In Your Shoes - GoodCall

Connections that matter

The best part of my job is getting to connect with new charities every day and working with them to find solutions that fit the unique needs of their organisation. Today I spoke with Willow Den Scotland, who offer full outdoor nursery provisions for young children. They offer high-quality play, education and learning opportunities, using nature as a key part of a child’s learning experience through a profit for purpose model. They were referred to GoodCall by parent organisation Inspiring Scotland - who are also one of our valued accounts. They were seeking support for mobile phones and contracts from GoodCall.

Today I also got to virtually meet Moray CarShare, another new charity that are interested in coming on board. They are a community-based car sharing club and their mission is to provide convenient and affordable transport options that minimises environmental damage and encourage community cohesion.

Since it had stopped raining, I also managed to fit in a quick walk around the beautiful Carnoustie waterfront at lunch time, and 2 cups of tea!

Elaine

Delivering Impact with Technology

Today I got to connect with Helm Training and help them work out their communications requirements. Helm Training are a grassroots specialist youthwork provider. They have delivered services in Dundee for over 30 years, enabling over 200 young people every year to make the best possible transition to adult life and reach positive destinations. We know that some smaller charities and social enterprises simply do not have the time or expertise to manage these sort of systems, so we try to make it as simple as possible for them. We know our customer’s biggest successes are the work they do in their communities and making a difference to the lives of the people they support, so no tech question is too small for us!

The rest of my day was spent organising invoices, preparing for our monthly Teams meeting call and putting together a quote for one of our large accounts who are due to their renew contract with us.

After a day at the home office, it was then off to take my 2 boys to football practice and then off to the park for a bit of down time before tea!

Elaine

Building Our Community

Today I did some research to inform a series of blog posts focussing on digital inclusion and why it should be a priority for charities as they come out of lockdown. The coronavirus has had a major impact on the third sector, forcing many organisations to drastically reduce their services and switch to providing these online or remotely. This has meant having the right technology solutions in place is more vital than ever, as well as considering the needs of service users.

I am also working on a case study we did with one of our customers, which focussed on how our technology made it easier to coordinate their volunteer outreach team as part of their new service for young parents. I always love hearing these stories from charities who are doing amazing work to address the complex challenges that people are facing in their day to day lives.

Sally

Mobile for Good

In early 2021, we secured funding from the Scottish Government to deliver a brand new GoodCall Digital Resource Hub for charities and social enterprises. I helped put together the funding proposal for the project and was delighted that I have the opportunity to develop resources and designs for the Hub. This exciting project focusses on promoting digital inclusion, highlighting opportunities for digital service delivery as well as a bank of resources that can be used by the third sector.

As part of this, I have been working on a range of guides for non-profits across a wide range of exciting topics such as starting a charity helpline, smartphone accessibility and mobile fundraising. Our new Hub will be open and accessible to all, and that’s something I’m really enjoying working on. I think the more the third sector can share knowledge and expertise (especially when it comes to all things digital), the better!

Sally

New Directions and Progress

We had our Friday morning call with our team, where we usually play some fun games together and share our key updates for the week. We also had our monthly GoodCall team meeting which provided the opportunity for the team to discuss progress made in April and May and discuss our upcoming goals. We hope to hit our target of managing 1000 charity lines next month, which we are very excited about.

We are also taking part in the government’s KickStarter scheme so we are preparing to grow our small team and support some young people to boost their employability and digital skills.

Charities and social enterprises have really been at the forefront of helping communities stay connected during the pandemic, and we can’t wait to see the impact made by the technology we provide.

Elaine and Sally