The Rope Trust
The Rope Trust: Transforming Individual Grantmaking with Clarity, Confidence and Speed
About The Rope Trust
Based in Ipswich, The Rope Trust (registered name - the Mrs L.D. Rope 3rd Charitable Settlement 290533) provides grants to individuals to relieve poverty and advance education across Suffolk. The charity also funds local organisations such as food banks, advice centres and community services that directly support people facing hardship.
The Challenge - From Spreadsheets to Salesforce
After decades of running the charity on paper and spreadsheets, The Rope Trust decided that to keep up with its passion for helping people, it was time to modernise. The team wanted a single, reliable system to manage a growing number of applications, track every grant’s journey, and strengthen both security and reporting.
“We’d used the same paper-based process since the early 2000s. It worked for a long time, but the world had changed - the number of applications was rising fast, and spreadsheets simply couldn’t keep up.”
Renata Chester, CEO, The Rope Trust
Pain Points
For years, the team managed every grant manually, via their incredible dedicated team. But, as demand increased, the process became more time-consuming, and the team couldn’t access the same data at the same time on spreadsheets. They wanted an easier way to collaborate across their departments.
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Manual Systems and Limited Visibility
- Records were stored in Excel, meaning only one person could access the file at a time.
- Grant applications were received by post, so staff had no visibility until the paperwork arrived.
- Support workers had to call or email for updates, increasing administrative work.
- There was no single record of communication, approvals or previous grants awarded.
- Records were stored in Excel, meaning only one person could access the file at a time.
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Operational Inefficiencies
- Demand surged after COVID, and manual processes couldn’t keep pace.
- Urgent requests, such as people moving from probation or care into new accommodation, required immediate turnaround but were hard to prioritise.
- Tasks were often handled separately by team members, which made collaboration and oversight more difficult.
- Demand surged after COVID, and manual processes couldn’t keep pace.
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Reporting and Compliance Challenges
- Producing trustee and audit reports meant reconciling figures by hand.
- Budgets couldn’t be tracked in real time due to the constant need to update spreadsheets.
- Producing trustee and audit reports meant reconciling figures by hand.
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Cultural Change
- Staff had used the same processes for decades, making the shift to digital daunting.
- Confidence took time to build, with early reports double-checked against paper copies.
- Staff had used the same processes for decades, making the shift to digital daunting.
The Solution:
Hyphen8 implemented Salesforce using its GrantFlex accelerator, creating a modern CRM that captures every stage of the grant journey in one secure, accessible system.
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Grant Management and Tracking
- Every grant, from application to completion, is now tracked in Salesforce.
- All correspondence, documents and decisions are stored together in one shared record.
- Every grant, from application to completion, is now tracked in Salesforce.
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Automation and Approvals
- Automated workflows allow staff and trustees to approve grants instantly.
- Urgent cases are flagged automatically, ensuring vulnerable individuals receive support quickly.
- Multi-year commitments for organisational grants can now be tracked accurately against annual budgets.
- Automated workflows allow staff and trustees to approve grants instantly.
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Finance and Budget Integration
- Dashboards display real-time budget usage for each grant category.
- Reports data can be exported into finance and board packs, reducing reconciliation time.
- Finance staff have complete oversight of committed and unspent funds.
- Dashboards display real-time budget usage for each grant category.
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Secure, Flexible Access
- Staff can now work from anywhere - essential during illness or recovery - with the same visibility as in the office.
- Cash payments have been replaced with secure bank transfers, strengthening safeguarding and accountability.
- Staff can now work from anywhere - essential during illness or recovery - with the same visibility as in the office.
The Impact of working with Hyphen8
The Impact
The Rope Trust has completely transformed how it manages individual and organisational grants. What once relied on paper, spreadsheets and phone calls is now streamlined, secure and fully transparent.
“We can identify urgent cases instantly, get them approved the same day, and ensure people moving from care or probation have what they need in time. It’s slicker, faster and far more secure.”
- Andrea, Charity Development Officer, The Rope Trust
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Key Impacts
- Urgent applications can now be processed within hours instead of days.
- Every support worker receives an automatic copy of the application form, improving communication and accountability.
- 95% of payments are now made through the banking system, removing the cost and risk of cash handling.
- Board reporting and financial reconciliation, once a manual task, is now quicker and more up to date.
- The team can see, at a glance, what percentage of their annual budget has been allocated and what remains.
- Trustees have instant access to spend by charitable purpose, area and grant type, supporting faster, evidence-based decisions.
- The finance and audit trail is robust and transparent, giving confidence that funds reach those who need them most.
- Urgent applications can now be processed within hours instead of days.
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Improved Oversight and Reporting
- Dashboards provide real-time visibility of all grants, including location, purpose and funding source.
- The team can instantly filter by area or urgency to manage workloads effectively.
- Auditors can now review grant processes directly within Salesforce, reducing manual checking.
- Data quality has improved, allowing the Trust to analyse patterns of need and make better strategic decisions.
- Dashboards provide real-time visibility of all grants, including location, purpose and funding source.
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Cultural Confidence and Continuity
- The entire team is now confident using Salesforce and would not return to paper-based working.
- The system has improved resilience - staff can pick up any case, from any location, at any time.
- Team morale has increased, with staff proud of their digital progress and the professionalism it brings.
- The Trust feels equipped for future growth and modern governance expectations.
- The entire team is now confident using Salesforce and would not return to paper-based working.
Making an impact
“It’s slicker, quicker and far more robust. We can see everything in one place and know exactly where we stand against our budgets.”
Name , Job title
Why Did You Choose Salesforce and Hyphen8?
The Rope Trust discovered Salesforce through Suffolk Community Foundation, which already used Hyphen8’s GrantFlex solution. Seeing the success of a fellow funder, the team chose Hyphen8 to modernise their own operations
"Hyphen8’s deep understanding of grantmaking and its commitment to supporting charities meant the implementation delivered exactly what The Rope Trust needed: a reliable, transparent and scalable system that protects the Trust’s legacy while meeting the growing needs of the community."
Advice for other charities
“Another local funder recommended us to Hyphen8, and it ticked every box. The support we received was great - they listened, adapted, and helped us move from paper to digital successfully.
Our advice would be to reach out to foundations or charities who use them, and chat to them about how they've helped, as it helped us so much!"
