Around the world, people are seeking guidance for charities during coronavirus. The season of goodwill stops for nothing, not even a global pandemic. Of course, COVID-19 has posed some significant challenges to charities not just in the UK but across the world. Collaboration isn’t so easy anymore, and there have been obstacles at every corner.
However, there are solutions. Fundraising during COVID-19 can be achieved through our conference call services, which enable you to fully communicate without needing to be in the same room. Plus, we have a completely free plan. Here’s how it works.
WHYPAY? and how your charity could benefit
You’ll benefit financially
The majority of conference call providers require all participants to pay a fee to use their services, and this is a business model that has gone unchallenged and unchanged. The difference with us is that we don’t charge guests for dialling into our conference rooms. All rooms are accessed using an 03 dial-in number. Thanks to Ofcom rulings, 03 numbers must always be charged in the same way as any standard UK landline. That means that for most callers, WHYPAY? conference calls are included in their bundled minutes. When you’re a charity with perhaps a limited budget, there are invaluable savings to be made by using WHYPAY?, especially as you can have a totally free account. Any guidance for charities during coronavirus – and thereafter – has to take budget into consideration. We all want as much of the funding as possible to reach your causes!
Our service is reliable, a key feature of guidance for charities during coronavirus
Whether you’re chatting with colleagues in nearby locations or you’re part of a larger nationwide conference call, your charity will benefit from complete reliability and a service that won’t let you down. The usual bugbears (network cut-outs, connection failures and various other technical issues) don’t apply with us. As our dial-in numbers use simple 03 numbers, we’re protected against such problems.
You’ll also be glad to know that we’re always available to help, through telephone, live chat and email. You can see our full help desk here.
Technically speaking, your charity can rely on us
WHYPAY? operates on a resilient carrier network and uses various ingress and egress routes through to our service. This may not mean a great deal to you – basically, the service will continue to work even if there are local line issues. Any useful guidance for charities during coronavirus has to try to account for the extreme unpredictability of our situation, and compensate with a reliable service.
We have the right hardware in place, too. We know exactly when conference call traffic increases, and we can handle such increases to ensure the network doesn’t lag or become overwhelmed. No matter the traffic, you’ll still get crystal clear voice quality and a great connection.
Our wide range of conference call features enable charities of all shapes and sizes to communicate freely with colleagues, collaborators, stakeholders, and more.
Which WHYPAY? plan is right for your charity?
Of our three plans (Free, Plus, and Pro), there are many advantages to be had. Below, we will run through some brief benefits of each plan. To see our plans in full, visit our conference call services page.
Free
This is our most elementary package and it gives you the conference call essentials. Here are some of the benefits:
- You’ll use a generic 03 dial-in number
- You can use one conference room and add one organiser
- You can have 50 participants per conference room
- You’ll get advanced call scheduling
- You’ll get full support advantages
Plus
A step up from our Free package, the Plus plan costs just £4.00 and you get the following benefits and so much more (visit the Plans page to see them all).
- You’ll also use the generic 03 dial-in number
- You can use four conference rooms and add up to four organisers
- 50 participants per conference room
- You’ll benefit from advanced call scheduling
- Full support advantages
Pro
Our supreme package is the Pro package and it comes in at just £8.00 per month. For that, your charity will enjoy the following benefits:
- You’ll also use the generic 03 dial-in number
- You can add 8 conference rooms and up to 8 organisers
- You’ll get 50 participants for every room
- You can take advantage of advanced call scheduling
- You’ll enjoy full support advantages
Ideas and guidance for charities during coronavirus: what can charities and communities do?
It’s a tough time for everyone, and achieving your fundraising goals has been made really difficult. However, there are things that both charities and your wider community can do. Here is some of our best guidance for charities during coronavirus!
Guidance for charities during coronavirus
Use our conference call services
This is the first thing you should think about! Not only are our services free, but they will also become a vital part of your fundraising efforts for now and even after the pandemic has passed.
Budget carefully and accordingly
While you may have taken advantage of government help, it’s vital that your charity spends wisely and only organises outside events in line with government lockdown restrictions.
Calibrate your recruitment processes
Charities must also adapt their recruitment processes to keep everyone as safe as possible. This means using alternative means of communication to interview job applicants.
Keep in touch with your audience
In such uncertain times, any charity shops and stores may well be closed. It’s important that you keep your audience updated via social media and if you have any offers or promotions. Again, use social media to spread your message.
If your stores are open, take all precautions
It goes without saying, but once your outposts re-open it’s so important that you provide all the necessary resources to protect your customers from the virus. This means the enforcement of social distancing, sanitising points, and a one-way traffic system.
Guidance for communities during coronavirus
WHYPAY? can play an essential part of your fundraising efforts during COVID-19. However, there are even more things you can do to continue functioning as a charity through the pandemic. Here are some of our fundraising ideas that you could suggest to the community.
Run an online auction
Using social media, you can host an online auction for either physical things or something a little more lighthearted (you could auction off a dinner date for when the pandemic is over!).
Host a doorstep sale
Similarly, if you have some things that you want to sell, a doorstep sale is perfect. Share the news on social media, and make sure everything is sanitised before sale! Of course, this is a fundraising technique which we’ll have to hold off on until after lockdown restrictions are lifted, and always following government guidance for each local area.
Set your own targets
Fundraising can happen in your own home! For example, invite donations for 50 laps around your house. How about climbing the equivalent of Snowdon on your stairs?
Bake sale
Since we’ve all been doing baking in lockdown, you can sell your baking creations and raise some money! Obviously, hygiene should always be a priority when baking, but now more than ever you must be sure to keep everything spick and span – even the packaging you ship your treats in.
Use your creative skills
If you’re at all creative or crafty, why not make something? You could make some facemasks and donate the profits to charity, for example.
There you have it! With WHYPAY?, you can collaborate with everyone in your charity and those outside.
Learn about Wonderful: our favourite bit of guidance for charities during coronavirus
Before we leave you, we’d like to say a little something about fundraiser, Wonderful.org, an organisation that sadly closed back in March as the pandemic swept the country.
We’re delighted to announce that with the demand for teleconferencing services rapidly increasing, Wonderful has returned with WHYPAY? as their official sponsor. This truly is wonderful!
To learn more about Wonderful’s happy return, click here. In the meantime, keep an eye on our blog section for regular conference call updates and business communications advice. If you’re a charity looking for a communications solution, see what our conference call reviews say about our service.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash