Call us on 01293 601111 or email us at info@rapidata.co.uk
17th
When we manage and process your Direct Debits, you probably don’t think about what we do to protect that data. But behind the scenes, we have a team that makes protecting your data our highest priority, ensuring it is both safe and accessible. But we don’t just stop there. We are constantly reviewing our operations to ensure we are robust and that we meet our clients’ expectations.
3rd
A call to all Institute of Fundraising fundraisers
Rapidata is working with the Institute of Fundraising to explore the issues and challenges facing charities in their fundraising and receipt of donations by cheque.
In 2011 the Institute of Fundraising campaigned successfully to stop the abolition of the cheque in 2018. Even so, use of the cheque as a payment mechanism is in natural decline. In the UK, 11 million cheques were used each day in 1990 compared to just 3.5 million a day in 2009; and usage continues to fall, currently by 10% per year. It’s important we acknowledge this natural decline and that consequently cheques are unlikely to remain a viable payment mechanism for ever.
The Institute of Fundraising has today asked for all its members to complete a short survey. Your responses will be kept anonymous.
It is important that fundraisers give an account of their experiences and take a few minutes out to complete this survey. The aim is to report the findings to the Payments Council and relevant Government Departments to ensure that charities and their needs are recognised in the management of the cheque going forward, and in the development of future giving methods.
3rd
Don’t forget that over the Queen’s Jubilee weekend holiday period there are extra Bacs non-processing days.
If you have new Instructions to be setup by Rapidata or Bacs submissions to be sent, please do allow for this Bank holiday. For all Rapidata Direct Debit managed clients, we have already allowed for this so there is no action required however if you do have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
For a copy of the Bacs 2012 processing calendar, you can download it by clicking here: http://www.bacs.co.uk/Bacs/Businesses/Resources/Pages/ProcessingCalendar.aspx
1st
As part of the Bacs Big Break campaign 2012, Rapidata was very happy as a Bacs bureau to support and make a donation to Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Rapidata has made a donation of £1,158.05 to Marie Curie Cancer Care which provides end of life care to terminally ill patients in their own homes, or in one of their nine hospices.
‘Rapidata has always been very active in supporting charities and when we were approached by Bacs to be a part of the Big Break campaign we were delighted and more than happy to help.’
Scott Gray, Managing Director
More information on the campaign and Rapidata’s involvement can be read by clicking here
25th
For clients, donors and fundraisers using the Artez online fundraising service, we wanted to share the Artez policy on cookies for EU markets, along with information about how Artez uses cookies and the purpose of each.
Artez Policy regarding Cookies for EU Markets (April 2012)
1. Session Cookies employed within the Artez System are strictly necessary to perform the function that the user intended. The Artez Friendship Powered Fundraising System uses Session Cookies. Session Cookies are only used to assist donors and/or individual fundraisers to complete the actions that they intended to perform within the Artez Platform such as donating to a cause or registering for a fundraising event. Session Cookies expire at the end of each user session and no personal information is stored within the Artez system.
2. The Artez Privacy Policy has been updated with wording that makes the Artez position clear on how Cookies are used on the Artez platform.
3. Artez uses 3rd party Programs that employ Cookies. As of April 2012, the 3rd party products are Google Analytics, AddThis and Facebook. Clients using the Artez platform have the option to turn on or turn off these features. Artez does not know definitively if these programs contravene the act. It is Artez’s opinion that clients of the Artez platform should be alerted to this by Rapidata and they can then make their own determination on this matter.
Description of Artez Cookies Used and Purpose of Each
Questions?
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding Artez cookies and how you can comply with the EU cookie directive, please contact Amy McGeever on 01293 601111 or amcgeever@rapidata.co.uk
24th
All AUDDIS service users that are generating AUDDIS 0C (cancellation) files after receiving an ADDACS advice containing a reason code of 3 MUST now ensure they are not submitting 0C files to Bacs.
An email was sent to all Service Users from Bacs informing of this prohibited practice as detailed in Section 17.5 of the Service Users’ Guide and Rules of the Direct Debit Scheme.
Why are the rules changing?
All Rapidata managed clients can ignore this email, as Rapidata has made these changes so your obligations as a Service User are met. If you do have any questions or concerns on this, please do not hesitate to contact your Account Manager.
29th
With a number of bank holidays coming up over the next few months its possible that some people will be taking annual leave around those holiday dates.
When planning holiday cover remember it’s not only important to ensure that your Bacs submissions aren’t forgotten but also that your Bacs reports are accessed and actioned too.
13th
Rapidata is delighted to be supporting Bacs with ‘The Big Break’ direct debit campaign to help raise much needed money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.
For the month of March, Rapidata will be making a donation for every new direct debit Instruction setup.
Bacs, the people behind Direct Debit in the UK, is running a nationwide marketing campaign in 2012, called the Big Break. As your bureau, we felt it important to bring this to your attention so that you can take advantage of the materials and central support on offer; all developed by Bacs’ experienced marketing team.
8th
As Easter approaches, it is easy to forget that there are extra Bacs non-processing days, so be sure to submit on the following days during this period:
If you are a Rapidata Direct Debit Managed client, you don’t need to worry about the above, as we will automatically ensure your direct debit payments are submitted on the correct day.
7th
Learn how our great new ‘Register with Facebook’ feature makes online fundraising easier for your events participants.
Rapidata’s Artez clients can now use a great new Single Sign On feature that allows your event participants to register quickly and easily using their Facebook accounts. They can also come back to your site and log into their fundraising accounts with their Facebook login.
That’s one less username and password to remember!
Here’s how your event participants can Register with Facebook:
New registrants will see a Facebook icon as an option for signing up for your event. Participants that choose Facebook for registration will be prompted to log into Facebook.
Once registrants have logged into Facebook, they will be directed back to the next step of registration. Depending on your event settings, participants may be asked to choose a location, or create a team.
Connecting with Facebook allows information like name, email, or address details to pre-populate into the Contact Information page fields during registration. Which pieces of information will pre-populate will always depend on Facebook security settings of individual users. No confidential or personal information is shared with Facebook or accessed from Facebook without a user’s permission.
After a successful registration:
When the registration process is completed, event participants are taken directly inside their fundraising consoles. Participants may choose “Disconnect” to log-out of Facebook while inside an event’s fundraising console.
Event participants who have registered without using Facebook will also see an option inside their fundraising consoles allowing them to associate their Facebook account with their Artez account at any time.
How to I enable ‘Register with Facebook’ on my event?
Setting up this feature takes just a couple minutes – all you will need are the Facebook log in details for your organisation or your event. Our dedicated Client Support Team can walk you through the set up. Just send an email to support@rapidata.co.uk or call the Support Desk on 01293 601110.
This is just one of several new enhancements and there are more on the way to help charities maximise their online fundraising Income. If you are not using our online fundraising service and would like to know more, please contact Amy McGeever on 01293 601111 or amcgeever@rapidata.co.uk
