Wetwheels cruise for a cause with CollecTin

Conceived and founded by disabled yachtsman Geoff Holt MBE, the Wetwheels Foundation opens up the sea to disabled and disadvantaged individuals, including those with complex disabilities, in a safe and engaging environment. With eight locations now operating across the British Isles, the charity is on a mission to support 12,000 people annually by 2027.

The Wetwheels experience not only offers guests the opportunity to be passengers but to take the helm and steer the vessel as skippers too. These experiences range from seal watching to exploring the stunning coastline, all from a fresh and exhilarating perspective.

Background

Given the nature of the Wetwheels experience, bookings are typically made online, and visitors tend to carry minimal valuables, particularly avoiding cash. Handling cash had also become increasingly burdensome for the organisation, incurring additional costs due to counting and banking.

Before adopting CollecTin, Wetwheels had no effective way to accept spontaneous donations from visitors. Instead, they would direct people to an online giving page, but often, the moment would pass, and many potential donors wouldn’t follow through, negatively impacting their fundraising efforts. With a small team of volunteers managing the organisation, the ability to quickly and easily collect donations is crucial. Therefore, introducing contactless donations became essential.

Solution

To facilitate contactless donations, Wetwheels introduced the CollecTin More terminal, powered by Give A Little software. Initially deployed with their South-East operator, an additional unit has since been added to their Torbay location. These terminals are versatile, being used both in their offices and at various events, such as fundraising evenings and speaking engagements at the WI and Rotary Clubs. The flexibility of creating unique campaigns within Give A Little is particularly valuable for events, allowing Wetwheels to easily update and enhance the appearance of campaigns.

Results

Wetwheels is thoughtful about whom they encourage to donate, often considering the specific participants and their funding for the trip. The flexibility offered by the Give A Little, software, which allows donors to choose their own contribution amount, has led to some exceptionally generous gifts from groups and competition winners, including one donation of £1,000.

Elspeth Dunn, crew member and office admin, commented on its ease of use, “In a more cashless world, most people are clued up and find it easy to use, it’s just a tap of their card or they’ll use their digital wallet. We find that people with disabilities are very used to finding techniques to overcome their disabilities, and so they are far more technologically savvy - they must be for the changing dynamics of their world”. Elspeth adds, “Having CollecTin and Give A Little just makes life easier - especially because everything we do is cashless. You don't have to worry about the inconvenience of getting to a bank to pay money in, the additional cost of that, the time finding money bags and doing all the counting.”

James Dunn, Operations Director says that following their research into contactless giving it was the features, cost transparency and affordability which were the main reasons for buying CollecTin and Give A Little. He says, “There were also no hidden fees, and in terms of what we pay, and what we receive, it’s a very fair exchange of value.”

Michelle Brown, Director at Wetwheels Torbay added, "CollecTin was very easy to set up and simple to use. Exactly what you need in a fast-paced setting and for multiple events back to back. It is light and portable which means we can even take it out on the boat with us and have a presence everywhere we go. We had it set up and running and took our first donation within 24 hours."

She continued, "The UK-based team were extremely helpful when we were deciding which product to select, I would not hesitate in recommending CollectTin for your fundraising campaigns."