The Power of Automation in Charities: Saving Time to Create More Impact
The Power of Automation in Charities: Saving Time to Create More Impact: How 4 of our customers did just this.
When charities and foundations discuss scaling, the conversation often centres on the need to increase their staff size to achieve their goals or raise more funds to expand their services. But what if growth wasn’t about either of those?
Across our work with over 200 charities and foundations, one key lesson emerges again and again: automation unlocks capacity. Every hour saved on admin is an hour given back to delivering impact - which is what the team at Hyphen8 is so passionate about!
Challenge intro blurb
Why Automation Matters for Charities And Foundations
Charities and foundations are built on passion and purpose, and we love this because it ties in what we are built on- impact!
We know that often, their teams are small, resources are stretched, and yet demand continues to grow.
- Manual admin tasks
- Spreadsheets
- Copy-pasting
- Chasing emails
It eats away at precious time and also sometimes means that team members' talents and passions are put on the back burner as they have so much to do, manually.
At Hyphen8, we always say, automation isn’t about replacing people. It’s about empowering any-sized team to act like big ones. By letting technology handle repetitive tasks, staff can focus on the work that truly matters: supporting families, engaging donors, and creating change in communities.
Time Saved = Impact Created
Across different missions and sizes of nonprofits, the results are brilliant, and we love seeing our customers thrive, so we wanted to share some recent ways our customers have used Salesforce to automate the work they do. Let us introduce you to some of our customers and the impacts they’ve seen working with us to rethink the way they work day to day.
Merlin’s Magic Wand
This incredible global children’s charity now processes around 20,000 applications every year for magical days out at Merlin attractions.
Before Salesforce, staff juggled more than 20 spreadsheets, manually updating details, sending Outlook emails, and cutting-and-pasting gift codes. It was overwhelming and meant less time for what mattered most: helping families in need.
With Hyphen8’s Salesforce solution, every application now flows directly into the system. Families receive automated booking links and “Know Before You Go” details instantly - crucial for children with additional needs.
The result? 20,000 hours saved annually, or the equivalent of 2,857 working days across a very small team of 3 people! The team can process more requests without stress, giving thousands more children the chance to experience joy, wonder, and escape from everyday challenges.
Calum’s Cabin
Based on the Isle of Bute, Calum’s Cabin, with a very tiny team, provides families of children with cancer the chance to spend time together in a holiday home. However, until they implemented Salesforce, the booking process was painfully slow: families filled out paper forms, sent them back by mail, and waited days or even weeks for confirmation. Staff relied on Access databases, paper calendars, and Caroline (the founder), keeping much of the information in her head.
Salesforce has transformed this. Bookings that once took days now take minutes.
Cancellations can be reallocated quickly, allowing the team to fill 19 additional holiday homes in just half a year - places that would otherwise have been lost. In total, the charity has saved 90 admin days every year.
That time has been reinvested into expanding their reach, speaking to more hospitals, and ultimately supporting more families facing unimaginable circumstances.
Duchenne UK
For Duchenne UK, which manages complex fundraising and multiple family funds, spreadsheets made life difficult.
One of the most frustrating jobs was reallocating grant money between accounts - a process that could eat up half a day every time. Gift Aid processing was equally draining, demanding manual checks and updates.
With Salesforce, both of these are now automated. Reallocation takes two to three minutes instead of hours. Gift Aid claims are processed seamlessly with FinDock integration, maximising every pound raised.
The lesson is simple: automation means the team can focus on finding a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, not on administrative bottlenecks.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation
HIWCF awards around 300 grants a year to grassroots charities, but their shared legacy system created heavy admin. Every application meant seven separate documents uploaded by hand - nearly 7,000 uploads a year.
Staff were drowning in paperwork, with two people spending four days a week on manual tasks, and wanted to find a better solution.
Hyphen8 redesigned the process in Salesforce. Now, applicants upload documents directly into the system, reminders are automated, and reporting is instant. Instead of hiring more admin staff, HIWCF reinvested the saved resource into appointing a Grants Manager.
"This role strengthens relationships with community groups and ensures funding reaches where it’s needed most- which is what is so important to us as we think about solutions our customers need. We always want automation to turn wasted effort into strategic capacity."
Each of these stories shows the same pattern: automation doesn’t just make things faster - it transforms what’s possible. Whether it’s more families having holidays, more children experiencing joy, or more funding reaching communities, automation unlocks capacity that charities can channel straight into impact.
The Ripple Effect of Automation
The benefits of automation ripple far beyond saving time:
Accuracy and Trust: Automated thank-you emails, reminders, and reporting reduce the risk of human error. Donors and families experience a smoother, more reliable journey.
Flexibility and Scale: Systems can absorb sudden spikes in applications or donations without adding pressure to already stretched teams.
Culture Change: Teams stop firefighting and start asking, “What else could we do with the time we’ve gained?” Digital confidence grows, and ideas for innovation follow.
The Impact of working with Hyphen8
How to Start Automating in Your Charity
You don’t have to automate everything at once. Start small and grow:
- Identify the repetitive tasks – application intake, thank-you emails, event follow-ups, reporting.
- Ask the time-saving question – If this task could run itself, how much time would we win back?
- Automate one flow first – prove the value, measure the impact, and build momentum.
Often, the first step is the most powerful: once teams see how much time can be unlocked, they’re excited to find the next process to transform.
Why Think About This For Your Team
Automation doesn’t take the heart out of charity work - it gives it room to beat stronger. From saving thousands of hours to helping more families in crisis, the charities we work with demonstrate the power of automation when it’s done with purpose.
The Technology Creates Impact
"Hyphen8's work with Merlin's Magic Wand has enabled us to scale our impacts and focus on the work that matters.
We are saving 20,000 hours per year and able to serve 5X as many families thanks to Salesforce."
- Elin Parry, Merlin's Magic Wand
