thankQ joins Castel Froma on first steps of fundraising journey
Howard Lake | 20 March 2012 | News
Castel Froma Specialist Care Centre is a UK registered charity that exists to help people disabled by brain injury to live a fuller life. The Centre provides day, respite and residential care and rehabilitation for 70 individuals every year.
About two thirds of Castel Froma residents have sustained a brain injury following a traumatic accident or as a result of a medical problem. Others suffer from Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease or other degenerative neurological conditions. The youngest resident is 22, and the oldest, 91.
In addition to 24-hour nursing care, Castel Froma offers physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy to help residents to retain their independence for as long as possible.
It costs £3.5m every year to provide such quality, long-term care and although Castel Froma receives income from the NHS to cover basic costs, £260,000 is needed each year to provide additional equipment, rehabilitation and therapy support, and social activities for residents.
Up until September 2011 the organisation did not actively fundraise, existing almost exclusively on legacy and endowment gifts. But when it became clear that the building was no longer fit for purpose, the organisation decided that a long-term fundraising strategy was imperative. As a result, a Fundraising Director, Susie Murray, was appointed to spearhead the organisation’s fundraising activities.
Susie knew that a CRM system was fundamental in creating a high performing fundraising department and so began to search for a provider. As a small charity with no fundraising history, Susie’s main priority was to get a flexible, cost effective solution that could grow with the organisation. Susie explained, ‘I was immediately impressed with how user friendly the software was. thankQ was head and shoulders above the competition in that respect, and that was such an important consideration for us’.
Castel Froma will be using thankQ to handle its fundraising and events activities as part of an ambitious plan to raise £7million for a new building and to provide a long-term future for the organisation and the care of its residents. Susie is confident that thankQ is the right partner for the job, telling us, ‘I would really recommend thankQ. Even though it’s early days for us, I can fast forward three years and see how thankQ will help me to monitor and grow all our traditional fundraising areas and how it will take us from a start-up to a multi-million pound charity’.
Castel Froma is actively seeking opportunities to develop new and exciting partnerships. If you would like to get involved, please call Susie Murray on 01926 427 216 or email su**********@ca*********.uk.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.