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business success in association with
Bank support helps charity cut the cost of collecting
With a target of £7 million to be raised every year, hospices Naomi House and Jacksplace need to be sure they make the most of every penny, writes Alison Dewar
Looking after children and young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions, they provide care and support for families across Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Surrey, West Sussex and Wiltshire.
From their base in Sutton Scotney, near Winchester, Naomi House cares for children up to 16, while Jacksplace offers care for young adults aged 16 or over. Both deliver a range of services to help give families respite from the everyday pressures of looking after a child or young person with a life-limiting condition.
Some 80% of the charity’s annual running costs are met via a huge fundraising programme, which varies from sponsored events to donations and the support of volunteers in a network of 17 shops across the region.
Overall, the shops contribute around £2m a year and, with a rapidly growing network of shops, the charity had made it a priority to streamline its banking and back office processes.
Director of finance Tom Craig said: “Having such a diverse range of income streams brings its own challenges and with so many shops, we were beginning to feel the strain of the logistics and reporting procedures involved in all the banking activity, at the same time as managing the shops themselves.
“One of the key issues was to make sure money collected, either through selling goods or from direct donations handed in to shop staff, could be properly and quickly banked. It was important it could be reconciled so donors knew the money had gone into our account. We needed to ensure we claim gift aid where appropriate, and we required a data trail to show where the money had come from.“
Previously, the charity had worked with four different banks, which meant there was very little uniformity of practice.
Recently however, it has joined forces with Barclays, whose team provided valuable input into plans for the new technology infrastructure.
Craig explains: “Barclays asked us lots of questions about our requirements and they offered us a variety of options. We all agreed there was no point in putting in place ’clever
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banking’ without changing our internal systems and Barclays was happy to wait and advise us as we made those changes.“
The charity implemented a new ICT reporting structure, and by using cloud-based technology combined with the advantages of online banking, transactions are instantly reconciled.
“This has been a huge leap for us, we think it is one of the best shop banking systems that we could have implemented,“ said Craig. “It means our managers can concentrate on what they are really good at, rather than spending an hour a day reconciling everything.
“It saves us time and money and we have a very good relationship with Barclays’ personnel. They are very well informed and give our shops flexibility that we did not have before. We’ve been able to remove a very large clerical task, minimise our back office costs and now operate much more efficiently than before.
“In addition, all of the charity’s shops have a Barclays’ branch nearby, as will retail units opened in the future. The knowledge Barclays has of our organisation will make the expansion of our retail network that much easier.“
Steve Gritt, Barclays’ relationship director, Solent & Dorset Corporate, said: “We knew that as a charity their needs were very different, their banking systems had to be efficient and save both time and money. We were able to provide a tailored solution which has delivered on that promise and enables them to continue doing a fantastic job for families in our community.“
Earlier this year, the charity launched the Caterpillar Appeal, aiming to raise £4m to redevelop facilities at Naomi House, which first opened its doors in 1997.
Keith Wilson, press and communications officer, said: “Today, advances in medicine and care mean many children live longer and the way they are cared for has changed.
“Naomi House needs more space and more resources, and this campaign will enable us to provide much greater flexibility of care for families, with bigger and better facilities.“
Coupled with the major appeal, the charity has also relaunched its community service
programme, increasing the amount of care it provides to families in the community as an alternative to more traditional NHS services.
The fundraising team prides itself on working closely with many corporate supporters and is always keen to hear from more companies keen to become involved.
Barclays is already a regular supporter and last year took part in a Store Wars event, taking over a charity shop for a day and competing against other organisations to see who could raise the most money. Not only did they raise plenty of cash, but it also gave employees a first-hand chance to see how the charity shops work, something Craig says has really paid dividends.
Details:
Keith Wilson 01962-760060
keith.wilson@naomihouse.org.uk www.naomihouse.org.uk
Steve Gritt 07775-542103
steve.j.gritt@
barclays.com www.barclays.com/corporatebanking
The views expressed in this article are the views of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Barclays Bank PLC Group nor should they be taken as statements of policy or intent of the Barclays Bank PLC Group. The Barclays Bank PLC Group takes no responsibility for the veracity of information contained in the third part guides or articles and no warranties or undertakings of any kind, whether express or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information given. The Barclays Bank PLC Group takes no liability for the impact of any decisions made based on information contained and views expressed.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JUNE 2014
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