A New Web Platform
The Girls and Boys Brigade.
The Girls & Boys Brigade provides educational and recreational programs that help families build life skills, overcome challenges and access exciting new opportunities.
A pillar of the Surry Hills community since 1882, the organisation has long been able to rely on word of mouth and traditional advertising to engage an audience. But when it came to their online presence, the team felt like their mission was being held back.
They needed a fresh website to enhance their digital strategy and engage new and relevant audiences, improve their conversion rates and share their cause — before their site got buried in Google. That’s where Marlin came in.
Problem
Their existing platform was overly-complicated, which made it hard for the team to update the site quickly and easily without the help of developers.
Solution
By upgrading their platform to the Marlin Web Platform (a WordPress-based web platform) we were able to create a user-friendly and straightforward site for the team.
Results
There’s been a 40% increase in donations since a few weeks from the new website launch. The team can now explore other online fundraising opportunities and build their volunteer and corporate partnerships by engaging these audiences on their website.
“We’re ecstatic at how the website looks and functions, and we couldn’t be happier with how it has turned out. Thank you to everyone involved… Thank you.”
Stefan Lamour-Jansson, Executive OfficerThe Girls & Boys Brigade
The Challenge
The key digital issue the Girls & Boys Brigade faced was their existing platform. Running on WordPress, their original site had been built with way too many ingrained limitations. The backend was overly-complicated, which made it hard for the team to update the site quickly and easily without the help of developers.
As a not-for-profit, uploading and updating information regularly is essential — whether it’s sharing content, or creating donation and appeal pages. The limitations the Girls & Boys Brigade team faced with their site was not only taking up too much of their time, it was actively preventing them from raising as much money as possible through online fundraising.
The Solution
The Girls & Boys Brigade had a great digital strategy already, but their website simply wasn’t able to support their vision. By upgrading their platform to the Marlin Web Platform (a WordPress-based web platform) we were able to create a user-friendly and straightforward site for the team.
The Girls & Boys Brigade’s new website now clearly represents who they are, what they do, and provides a great experience for their supporters. For their team, it gives them the freedom to easily update content and create communications aligned to their digital strategy — as well as create online appeals within minutes.
Now their staff are able to self-manage every aspect of their online presence. They can create multiple donation or appeal pages within minutes — without needing developers on hand.
A key feature is their new donation portal. Their old site only hosted a one-size-fits-all donation form; with the Marlin Web Platform they can now create and personalise multiple forms to suit different donor audiences and campaigns. With easier to use, shorter forms, supporters can make an online donation within minutes and receive an auto-confirmation email once their transaction is complete.
The backend integration with forms and CRM is available on every form, which makes tracking, recording and reporting a breeze. Previously, the Girls & Boys Brigade staff members had to manually send email confirmations of donations and record each transaction on their eTapestry CRM.
Now that their donation portal is seamlessly integrated, they can accurately report donations and donor information automatically. This simple fix has saved countless hours of the team’s time — time the team can spend on providing outreach to children in need.
The Results
The Girls & Boys Brigade website made its debut just a few weeks ago, and already there’s been a 40% increase in donations.
The site has gone from being able to host only one donation form (that collects all types of donations) to the ability to create multiple and separate donation experiences for their donors. This differentiation means they can simply and strategically expand their acquisition programs.
The team can now build their volunteer and corporate partnerships by engaging these audiences on their website, with separate lead capture forms that integrate with their backend.
Wrapping up
It’s important for charities, of all sizes, to be able to build affordable sites to further achieve their missions and raise more funds. That’s why we developed the Marlin Web Platform.
We have seen so many marketers and fundraisers like The Girls & Boys Brigade locked into inefficient systems that reduce their ability to create awareness and support for their cause. With simple solutions and a deep understanding of the needs of the sector, our Marlin Web Platform could be the difference between a fundraiser and a life-saver.
You can find out more about the Marlin Web Platform.
