How Suicide Zero Boosts Engagement and Simplifies Donations
Suicide Zero is a charitable organisation that has been working tirelessly since its inception in 2013 to reduce the number of suicides in Sweden. What started as a small group of individuals personally impacted by suicide has grown into a significant movement. The organisation’s mission is straightforward yet profound: to lower suicide rates by implementing effective interventions. They focus on raising awareness, educating the public, and influencing policymakers to treat suicide prevention with the urgency it requires.
To fulfil its mission, Suicide Zero relies on donations from individuals and organisations, emphasising transparency and accessibility in their fundraising efforts. To streamline the donation process and enhance the donor experience, Suicide Zero partnered with Brite, using its account information service (AIS) technology. Brite’s data solutions helps to simplifies the donation process by automating the entry of account details, reducing manual errors, and increasing donor retention. Since implementing Brite’s solution, Suicide Zero has seen a 14% increase in monthly donors, showcasing the effectiveness of this partnership in supporting their vital mission.
We spoke to Fundraising Manager, Stina Sundström, to learn more about her organisation’s work and how Brite has helped simplify the donation process.
Can you describe Suicide Zero’s mission as a charity organisation?
Stina Sundström, Fundraising Manager: Suicide Zero was founded in 2013. Initially, it was a small organisation with only a few dedicated individuals, all of whom had lost loved ones to suicide. Today, after a decade of rapid growth, we have expanded to 27 employees spread across Sweden. At Suicide Zero, our mission is to reduce suicide rates in Sweden.
We believe that the vast majority of people can be saved if appropriate interventions are implemented. For example, in Sweden, we have a vision of zero traffic deaths and zero suicides. However, there is a stark contrast between the low number of traffic fatalities and the high number of suicides. While significant measures have been taken to address traffic safety, efforts to prevent suicides are not proportionate to the scale of the issue. Therefore, we are actively working to raise awareness and influence policymakers to address this disparity.
Every year, 1500 people die by suicide in Sweden, a devastating number that we are compelled to address. We aim to achieve this by educating the public, influencing politicians, and funding crucial research into suicide prevention. We believe that with the right interventions, the vast majority of deaths by suicide are preventable.
How is your mission financed?
Stina Sundström: Suicide Zero is primarily financed by donations from private individuals. We also receive contributions from companies and foundations, with gifts accounting for around 60% of our income. Like all fundraising organisations, addressing our challenges requires two critical aspects. First, it’s crucial to communicate how donations benefit our operations and make a difference. Second, we strive to make the donation process as easy as possible.
Our website accepts donations via Swish (a mobile payment app), as well as card payments. You can also sign up as a monthly donor to support us every month via direct debit. Additionally, we have a webshop where you can support us through purchases and a fundraising platform where you can create your own fundraising box. There’s also the option to make a bequest to Suicide Zero or donate your dividends to us. Lastly, you can save in the “Human Fund”, which is a service Swedbank (a Swedish bank) offers, and give it in that way.
What challenges must you overcome when accepting donations as a charitable organisation?
Stina Sundström: At Suicide Zero, we strive to be as transparent as possible. We must uphold this standard as we are members of and regulated by the Swedish Fundraising Control and other organisations. This means we have very strict requirements to clearly demonstrate our effectiveness, how donations benefit us, the difference we make, and more. We also endeavour to offer as many different ways for donors to contribute as possible.
Like all organisations, we aim to have safe and stable monthly donors. However, this is only sometimes the case, as some people prefer to donate in various ways, such as using a bank transfer, purchasing a product, or giving a gift card. We believe that no gift should feel too small. Even if you donate just one Swedish Krona, you will still receive a text message thanking you for your contribution. We need to be inclusive, maintain low thresholds, and make it clear how the money will be used.
How can you overcome some of these challenges and communicate with donors?
Stina Sundström: To guarantee transparency, we email all our donors every month. We share updates about what is happening across the organisation, our progress, any new developments, and how donor contributions have made these achievements possible.
We also maintain absolute transparency through our website, posting our company story and annual report. This allows anyone to delve into the details of our activities and see exactly what has been accomplished. Additionally, we are very active on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, where we regularly post updates and information about our work.
What made you choose Brite? Why did you need an account information service (AIS)?
Stina Sundström: At the time, we were looking to update and improve our website. Working with our web agency, the payments team at Suicide Zero wrote a requirement specification that outlined the key points and functionalities that were important to us as an organisation as a payments partner.
Ultimately, Brite emerged as the most suitable solution with its Data Solutions, AIS product. While several different suppliers offered similar services, the combination of address collection via social security number and account number collection via BankID made Brite the best fit for our needs.
What issues regarding the donor experience does Brite’s AIS service help you address?
Stina Sundström: Firstly, we experienced many dropouts from our previous monthly donor setup. Additionally, even when donors completed the form with all the necessary fields filled in, they often made input mistakes when entering the clearing number, account number, and bank name. This resulted in a lot of manual work for us.
With the help of the Brite Data Solution, AIS donors no longer have to fill in these details manually. This has made the process much easier for them, ensuring that changes are updated automatically and the correct account information is always used.
What has been the impact of using an account information service for your donations?
Stina Sundström: We have seen an increased number of monthly donors, which is a critical KPI for us. Since going live with Brite on our new website in April 2024, our number of donors has increased by almost 14%. We believe that Brite’s AIS product has greatly contributed to this growth, and we expect this number to continue to increase.
Finally, what has your overall experience been like working with Brite?
Stina Sundström: We are extremely satisfied with the exceptional support we received from Brite during the implementation process. Even after going live, we haven’t needed much support since the product has been hassle-free. Today, we still feel that everything is running smoothly and efficiently.
Want to know more about Suicide Zero?
If you would like to support Suicide Zero’s mission, please follow this link to go to its website and make a donation.
If you would like to find out how Brite Payment’s account information services can help your organisation then please get in touch with one of our payments experts today.
