Once again Harlequin are proud to have been voted top of the prestigious Annual Charity CRM Survey.

The survey, conducted by Civil Society Media and published in Fundraising magazine's March issue, saw us top both the CRM software and Supplier tables.

In the software category Harlequin CRM scored an overall ranking of 2.81 out of a possible 3, being assessed on functionality, cost, integration with other systems, integration with website and ease of use.

In the supplier category Harlequin scored an incredible 2.93 out of 3. Assessment was carried out on technical support (which actually scored the full 3), provision of upgrades, knowledge of the charity sector, and commitment to the sector.

Managing Director Tom Ellis said "It's fantastic to have come out top of this highly-respected survey a second time and we are really delighted that our clients are so complimentary about our systems and service.

Everyone in the team works really hard to make sure we always have the best system for our clients' needs and the best support when they need it. This is a great boost for the Harlequin team and will spur us on to make sure we keep ahead of the game and our customers happy."

Out of the 13 systems surveyed, Harlequin were given the highest marks for functionality, integration with other systems, ease-of-use, commitment to the sector and technical support. Harlequin also scored well on cost and knowledge of the sector.

Tom Ellis, MD of Harlequin, comments: “The survey results are a real testament to all my team who work so hard to develop the software and keep our customers happy. Providing excellent customer service is at the heart of Harlequin so we are particularly proud of the 100% customer recommendation rate.”

When asked how the results might impact on Harlequin, Tom continues: “We have been providing CRM software to charities for eight years. Originally customers were charities based within our nation’s hospital community; now over 150 not-for-profit organisations use our solutions. The survey results certainly emphasise that we offer good quality software and services to the not-for-profit arena.”

As part of the annual charity technology survey complied by Civil Society Media - publishers of Charity Finance, Fundraising and Governance magazines – the full results of the CRM Software Survey appear in the May 2011 edition of Fundraising.

Representing a broad range of not-for-profit organisations - small, large, city-based, rural - 86 people took part in Harlequin’s sector survey. Information was collected at the CHASE Conference and the Institute of Fundraising’s Yorkshire region’s Annual Conference during spring 2011.

Amongst other questions, charities and membership organisations were asked to complete this statement:


In the future, in relation to technology, we would like to…

Responses from non-Harlequin customers at CHASE and IoF Yorks Conference included:

    • “Be 100% efficient in managing our data – clean and reliant”
    • “Better relationship management.”
    • “Improve our use of social media.”
    • “Have a database that is simple to use.”
    • “Do more with video.”
    • “Use mobile/SMS fundraising.”
    • “Automate processes.”
    • “Reduce travel and try virtual conferences.”
    • “Have an efficient database that does fundraising functions as well as financial functions.”
    • “Remote access for all users.”
    • “Link with online activity.”
    • “Have everything in one place.”
    • “Have an in-house IT professional.”
    • “The fundraising team to have more control of the website; IT run this at the moment.”
    • “Easier access to information.”
    • “Get our ICT strategy in place.”
    • “Expand what we have.”
    • “Make more of our website.”
    • “To have more of our services in the cloud.”
    • “Minimise time wasted – make things easy.”

Tom Ellis, Managing Director of Harlequin, comments: “Hearing a broad voice of the sector is crucial to Harlequin - it is our motto to be all-ears. This helps with product design and ensures we continue to meet consumer needs. We will be using our survey at every event as this is a great way to have many invaluable conversations about what people want and expect from technology in the not-for-profit sector.”

Golden iPods won by fundraising managers in Harlequin survey

Helene Abbiss Fundraising and Communications Manager from Parity for Disability and Breeda Barry (pictured)Fundraising Manager from the Ear Trust have each won a golden iPod in the survey prize draws run by Harlequin Software.

To share hints, tips and insights about the effective implementation and use of CRM, fundraising, membership and accounting software, Harlequin has produced a fresh series of customer case studies.

The case studies are thought-provoking and engaging interviews with a broad range of clients that use Harlequin software including small to medium sized charities, hospices, hospitals and membership associations:

Alder Hey’s Imagine Appeal, Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity, Greatwood, Forces Pension Society, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Sheffield Cathedral and Sheffield Hospitals Charity.

Tom Ellis, Managing Director of Harlequin, comments: “At Harlequin, when it comes to making the most of technology, we believe the real-life voice of the sector is what other organisations want to hear and learn from. Over the last few months we have been all over the UK interviewing clients for this new portfolio of case studies. Each represents a key part of the sector we serve. The aim of each case study is to tell each organisation’s story in their own words, including best practice insights, challenges, hints and tips.”

If you are a not-for-profit organisation, please call the office to receive this free portfolio of case studies. Otherwise, the case studies can be downloaded here.

Welcome to the launch edition of ‘The Red and Yellow – the newsletter for the Harlequin community’.

In response to customer requests, this newsletter will be produced every other month. We aim to share the latest developments here at Harlequin HQ, as well as user tips, new customers, case study insights and team interviews.

In The Red and Yellow this month we have:

• Welcome from Tom
• Software news
• New to the Harlequin community Case study insights
• Hints and tips: Financial Reporting and Using ‘Interests’
• Out and about: events
• Training
• Behind the scenes: meet Martin

If you would like a hard copy of this newsletter, please contact us and we will gladly put one in the post for you.

Download a PDF of The Red and Yellow, February 2011 edition.

To help shape future versions of our charity software packages, our MD and lead product developers attended seminars and carried out a technology based survey. When asked, “What would you like to achieve with technology in future?” there was an array of responses including: easier access to information; more two-way communication with supporters; improvement in the collection of data; major donor management; making the most of social media; segmentation of data; and better integration of systems. Price and customer service were also high on the agenda for participants.

In his workshop, Tom Ellis, Managing Director of Harlequin, shared three case studies on how charities have enhanced their fundraising with their database. Discussing the benefits of specialist systems, attendees wanted software that underpinned their key fundraising activities and future-proofed their charity.

Tom comments: “All the team really enjoy this event. We have quite a few clients in the North West, so it’s great to share a few drinks and have a sing-a-long well into the early hours! The regional conferences provide a real-life way to hear about what charities want from technology. They also help us to keep on top of the latest issues in fundraising, which goes into our thinking about product development. We are proud to support the IoF in this way.”

If you were unable to attend the conference and would like a copy of our presentation -“All singing and dancing? How donor databases enhance the performance of fundraising teams” - please contact us.

Jessica Thompson from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust won the bottle of Champagne in our survey prize draw.

The West Yorkshire Forget Me Not Trust selects Harlequin to underpin its fundraising - now and long into the futureIn October 2010, the West Yorkshire Forget Me Not Trust confirmed its investment in the Harlequin CRM and fundraising system. Recently appointed Head of Fundraising, Sarah Herrett, could see specialist charity software would be a long-term asset to her team.

Currently, the trust is raising funds to provide a house for respite, emergency and end-of-life care and community based services to children who have life-limiting illnesses. Already £2 million towards their £2.5 million target, the fundraising team manage a broad range of activities, including community, corporate, events, merchandising and volunteer engagement.

Sarah Herrett, Head of Fundraising, who joined the trust 12 months ago, comments: “To build the new hospice, we need to raise a further £500k plus ongoing costs for the hospice at home and running costs for the hospice and respite centre; however, ensuring that we are sustainable means we will need to raise £2m every year. To achieve our immediate and ongoing fundraising goals as efficiently as possible, and future-proof the charity, it was important for us to invest in the appropriate technology.”

Tom Ellis, Managing Director of Harlequin Software, adds: “The team at West Yorkshire Forget Me Not Trust are passionate and experienced charity professionals. We are very pleased to support them in their fundraising and welcome them to the Harlequin User Group community.”

Sarah concludes: “We chose Harlequin as the software is good quality and excellent value for money – the team are also friendly and understand our needs. The system contains all the relevant features to help seamlessly propel the fundraising team into our next era of success.”

To find out more about the West Yorkshire Forget Me Not Trust, please visit www.forgetmenottrust.co.uk

Tom Ellis, Managing Director of Harlequin, comments: “It was great to see so many customers, some of which we have known for over 15 years. We have been working with NHS Trusts on charitable accounting since 1995 and are proud to be the chosen system of a high proportion of hospitals.”

He continues: “We were very pleased to support this specialist HFMA educational event, which was also a good learning experience for the Harlequin team. Not only is it incredibly important to know the latest changes in charitable accounting, talking to lots of people about their IT wish-lists helps keep our software up to date.”

With live demonstrations, the team showed how easy it is to produce a complete set of SORP compliant accounts with Harlequin Charitable Accounting.

For more information about the Healthcare Finance Managers Association please visit: www.hfma.org.uk

In time for the launch of the Gateway Project - a major campaign to develop their facilities - Sheffield Cathedral are up and running on their new charity management system from Harlequin Software. This move will unite departments, improve efficiency and unlock the potential of their supporter data.

After 14 months searching for the best-fit database, Sheffield Cathedral invested in a six user system from Harlequin for their Support Services, Fundraising, Finance, Hospitality, Marketing and Communications teams. Nine weeks later, after a glitch-free yet expansive data conversion, the software is installed with key users trained and using the system.

Nicola Burgin, Dean and Chapter Administration Officer, explains: “We had silos of data in many places, (including our heads) and it was time to streamline the organisation. We started off looking at generic contact management packages, but realised specialist charity software offers highly relevant functionality we couldn’t ignore – we were inspired to see Harlequin could do so much for us including CRM, fundraising and hospitality management.”

She continues: “Now, all our information is a mouse-click away and records are in one accessible source. In Harlequin, our Gateway Project will be set up as a multi-faceted campaign with targets, various events and activities. The system will also be a great help at Christmas, when we have to split ourselves into three, and for processing Gift Aid and management reports.”

Tom Ellis, Managing Director at Harlequin Software, comments: “We are delighted to be the technical foundation for Sheffield Cathedral’s Gateway Project. They are a determined team with a clear vision of what they want to achieve; they have embraced the system whole-heartedly in a way that is encouraging real integration and improved processes.”

Nicola concludes: “We chose Harlequin because the team are very personable and committed to their customers; they offered much added-value advice and insights. The long-term benefits of their system were also very clear - I believe there is nothing we do or would want to do that Harlequin could not help with.”

Ends

As part of our ongoing commitment to the fundraising community, Harlequin are pleased to be supporting a number of regional Institute of Fundraising conferences. The latest edition of the Harlequin Fundraising system will be on show for delegates to explore. Our new portfolio of client case studies will also be launched.

The Harlequin team will be at the following events:

• Institute of Fundraising: West Midlands Conference, Birmingham - 29 September 2010
• Institute of Fundraising: South East Conference, Dorking - 7 October 2010
• Institute of Fundraising: North West Annual Conference, Grange over Sands - 9th & 10th November 2010

Rather than just focusing on city charities, many of our 150 clients are based in local communities. These IoF conferences enable the Harlequin team to keep in touch with the challenges regional charities face in relation to technology and hear their ideas about the future. The new range of Harlequin client case studies will also be freely available to delegates who visit the stand.

As long standing sponsors of the North West Regional Conference, Tom Ellis (Managing Director of Harlequin) will be leading a workshop on ‘How to use your donor database to increase your fundraising’. This will focus on real life examples. Sharing best practice insights, Harlequin customers will be available for the questions and answers session.

With the pending launch of the latest edition of the Harlequin Fundraising system, these events also present an ideal opportunity for fundraisers to have a taster of the software. Based on the latest technology, they will see a fresher interface and enhanced reporting tools.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

With nearly a year of development about to be showcased for the first time we spent the morning leading up to the first event running through the presentation for a final time. Having invested much time and resource into this development there was bound to be some nerves but as the people began to arrive they were soon forgotten.

With customers old and new meeting and greeting the anticipation heightened and conversations soon turned to what could be expected from the upgraded system. Of course many of our users are part of the Harlequin User Groups (HUGs) and many of the new features and functionality came from the HUGs feedback. Had we listened?!

Tom Ellis, MD, took the presentation and delivered the system overview, the rest of the team and I sat back knowing there was little more that we could do. From the outset the system looks markedly different, based on .NET and SQL server technology, the contemporary design was the first of the new features that caused a ripple of excitement. This was quickly followed by a demo of the system's speed, working through tens of thousands of records. As quick as the line 'and now we'll run the search' had been delivered the results were on the screen accompanied by another buzz around the room.

A whole host of new features such as multi-screening, the comprehensive 'query it' tool, Google Maps™ and further Microsoft Office™ integration, enhanced reporting, a new membership module and the most clear and comprehensive 'Income' module we have ever written only stimulated the excitement further.

Over lunch and the remainder of the afternoon I found the conversations turned to how the different aspects of the new system would improve and enhance the user experience for the different individuals and organisations, I think we were all a little bit taken aback by how positive the feedback was.

"...you have demonstrated, with the new package, that you understand your clients very well and that you understand our need for speed."

"We were chatting about 5.0 on the way home and it's all very exciting! Have already emailed rest of team about it and said that we need to get on and book our day with you as soon as possible."

"It was great to have the opportunity to see the latest version of Harlequin Fundraising 5.0 and to meet all the other fundraisers. The Database looks just what I need… without a decent database our fundraising will be hampered in the long-term."

“Thank you yesterday for a superb pre-launch demonstration of Harlequin Fundraising 5.0. It really is the next generation of this already fantastic software. It is much more appealing and innovative and I am sure both current and new users will find it very user friendly and easy to sell in to staff and volunteers. Congratulations to all your team!”

"Thank you for your hospitality and also for being such a user friendly company - you've taken the time to forge good client relationships which is really beneficial in terms of product development. You now have a package that shows you really understand the world of fundraising and we now have a package that will save us even more time and enable us to answer so many of the accounting questions instantly! Fantastic!"

We would like to say thank you to all those who attended the first two presentations.

We at Harlequin are delighted to introduce the next generation of our popular fundraising software, Harlequin Fundraising.

The system has a host of new features borne out of utilising new technology, ideas discussed at the Harlequin User Groups, attending IOF Regional workshops and, most importantly, listening to customer feedback.

We are now inviting customers and fundraisers interested in the system, to our pre-launch event at Rudding Park, Harrogate to see, first-hand, all the exciting new functionality.

To book places (max 2 per charity) simply contact Sue on 01672 541541 or via email: sue@harlequinsoftware.co.uk as soon as possible.