Refugee Roots, a Christian charity that works with asylum seekers and refugees to help them find a place to belong, has launched a sell-out product offering thanks to implementing a new website from not for profit software specialists, The Access Group. 

The new, overhauled website has streamlined the experience for users of the website and given volunteers the skills to harness digital donations and increase fundraising online.

The new website means that for the first time in its history, Refugee Roots has been able to host an online shop through which it sold its first cookbook, The Sharing Table. With every book sold within just three weeks, the book proved to be a sell-out success, and demand is already high for a second print run.

The e-commerce offering has also significantly helped the charity diversify its fundraising efforts after large reductions in in-person donations due to COVID-19. As a result, the charity was able to launch a new specialist clothing shop through the website, helping to raise much-needed funds which will go towards a number of services such as virtual kitchens, befriending groups and in-person lessons – all aimed at helping refugees and asylum seekers to better integrate into society.

The implementation of the Access NFP Website Suite has provided Refugee Roots with a website and CMS solution, which has significantly enhanced its user experience, saving volunteers vast amounts of admin time so they can focus on delivering quality fundraising campaigns.

Explaining more, Adam Baker, Refugee Roots Director, said: 

“The pandemic has put many key dates in our fundraising calendars on hold, but our new website has allowed us to continue fundraising even when people were limited to staying at home. Being able to launch our own store has made a huge difference and is something we have been keen to implement for a long time, to reach a larger number of donors. Access have made it really easy to add new products to our site. This has given us a huge advantage over similar charities, as our website now allows us to do so much more.

“Previously, our volunteers were manually adding information into the system and had to remember to update event times on a weekly basis. With the Access NFP Website Suite now connected to Refugee Roots’ CRM system, event details are automatically updated. The suite’s training modules also enable our volunteers to boost their skills, so they’re better equipped to support our charity and our service users and to drive real change.”

Shaf Mansour, Product Manager at The Access Group, said:

“Charities have faced a number of organisational and digital challenges in the wake of the pandemic, and as a result, many have had to adapt quickly to new ways of working and fundraising. The Access NFP Website Suite is designed to give not-for-profit organisations the freedom and capabilities to make a positive difference with technology that grows with your organisation. Our solution has provided Refugee Roots with a game-changing website which has already enabled it to widen its fundraising techniques to continue raising money for such an important cause.”

The Access NFP Website Suite creates a meaningful online presence combined with digital solutions for fundraising, supporter engagement and data collection. The suite comes with Access Workspace technology which provides powerful analytics, giving not-for-profits the data and insights needed to make a bigger impact.

For more information about Refugee Roots, please visit: https://www.refugeeroots.org.uk/.

For more information about The Access Group, visit: https://www.theaccessgroup.com/not-for-profit/.