and visibility whilst letting them choose the level of service they need. We are delighted to have achieved that for Worldwide Cancer Research.”

– Scott Gray, Chief Commercial Officer (Charity Division) at Elovate

Worldwide Cancer Research is a great example of a charity that came to us seeking that flexible ‘mix and match’ approach to their donation payment processing.

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Case Studies Charity

World Animal Protection

28 September, 2023

Elovate supports World Animal Protection with a wide range of charity services.

World Animal Protection has worked successfully with Elovate since 2019. Over the years, we have supported them with a variety of response handling services, including:

  • Secure, compliant banking of Raffles and Direct Mail appeals
  • Thanking services (sending out thank you letters and welcome packs)
  • Direct Debit processing
  • Processing all aspects of Virtual Gifts
  • Contact Centre services for the online shop

On top of this, we provide fulfilment solutions which have been specifically tailored to suit World Animal Protection’s small trading shop. This has included storing items and picking, packing, and dispatching orders efficiently from the online shop in a compliant manner.

CRM Support

World Animal Protection can process donations in-house using Elovate’s CRM system, saving them from implementing or supporting their own. The CRM is very user-friendly, it’s easy to train staff how to use it, and it gives the charity quick access to scanned documents of everything Elovate has processed.

At Elovate, we’re always investing in our technology, so we listen to World Animal Protection’s (and any other organisation’s) suggestions for improvements to our CRM and implement them.

A Close Working Relationship

Elovate provides all our clients with a dedicated and proactive account manager. In the case of World Animal Protection, they have enjoyed a great relationship with their account manager at Elovate and can clearly see that we are experienced at dealing with third sector organisations and their specific requirements.

We keep in close contact with World Animal Protection with fortnightly meetings. Whilst there have been mistakes along the way, the charity has recognised that we are always very keen to rectify these, and we work together to implement changes where necessary.

“We confirm that we have received excellent service levels from Elovate for the past couple of years and we would not hesitate to recommend their charity response and charity trading fulfilment services to other charities and fundraisers in the third sector.”

– World Animal Protection

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Insights Charity

Do you know your ADDACS from your AUDDIS or ARUDD?!

10 September, 2023

In this final feature post on Bacs Direct Debit reports, we take a look at the largest report:

ADDACS – Automated Direct Debit Amendment and Cancellation Service

The ADDACS report gives you information on cancelled supporters and also any bank account changes that will impact your Direct Debit claim files. This report is vital and all requests should be updated within three working days, but daily if you can.

You may have also seen the adverts for Current Account Switch Services, promoting supporters to switch with ease to another bank. These bank account transfers are all messaged to you in this report, so you can make sure your payment data is accurate and no donations, membership fees or lottery plays get missed.

Why is it Important?

Not only is it a requirement under the Bacs scheme rules to ensure all reports are dealt with, here are our top three reasons it matters to you:

  • You don’t claim for a Direct Debit when you know the Instruction has already been cancelled. This will reduce your bank fees and unpaid item processes – saving you time and money!
  • Amending bank details will ensure future collection success, meaning more money in the pot in the future 
  • Ability to contact your supporter quickly on cancellation, to thank them, and give them options to support you again – again, increasing the potential for more money 
Elovate – we take the hassle from you and keep on top of these reports for you, saving time and money

As a Bacs Approved Bureau, we manage all Bacs reports on behalf of our charities, making sure your Addacs, Auddis, and Arudd are all dealt with promptly, that correspondence is sent if needed, and reported back to you via our CGHub.

To learn more about the other two Bacs reports featured in this blog series, please click on ARUDD or AUDDIS.

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Insights Charity

Do you know your ARUDD from your AUDDIS or ADDACS?!

9 September, 2023

On our second post exploring some of the Bacs Direct Debit terms, we shine a spotlight on these frequently used words to bring them to life and to help you manage your regular payments.

ARUDD – Automated Return of Unpaid Direct Debit

Sometimes this term has an ‘S’ at the end to represent ‘Service’ but for the most part, is referred to as ARUDD. As the name suggests, this Bacs report will show you all unpaid items and why they have been rejected by the bank once your Direct Debits have been submitted. This is normally within three working days.

Understanding the reasons for rejection is an important step

The 2 most reported (will represent 90%+ of all ‘unpaids’ on average) are:

  • Refer to Payer – your supporter did not have sufficient monies when the Direct Debit claim was made. You can represent the following month or try and represent on another day. You will have to make sure you follow the rules here but for the most part for donations, these get tried once more the following month. During this period, your supporter will either contact you to make alternative arrangements, cancel, or hopefully money will be in so they continue to support you. We would expect 50% of supporters to continue with their gift – so a good reason to represent!
  • Instruction Cancelled by Payer – the supporter has cancelled their Direct Debit with you. You should contact the supporter and thank them for their support and see if there is anything to win them back. There are a host of different flows here to test but you can’t claim again until you have been Instructed again by your supporter.

Over the course of the year, Elovate will be looking at what percentage of ARUDD we see, and we will share this information as a charity benchmark so you can compare it against your files. We will update the Sector once completed. As a general rule, we would expect the total number of ARUDD to be less than 2% of your claim file but you will more than likely see less than 1% which will be more of the norm.for charity donations.

Want to learn about AUDDIS reports? Click here

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Insights Charity

Do you know your AUDDIS from your ARUDD or ADDACS?!

8 September, 2023

Understanding some of the Bacs Direct Debit language and why it is important is critical to managing your Direct Debit supporters.

This blog is one of three that looks at 3 terms often used when it comes to management and processing your Direct Debits.

AUDDIS – Automated Direct Debit Instruction Service

This is what you use (or your Bacs Bureau) to setup a new Direct Debit or an amendment to a supporters bank details. This will ensure when you come to claim the Instruction is all setup and ready to go. You will on occasions get some AUDDIS returns that will need to be investigated to make sure your have the correct details. Don’t process Direct Debits if the AUDDIS has been rejected, it will only come back failed!

Note: You have to be setup for AUDDIS, as there are still a few Direct Debit Service Users who still post mandates to the supporter’s bank. If this is you, it may be time to upgrade! (Chat to one of our payment experts if you would like to know more regarding Auddis migrations)

What to do if it’s rejected?

Most of the time the return will be due to the bank details you hold being Incorrect or Direct Debits not being able to be claimed from that bank account. The easiest way is to contact your supporter and ask them to check their sortcode or account number. There are host of other reasons, which can be found by looking at the Bacs Service User Guide & Rules.

Why is it important to get AUDDIS rejections sorted?

These impact your ‘no show’ rates and whilst the number of AUDDIS rejections should be small, each one not acted on is a loss of a regular donation, lottery play or membership payment. We have known some organisations who do not realise these types of rejections and therefore these fall through the crack – hopefully this note is a reminder to check!

Our second blog will be looking at ARUDD…

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Case Studies Charity

The Leprosy Mission Shop

28 July, 2023

Elovate supports The Leprosy Mission Shop with virtual gift fulfilment.

Elovate plays a huge part in helping The Leprosy Mission Shop by taking and fulfilling supporter orders for their Gifts for Life fundraising product.

We have provided The Leprosy Mission Shop with a range of charity trading and response handling solutions since April 2017. At one point, The Leprosy Mission Shop ran its own warehouse, then they used another fulfilment house. As the business grew, they needed more. The charity came to Elovate through word-of-mouth recommendation, given to them by one of our existing clients.

“What we gained in moving to Elovate was a more professional service. If, for example, you are buying a Gift for Life for £450 to finance a well for a community affected by leprosy, it’s important that your order is handled well, and the Gift for Life card actually arrives!”

– The Leprosy Mission Shop

Elovate offers a wide range of virtual gift solutions, allowing supporters to make a donation to their friend or relative as a gift. The cards:

  • Can be fully personalised, whether it is an e-card or physical card.
  • Are digitally printed on demand on-site, saving time and storage space.
  • Can be print finished and then fulfilled in-house.

Growing Gifts for Life

When The Leprosy Mission Shop first came to Elovate, they were looking for outstanding customer service and picking accuracy. Many of their customers need to make complex transactions and they needed a partner who could handle these seamlessly. For example, customers may want to order catalogue products, Gifts for Life, and make a donation in the same transaction.

“Gifts for Life has grown as a proportion of our revenue in recent years. This is a way for supporters to make a restricted donation to a particular project.”

– The Leprosy Mission Shop

Recently, Elovate has worked with The Leprosy Mission Shop so that customers can purchase an e-Gift for Life or a personalised Gift for Life. These are printed specially for each customer by Elovate.

Staying On Brand

Elovate’s contact centre staff take care of supporter orders for The Leprosy Mission Shop’s products and Gifts for Life. The Leprosy Mission have made regular presentations to the Elovate team, explaining how every product purchased, every Gift for Life sent, and every donation made, is a step closer to ending leprosy, 4000 years in. With our help, they can stop the transmission of leprosy.

“It is important that Elovate staff understand our values and reflect these in every detail of every transaction, so that everything is done on brand and in our tone of voice. Elovate have done this excellently.”

– The Leprosy Mission Shop

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