Income that’s always on
Home-Start Aberdeen is one of Aberdeen’s leading family support charities. Every year they provide practical and emotional support to around 200 families with young children in Aberdeen. Home-Start Aberdeen helps families to create a secure and loving home environment where their children can grow up happy, healthy and confident, and able to achieve their full potential.
Goal
Home-Start Aberdeen wanted to extend their fundraising reach to new supporters – specifically to those who want to support the charity but don’t have the time to commit to volunteering or running events. With a low monthly ask, fun message and chance to get something in return, prize-led fundraising through weekly lottery was the ideal option.
As a small local charity, Home-Start Aberdeen needed a managed lottery that could allow them to set up and operate compliantly with the minimal amount of resource. Affinity Lottery was the perfect fit with low set-up fees, a templated sign-up site for players, a player portal and a self-serve lottery platform providing everything needed t manage the lottery.
Success
- £5,000 raised in 2 years helping to support more families
- Minimal resource needed to recruit players locally
- Quick and easy set-up and low resource to operate
Our Approach
Audit
Home-Start Aberdeen are keen to grow and develop their fundraising programme. One of their key fundraising sources is through grants which restricts the funds to specific projects. They were looking for sources of income which could be redirected where it is needed most. Affinity Lottery provided Home-Start Aberdeen with an ideal solution:
- A regular giving product means it generates ongoing guaranteed income over time.
- It attracts a different kind of supporter to complement their existing volunteer and event network.
- It’s easy to set up and manage with a small team.
- There’s no minimum number of players needed to be compliant. You start raising income from just one player.
- The prize-pot offers a big top prize which Home-Start Aberdeen don’t have to pay out – in that way, it’s good to be part of something bigger.
Implementation
Easy set-up
Home-Start Aberdeen were surprised by how easy it was to set up their lottery. They applied to Aberdeen City Council for a small society lottery license. The Affinity team then support on everything else to set up the lottery besides
the actual recruitment of players. Plus, the portal provides everything that’s needed to submit the returns – as well as report back to Trustees about progress.
Minimal resource
The charity has control over how and when players are recruited into the programme. Capacity to focus on recruitment fluctuates widely for such a small charity team. With just a few initiatives in place from the get-go, the weekly lottery programme is holding its own without any large-scale campaigns. Home-Start Aberdeen promote the lottery via:
- Social media
- Fliers and business cards (with QR code) in their retail outlets
- Email footer links
- Website link
But word-of-mouth has been one of the most successful acquisition channels with staff telling friends and family about the programme.
Intuitive Platform
The Affinity Lottery Platform offers charity users access to everything needed to administer your lottery. From live reports to URL tracking to updating player details, everything is available simply and easily. What’s more, Affinity provide a dedicated supporter services team to handle any enquiries and a password-protected player portal where players can update their own details.
Continuous Improvement
After a successful initial period, Home-Start Aberdeen are keen to implement new approaches to encourage more new players and retain existing players. But importantly, the flexibility of Affinity Lottery means that Home-Start Aberdeen’s lottery can grow at their own pace.
Whatever your requirements we are sure to be able to help
Services:
What our client had to say
“Once players sign up, it’s guaranteed income for us.”
Nicki Small, Home-Start Aberdeen
“Gemma is brilliant. There was no pressure and nothing was too much hassle.”
Nicki Small, Home-Start Aberdeen
“People like to support their local community, and with Affinity we can offer them a chance to win something in return.”
Nicki Small, Home-Start Aberdeen
“To anyone thinking of starting a weekly lottery I’d say ‘What’s the harm in trying? You’ve nothing to lose with Affinity’. It’s a complicated thing made really simple.”
Nicki Small, Home-Start Aberdeen
“The portal has everything there for you. It’s really good and user friendly.”
Nicki Small, Home-Start Aberdeen
