The pandemic has pushed countless industries towards the rapid adoption of technology to survive in a contactless world and non-profits are no different. Traditional methods for fundraising have largely been impacted by COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns. TapSimple is a digital payment and infrastructure platform that enables charities to these new realities by equipping them with a robust set of tools to manage their fundraising efforts. Charities can leverage contactless solutions, host video giving events, build landing pages, sell tickets, and generate QR codes seamlessly from the platform. On the back end, there’s a robust set of analytics and data collection happening to understand donor behavior. At a time when things are so difficult for so many, TapSimple is empowering the organizations that are helping the most vulnerable.
London TechWatch caught up with Cofounder Alex Coleridge to learn more about how the team’s work to help homelessness in London inspired the business, the company’s expansion plans, and latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised for the company to £2M.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We raised £900,000 from investors that include Ecclesiastical, Lord Michael Spencer, Lord Mervyn Davies, Dominic Burke, and Anthony Bolton who join previous round investors including former NCVO chairman Sir Martyn Lewis.
Tell us about your product or service.
Founded in 2018, TapSimple is a feel-good fundraising platform, using game-changing technology to help charities fundraise in an increasingly cashless society. We already work with several hundred charities including half of the UK’s top 10 largest.
TapSimple has rapidly grown into a one-stop-shop platform, providing a suite of fundraising services designed to meet the needs of charities, including Contactless devices, Video conferencing, Online Giving pages, Ticketing, and QR codes.
We first launched with the Clip, a donation device that facilitates Contactless and Chip & Pin donations when paired with the TapSimple app, which helps charities raise more at a time when 73 percent of charities are finding street giving is failing due to the decline of cash.
The Clip has been proven to increase donation engagement and the amount donated by donors. It is powered by a sophisticated reporting dashboard that can be used to track and analyse donation patterns and behaviour, and manage fundraising activities.
For example, we supported Children with Cancer (CWC) UK at their annual ball with contactless and chip & pin donation devices, helping raise several hundred thousand pounds in donations and pledges. The charity’s finance team was able to track the amount raised live and monitor as our system seamlessly captured Gift Aid information.
During 2020, we added our new products to further support charities fundraising during the pandemic – Online Giving pages, QR codes, and our Virtual Fundraising and Ticketing service which helps charities connect remotely with fundraisers and raise money online, much like Zoom or Skype, but with the ability to donate directly from the page.
It’s been wonderful to see the platform used successfully by many charities already, including the NSPCC, Children with Cancer UK and Christian Aid. Charities have been hosting all sorts of innovative events via the TapSimple virtual events platform, from quizzes to supporter Q&As, virtual cocktail making classes, and even a duck race.
What inspired the start of TapSimple?
We worked together on a campaign to tackle homelessness in London and realized there is a desperate need for tech solutions that can improve the fundraising process. We were frustrated at so many points during our fundraising experiences when we felt opportunities were missed because possible donors weren’t carrying cash.
Charities of all sizes have always struggled with outdated technology, and you can see ineffective fundraising and a lack of innovation as a result, as well as a lack of data management capabilities. Donations via mobile devices or online channels have become more popular, and this has become the norm now as the pandemic limits any other forms of giving. Yet only 4% of charities are using contactless payment systems.
That’s why we wanted to create TapSimple, to help provide charities with the tools and the tech they need to innovate, adapt, and keep on making a positive difference to society.
How is it different?
We are driven by our charity focused mission, and consequently have a stack of features that differentiate us from other companies. In addition, our full suite of services enables major efficiencies for fundraisers and the finance teams responsible for tracking and reconciliation – our one-stop-shop, single platform approach has a track record of unlocking major savings and 10x donation amounts raised.
As people with personal experience of the frustrations of the fundraising process without access to technology, we are bringing much-needed innovation to the sector at affordable prices.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
There are 175,000 registered charities in England and Wales alone that are not being catered to at present, and the charity sector has an annual income of over £75 billion per year, which is larger than the British automotive industry.
Historically, it has suffered from outdated technology at all sizes of charity, with research from Charity Bank finding that half of charities see their digital limitations as a major challenge to overcome. That’s why we’re driven to bring innovation to the space and drive real change.
TapSimple also plans to launch its services in other international markets – our technology is highly scalable and there are multiple other countries with large per capita giving including the USA and Canada.
What’s your business model?
We thrive when our charity partners thrive, by limiting upfront costs and linking fees to successfully completed donations. TapSimple is a software as a service company with a social conscience.
How has COVID-19 impacted the business?
As with many businesses, we have had to adapt to the pandemic. Being a small, and therefore agile, startup, we were able to pivot quickly and develop services that are more applicable to social distancing: Online Giving pages, QR code fundraising, and our newest product, the Virtual Fundraising and Ticketing service, which helps charities to fundraise online at a time when traditional fundraising strategies have been hugely impacted by the pandemic restrictions.
As with many businesses, we have had to adapt to the pandemic. Being a small, and therefore agile, startup, we were able to pivot quickly and develop services that are more applicable to social distancing: Online Giving pages, QR code fundraising, and our newest product, the Virtual Fundraising and Ticketing service, which helps charities to fundraise online at a time when traditional fundraising strategies have been hugely impacted by the pandemic restrictions.
What was the funding process like?
We have been particularly careful to choose investors that share our vision for the business and provide strategic added-value. We are also fortunate to have a network of supportive investors from previous rounds, including Ecclesiastical (the insurer of 40,000 charities).
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
As many Founders will attest, fundraising can be time-consuming! Our biggest challenge was ensuring that planning and executing the raise did not distract too much from our other responsibilities: supporting our clients, launching new products, and building the right team.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
TapSimple is mission-driven, scaleable with a large market opportunity, works with some of the largest charities in the sector, and solves a real problem – charities play a vital part in our society and they need powerful technology to adapt and thrive.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
Stand by for the launch of two game-changing new products, high volume, and high impact fundraising campaigns, and several additional major new client wins.
All aspects of our platform are built with our Dashboard at the centre, and we are looking forward to continuing to build out our suite of services into an increasingly powerful “one-stop-shop” for charities. There are exciting opportunities ahead to fulfill our mission to boost charitable giving, particularly as new technology changes the charity landscape.
Every week we are working with more UK charities to enable more cashless fundraising on our platform, and we are currently working with supermarket chain LIDL. We have placed our contactless Chip & Pin devices in stores, helping the retail brand raise funds for its charity partner by providing shoppers with a safe and easy way to donate.
Voluntary organisations need all the support they can get at the moment, but we are confident that with the right tools they will be able not only to adapt, but to thrive.
