At the turn of the century websites were offering grant-makers new ways to share information about their grant programmes and funding priorities. The arrival of social media made this communication more immediate and interactive. However, increasingly in recent years people have become concerned about the spread of viral negative social media content, privacy and data security issues, and a general concern that they do not have full control over content which could lead to reputational damage. Having been a regular user of Facebook and Twitter/X, Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust (CFCT) decided to stop using them and we began looking for an alternative way to communicate with our stakeholders.
After a period of detailed investigation we set up our own ‘user-engagement platform’ using customisable software, designed to facilitate online networking. Essentially, this is an online intranet where we can share news and information about our funding priorities and communicate safely with our signed up members. CFCT invited all of our grant holders and applicants to join the platform, explaining that they would be able to catch up on our latest news and access exclusive webinars and events, as well as networking with each other and sharing their own news and announcements. The platform sits alongside our website and unlike social media, it gives us complete control over content and data. With the vast majority of our grant holders signed up, we are able to reach all of them quickly and easily, with controlled and appropriate messaging.
Since the platform’s launch, over 250 charities have joined, with many visiting it regularly and several posting important announcements, for example project launches and details of job opportunities. Each time a news story is added to the platform, members are sent an email alert – a service that they can unsubscribe from at any time.
CFCT has used the platform to run webinars to explain our application processes to new grant applicants. The trust has several strands to its grant-making and sometimes grant applicants are unsure which to apply to. Providing online webinars across our platform offers a cost effective and interactive way for us to help them to navigate our grant guidance material. We have also run a series of one-to-one consultation sessions for grant applicants looking for more detailed and personal funding advice.
In 2025 our trustees will be carrying out a major strategic review of our grant programmes and our platform will be an excellent way of consulting grant holders, finding out what is important to them. It will also provide us with a vehicle for seeking feedback about our grant programmes, processes and customer service. We have also used our platform to publish, not only our Annual Report and Accounts, but useful articles written by CFCT staff, for example ‘Common Reasons Applications Fail’.
The engagement platform is still very much a work in progress, but we hope that our grant holders and applicants are finding it useful – and if they aren’t, and if there is something else they would like it to include, they can use the platform to tell us.
