UNHCR, the United Nations' refugee agency, protects and assists people forced to flee from their homes. For this work tobe sustainable the UNHCR is dependent on private individuals to provide funding, ideally by becoming monthly donors. For a long time the strategy was toenrol new monthly donors by telephoning people and informing them about the agency's work. Willing sponsors were then sent a form, which they had to fill in and return tocomplete the registration process. Unfortunately, many forms were never returned and UNHCR lost two thirds of the prospects who had been contacted by phone.
With the new app 98 % of calls result in the registration of new monthly donors.
HiQ was commissioned to help UNHCR develop a new solution to simplify the process of registering monthly donors. The assignment also included producing a smarter solution to replace the binders, pens and papers traditionally used by UNHCR's face-to-face recruiters on city streets.
HiQ developed a new application that enables UNHCR to record oral agreements. Now donors can register to pay a monthly contribution by direct debit on completion of the phone call. The app also makes it easier to compile statistics based on the phone calls made. UNHCR can use the data to make future fundraising campaigns more effective.
Today 98 percent of UNHCR's calls result in new monthly donors. This is a huge improvement compared with the previous form-filling solution that led to the loss of two thirds of prospective donors. HiQ also used the opportunity to help UNHCR digitise face-to-face recruitment. Instead of pre-printed forms and binders, recruiters now have tablet computers that can swiftly download relevant information about current refugee crises. This new, more effective recruitment process saves time and reduces environmental impact. And, best of all, it means that more people in need can be given the help they require.