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Celebrating the very best of our sector

By Bobby Parmar, Account Manager at FirstClass

Wow, what an event! The Institute of Legacy Management’s annual conference (
ILM, for any readers who aren’t aware) was particularly special this year. Well, for us at least – but I’ll come on to that in a minute. 


First, I have to say that there's nothing like being in a room full of like-minded people, all of whom are passionate about legacy management (and incredibly talented in their respective legacy management fields). 


It’s also really quite inspiring to see so many people from some of the UK’s best-loved charities discussing the sector and sharing best practices.


But for us, having provided a key legacy management tool for charities’ legacy management programmes for almost three decades, there was something else, too.

A family feel


Throughout the day, we continually bumped into people who, over the years we've worked together, have become like family. 


From legacy managers at RNLI and Cancer Research UK to team members from RSPCA, Barnados and Legacy Link, it was great to see so many people in one place.


We also had the opportunity to meet with members of a steering group we've formed to help us shape the next version of our software – version 5 – in the most collaborative way possible. 


Three members of the group, Angela Noguera-Horne from Cancer Research UK, Val Tabor from Barnados, and Daniel Pepper from RNIB, even shared some initial feedback from users, much of which suggests that they are generally happy with the product.

Pat on the back


And, of course, following our recent national award win, having collected the Outstanding Partner to the Sector Award at the Smee & Ford Legacy Giving Awards 2024, many well-wishers - both customers and non-customers – were very kind about our recent success.


However, the biggest pat on the back came from ILM, which is eager to develop an official qualification on FirstClass. This recognition shows that we're becoming a standard part of the legacy management infrastructure and doing something right, too. 


This year's ILM was exceptional, and the FirstClass team was incredibly proud to be a part of it. 

 

Looking for an award-winning bequest management partner? Get in touch with our team today. 

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'Emailing!' we hear you cry. 'How is that a feature?'. Email is as prevalent as pen and paper – if not more so. Everyone uses email, but it's crucial to understand how it can be used within the FirstClass platform. Email is critical in helping charities build an online presence. Here are four reasons we believe email deserves a FirstClass feature showcase. 1. Hit send If you rely on an external platform to send and receive emails, then you’re operating outside FirstClass’s secure environment. And it’s one more platform to manage, too. With FirstClass, you can email anyone and everyone related to a specific case. The software works seamlessly with all versions of Outlook, making integration easy. Additionally, you can eliminate email-related admin, which is inevitable when using a third-party email provider. Any email addresses that aren’t on the system can easily be imported. Oh, and everything’s ringfenced, so that only those with admin rights can send emails. 2. Log it When it comes to incoming emails, all attachments, notes, and tags can quickly be logged into the system. So, users can easily track specific items if they've attributed a keyword or search term to them when they go into the legator's records. If, for example, you've previously logged a copy of the will, you can locate and recall that specific document by searching 'copy of the will'. 3. Flexible templates With FirstClass, users can easily create letter templates. While they look exactly like standard printed letters, they can be emailed to anyone in seconds, saving charities time and money in postage fees. Additionally, users can incorporate their own branding, such as logos and fonts, so that all digital communication can be on brand and consistent with other assets. 4. Scans well With FirstClass’s email import attachment wizard, users can log critical documents – such as estate sales brochures, Smee & Ford notifications and sensitive information relating to a case – almost instantly with the scan-to-email functionality. Once an item has been scanned and emailed to the user, they can use the importing attachment tool to select which attachments they would like copied from the email to the FirstClass directory. Ready to go paperless and futureproof your organisation? Contact the FirstClass team on 01257 272730 or email info@firstclass-software.com .
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