The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP), the largest voluntary organisation in Ireland dedicated to tackling poverty and disadvantage, has gone live with a centralised finance and CRM system from m-hance comprising a portfolio of membership, regional location, donor and client management applications.
The web-based system is helping SVP to increase the efficiency of its fundraising operations and significantly minimise administration costs whilst aiding legislative compliance.
m-hance’s integrated system, which is replacing multiple standalone Access databases, is being delivered as a five-year fully managed service contract and includes the provision of comprehensive service desk support. The new system is being rolled-out on a phased basis across Ireland and will initially be piloted to 100 of SVP’s area conferences within the Dublin region.
Helen O’Broin, IT Project Manager, at The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Ireland, explains, “It is essential that we invest in leading edge technology to enable us operate more efficiently and improve the quality of services we provide to those in need. m-hance has an excellent reputation within the not-for-profit sector and took the time to fully understand our needs as a charity. By demonstrating excellent implementation skills m-hance has ensured that this complex project has so far been a major success.”
SVP Ireland operates over 1,200 small regional groups, called ‘Conferences’, who maintain individual records of their charitable activities. Details of all transactions, donations and collections data are logged manually within treasury books and spreadsheets. This was extremely time-consuming to collate and difficult to compare. SVP also had no central visibility of its supporters who were regularly making donations via different methods (postal, online, in person at an event etc) or of the profile of the people who were requesting the charity’s assistance.
m-hance’s system will enable SVP’s Conferences to easily access, store and update details about their client cases and all aspects of their financial performance online, significantly improving the visibility and reporting of key information in real-time throughout the year. It will also streamline financial year-end reporting involving the reconciliation of over 1,200 bank accounts and significantly reduce tax relief administration.
O’Broin comments, “m-hance’s system will allow us to access comprehensive information about those we help in one integrated system, eliminating duplication of effort and significantly improving financial visibility and control throughout the Society. The new solution will reduce our financial year-end reporting by up to five months and help to speed-up the financial audit process.”
O’Broin continues, “We can now better manage and record all postal and credit card donations online. This has enabled us to increase the efficiency of our fundraising operations and significantly minimise administration costs, providing us with a rapid return on our investment. The CRM system’s intuitive functionality and built-in templates is also helping us to better target our marketing campaigns to different donor types whilst making receipting, thanking and asking for donations a much simpler process.”
Furthermore, m-hance’s solution can also be utilised to record up-to-date information on cases, track financial assistance by case and receive requests for assistance directly via email to assist SVP’s Conferences in their weekly work to further support the people they help. It will also enable Conferences to store, view and update information on volunteer members and staff to ensure that Garda vetting has been passed.
O’Broin adds, “The Irish Government increasingly depend on the Society to provide accurate details on the levels of poverty in Ireland. m-hance’s system will make it so much quicker for us to provide this information and strengthen our ability to influence future social policy, in addition to ensuring we are fully compliant with changing legislation.”
FACTFILE:
The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul http://svp.ie
The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) is a charitable organisation dedicated to the service of the poor. Established by French university students in 1833 led by the Blessed Frederic Ozanam, the Society is today present in 132 countries.
SVP is the largest, voluntary, charitable organisation in Ireland. Its membership of 9,500 volunteers throughout the country is supported by professional staff, working for social justice and the creation of a more just, caring nation. This unique network of social concern also gives practical support to those experiencing poverty and social exclusion, by providing a wide range of services to people in need. The concept of need is broader than financial hardship, so visiting the sick, the lonely and the imprisoned form a large proportion of the Society’s work.
The Society operates in small groups, called “Conferences”, based on local parishes which meet regularly and their work is usually concentrated on local visiting. However over the years SVP has responded to social changes, providing a range of additional services depending on the prevailing need. Today, these “Special Works” include shops, resource centres, and through the provision of accommodation to vulnerable people including various holiday schemes amongst other activities.
m-hance www.m-hance.com
m-hance is a UK-based company providing innovative and functionally rich business software solutions to 2000 mid-market sized organisations including G4S, Stafford Lynch and Endsleigh Insurance. m-hance’s core solutions offering consist of financial management, CRM, managed services and software development in a variety of vertical markets including distribution, manufacturing, not-for-profit and professional services.
Formed on 1 November 2011 following the acquisitions of Calyx Software, Gyrosoft, Trinity Computer Services and elements of MentecPlus, Touchstone Group, Sys-Care and Avant-Garde, m-hance is a leading supplier of innovative business software to mid-sized organisations. m-hance is currently supported by 150 staff from offices in Manchester, London, Loughborough, Dublin and Glasgow.
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