Priscilla Bacon Hospice Charity chooses Give A Little for its ethos and flexibility

The charity has adopted Give A Little’s DIY approach to build a donation station at the Lodge and has participated in the pilot of the Give A Little Champion app, enabling supporters to fundraise using their own phones.

Hugo Stevenson, Head of Fundraising and Communications at PBHC, said:

“We reviewed several cashless platforms and liked that Give A Little doesn’t push a hard sell. Their ethos and the flexibility of the platform really stood out. It felt like a strong values-fit and good value for money. The fact that Emma on the Give A Little Team is based 15 minutes down the road from us is also a real bonus!”

Explaining how the Charity uses the platform, Hugo added:

“The Charity fundraised for and built a £14.3m facility that opened two years ago, which replaced the original Priscilla Bacon Lodge. NCH&C provides the core care, while our fundraising supports services such as comprehensive bereavement support, complementary therapy and specialist equipment. We chose Give A Little’s DIY donation frame because it’s cost-effective — you buy the frame, tablet, card reader and cables, and you’ve got a great-looking donation station at a fraction of the usual price.”

“We also found out through Emma from the Give A Little team about the new Give A Little Champion App pilot and that seemed the most logical thing for us to do, to empower individuals to take contactless card donations through their phones. We could create different campaigns to track and segment our income. Everything about it made perfect sense so we were keen to get on board.”

Hugo explained how the Give A Little Champion app had been used at a number of events, including the Lovell Charity Ball.

“Lovell is a long-term supporter — they’re a national housebuilder and part of the Morgan Sindall Group, with Morgan Sindall Construction building the hospice. This year’s ball raised an incredible £32,000, shared with Big C. The Give A Little Champion app was perfect for Lovell staff to take donations during the balloon-pop game — £20 per balloon, with prizes for winners. It was far easier and more efficient than the card readers we used last year, and the Give A Little dashboard let us track income from the night.”

Amy Brown, Regional Marketing and Communications Manager at Lovell said: 

“When Hugo first told me about The Give A Little Champion app, I was so excited that we would be able to use it at the Lovell Charity Ball. We set our team a huge task of selling over 400 balloons to attendees of the ball during the arrival drinks, as well as taking donations throughout the night for auction and other prizes. Having The Give A Little Champion app at the ball allowed us to have more people who were able to take donations, and the donations were faster and more efficient, enabling us to do more. It was simple to set up, easy to use for the whole team, and the ideal solution for our large corporate event.”

The Give A Little Champion app has been used successfully at other community events too — the Ann Marie parkrun, held in memory of a local runner, and an annual darts fundraiser run by supporter June Dunstan in memory of her mum.

“At the parkrun, many people wore pink and red in tribute to Ann Marie Pointer, who received care at Priscilla Bacon Lodge,” Hugo explained. “We sold charity-branded shirts and merchandise, and four people, one staff member and three supporters, used the app on their phones to take donations. Just over £1,000 was raised on the day, which Aviva will match-fund. For the darts event, the app meant June could collect donations on her own phone — a real success.”

Hugo also sees strong potential for marathon and challenge event fundraising:

“When you’re out and about, it’s so easy to take a donation there and then on your phone rather than relying on people visiting JustGiving later. With the app you just tap, and the transaction is done. Give A Little’s transparent, tiered pricing is designed with charities in mind; keeping costs down means more of each donation supports care. Our supporters want to know we manage fundraising costs carefully — if using Give A Little helps their gift go further, that’s a powerful incentive. I also love that we can capture Gift Aid and, with consent, sign supporters up to our newsletter in moments.”