WCIT MONITOR WCIT Charity Quarterly Dec 2019 | Page 6

Charity Quarterly WCIT Pro-Bono & Projects Panel As WCIT members we understand the potential that IT offers, not only to transform business but also to enhance public services and help charities and social enterprises to develop. Smaller organisations in the third sector can benefit enormously from effective use of IT and social media, but many struggle to understand the options open to them and to choose the best way forward for their organisations. The WCIT Pro-Bono and Projects Panel works with the sector to address these issues, drawing on the considerable talents and experience of our members. The National Opera Studio (NOS) exists to train talented young musicians to become the leading artists of their generation. The NOS aims to make a significant contribution to the opera industry and the wider creative and cultural life of the UK through the provision of top-quality professional training and by its engagement and position in the sector. NOS is also actively involved in outreach programmes, including a recent initiative with children and young people to discover and inspire developing talent. For the last two years, NOS has been working with Burntwood School, in Advocate is the Bar’s national charity that enables barristers to make a significant contribution to the community. Following a steady increase in demand for their help since 2013, they have found it more and more difficult to match volunteer barristers to individuals desperately in need of legal assistance. Wandsworth and it is keen to identify other local schools committed to talent development and diversity. They are also tackling the barriers to diversity through their Diverse Voices Programme, which transpired from its report on Opera Training for Singers in the UK. Diverse Voices will ensure that everyone has a voice in shaping a successful future for opera in the UK. The NOS had recently migrated to Office 365 and were making good progress but were in need of some SharePoint advice and training. The small team had already had a lot of tech change inflicted on them in recent months while getting to grips with a new CRM, among other things. SharePoint workshop and training session for the NOS team who were encouraged to do a lot of the work themselves so they could gain more from the experience and get the most from the training. The NOS has been actively involved with IT4Arts (and given wonderful prizes for the WCIT Charity Christmas auction) since 2016 so Chief Executive, Emily Gottlieb, asked WCIT if we could provide a pro bono training day on SharePoint to assist them, ultimately enabling them to create more impact for their beneficiaries. Feedback from Emily was very positive: “A huge thank you for a fantastically useful day yesterday. We got so much done and I really felt that we understood the benefits of using SharePoint and, crucially, you got us to the stage where we are in fact able to use it and to work with it efficiently. We really appreciated your time and effort, it is such a privilege for us to have your support.” Liveryman Emma Steenson volunteered with help from Kate Ryzheva, a non-WCIT volunteer. Emma arranged an initial discovery meeting with the NOS to establish the requirements in some detail and to plan the training day. Kate subsequently delivered an introduction to If you would like to enquire about volunteering your skills to P&P and help more charitable organisations deliver greater impact to those in need of our help, then please contact the Chair, Liveryman Steve Smith at [email protected]. Automating a weekly, personalised case-list email to volunteer barristers has saved the casework team over 14 days of administrative work per year. • Sarah, mother of a child with complex Barristers signed up now receive a regular list of cases looking for pro bono help, tailored specifically to their interests. The average open rate since launch is 39% (well over the norm) and since implementation, 30% of cases have been allocated to a barrister this way. Not only has the implementation of Marketing Cloud freed up the team to build relationships and better support vulnerable applicants, and made the process of volunteer barristers looking for pro bono cases more efficient and relevant, it has directly led to many more people being matched to a barrister than before. Some of the individuals (*) and organisations who are now receiving help from a barrister, thanks to Marketing Cloud, include (among many more): • Katie, survivor of decades of harassment from an abusive father, who needs help with a possible claim The poor use of technology internally to under the Data Protection Act against look for volunteer barristers also took the a company who enabled her father to casework team away from engagement find her. with individuals and barristers; meaning • Aanya, mother of two young children, their time was spent on inefficient and needing legal help with child custody unsuccessful administrative attempts to and immigration issues, in a case place cases. Most importantly, it meant with serious allegations of they had to turn away people in desperate domestic violence. need of their help. • Stephen and his family who have suffered health issues after their In late 2018 they implemented Marketing landlord failed to sort out serious Cloud technology, supported by a grant defects causing damp. from WCIT Charity. * = Names have been changed for privacy special needs. She has been unable to see her son as his father is not complying with court orders. So far Advocate have helped 26% more people, in comparison to the previous year! Thank You. Presentation on the impact of Marketing Cloud to 300 attendees from national charities at the Salesforce Connected Nonprofit Conference