Shelter Goes Live With TAAP for Face-to-Face Fundraising

BOREHAMWOOD, England - Shelter - the charity that works to alleviate the distress caused by homelessness and bad housing - has gone live with TAAP’s face-to-face fundraising software on mobile devices. The software allows fundraisers to verify direct debits on the spot, as the system contains a built-in bank checker. It now also has the ability to process card payments for one off donations.

The charity, which recently won the won the 2009 Institute of Fundraising award for “Best Use of Face to Face” chose the system to speed up data-processing and improve retention rates.

Matt Goody, Head of Direct Marketing at Shelter said, “Under our old paper based system, we couldn’t process around 6% of the direct debits, because bank details could not be verified in the street. Now this problem has disappeared. This system has also dramatically speeded up the collection and transmission of data, which will improve supporter retention. Overall we estimate PDAs will improve our bottom line by about GBP100,000 per annum.”

The other main advantage is security, as data is encrypted when stored locally, and further encrypted when transmitted for processing. This reduces the potential for identity theft which may occur with paper processing.

Direct debit details are validated against the account holder’s sort code and account number when they are entered into the application. This improves data accuracy and aims to reduce donor drop-off due to incorrect bank details. With an in-built signature capture facility, the donor can also sign for the donation/direct debit.

For further information about TAAP’s solutions for Not for Profit organisations visit: www.ontaap.com/NotForProfit.aspx

Notes to editors:

Shelter’s in-house Face to Face operation team was set up in 2004. Currently Shelter receives about GBP2 million per annum from donors recruited using its in-house teams. It consists of 25 fundraisers, who this year will recruit 10,000 regular givers.

About TAAP

TAAP is a leading provider of software solutions which allow organisations to mobilise their operations using hand held devices.

Shelter is a charity that works to alleviate the distress caused by homelessness and bad housing. It does this by giving advice, information and advocacy to people in housing need, and by campaigning for lasting political change to end the housing crisis for good.

Contact Shelter Contact: Matt Goody Tel: +44(0)20-7505-2118 mattg@shelter.org.uk www.shelter.org.uk Contact TAAP Contact: Angela Walker Tel: +44(0)845-230-9787 angela.walker@ontaap.com www.ontaap.com

Source: TAAP Ltd

Contact Shelter, Contact: Matt Goody, Tel: +44(0)20-7505-2118, mattg at shelter.org.uk; Contact TAAP, Contact: Angela Walker, Tel: +44(0)845-230-9787, angela.walker at ontaap.com