New web application expected to boost volunteer return rate for homeless charity

Crisis, the national charity for homeless people, has selected Totally Communications to develop the Crisis at Christmas Volunteer Portal; a web-based volunteer management application that will automate the complete volunteering process for over 8,000 volunteers during the charity’s busiest period. Totally Communications is a provider of bespoke web-enabled software.

During Crisis at Christmas, the charity manages volunteers at nine centres, one operations centre and 50 shift patterns and fills over 100 different roles. Accessible via the Crisis website (www.crisis.org.uk) from 1st October 2011, the Crisis at Christmas Volunteer Portal will enable volunteers to apply, view their shifts and request changes, communicate with other volunteers and ensures they are fully informed. Crisis centres will also be able to monitor attendance and view operational data (such as shift lists) in real-time.

Following a meticulous consultation with the charity, Totally Communications’ application will significantly reduce the time consuming processes for Crisis and empower volunteers to manage their own experience, thus freeing up resources that could be better allocated across the event. It will also enable Crisis to build better relationships with their volunteers and is expected to boost the current volunteer return rate of 60 – 70 per cent.

“We chose Totally Communications for this project because of its exceptional track record in turning briefs around very quickly,” comments Ashley Bladon, Project Manager and IT & Systems Coordinator for Crisis at Christmas. “The team really understood our objectives and are clearly passionate about the third sector – they were completely engaged with Crisis at Christmas. Totally Communications also has extensive experience in delivering highly functional, yet cost-effective technology for the third sector, so it was a natural choice.”

Crisis celebrates its 40th Anniversary this year and operates a number of centres for homeless people in London during its annual Crisis at Christmas event. Between 23rd and 30th December, volunteers care for nearly 3,000 homeless people who visit the centres, with roles ranging from catering and medical services, through to activities and skills development.

Andy Margolis, Managing Director of Totally Communications adds: “We believe our significant experience in delivering complex, bespoke web applications in extremely tight timescales was crucial in securing the project for Crisis at Christmas. Using the Agile Development Methodology, we will deliver a robust, scalable application, which is on time, on brief and within budget. As a result the project will introduce efficiencies and deliver significant ROI for the charity.”

The Crisis at Christmas Volunteer Portal will start taking volunteer applications from 1st October 2011 (www.crisis.org.uk).