Saving Lives at Sea: The Swedish Sea Rescue Society’s Commitment and Unique Funding Model
The Swedish Sea Rescue Society (Sjöräddningssällskapet, SSRS) is one of Sweden’s most trusted and beloved organisations. It is involved in approximately 90 per cent of all sea rescues in the country and has been operational since 1907. SSRS receives no government funding, and its missions are carried out by a dedicated team of 2,500 volunteer crew members.
SSRS provides rescue services 24 hours a day, covering the entire Swedish coast and the major lakes. The organisation is financed through membership fees, donations, and volunteer efforts, making an efficient payment infrastructure essential.
Brite recently sat down with Customer Relationship Analyst Gunnar Lindgren and Fundraiser Camilla Larsson to discuss the challenges of maintaining this highly regarded service, its unique financing model, and how they are adopting new payment technologies to enhance the donation experience for supporters.
What is the mission of SSRS? And how has that changed?
Gunnar Lindgren: Our mission has been to rescue people at sea since 1907. We only have volunteers on our boats, and we are, in effect, the equivalent of the RNLI in the UK as a charity and the DGzRS in Germany as a membership organisation. Of course, there are differences in how each operates and how we operate.
We take part in 90% of all sea or lake rescues in Sweden and have a membership of 140,000 members, whom we also assist with non-life-threatening missions, such as a motor not working, running out of fuel, or even running aground.
This sounds almost like an insurance for SSRS members?
Gunnar Lindgren: Many members think so. Yet, we are a fundraising organisation, and we work like one. We help our members before things get critical.
Swedes adore water or any opportunity to get out on the water. So there is a need for both kinds of rescue services that we offer.
Sweden has many boats, and 85% of all our missions involve assisting members before situations become critical.
How many missions does the SSRS attend annually?
Gunnar Lindgren: Our crews and boats are called out about 14,000 times per year, with the vast majority of those missions performed in the summer months.
However, as we do this interview [*Note: Gunnar is on call], we have ice outside the station and only
This morning, we attended to a boat that was on fire. While that’s dramatic, it’s really uncommon this time of year.
Still, we have to watch the situation. Only yesterday, a sailboat was stuck in the ice trying to reach one of the nearby islands!
In the summer, it’s primarily membership-related missions that time of year. Yet, even then, there are more serious missions, such as when someone is sick on an island or needs urgent help.
What are SSRS’s most significant operational challenges?
Gunnar Lindgren: If you ask me, it’s to be recognised as both a fundraising organisation and a sea rescue organisation. We are neither one nor the other—we are both.
Many people who don’t know SSRS see us simply as a sea rescue organisation and don’t realise that our income is a mix of memberships and donations. We have no other income.
The membership fees help pay for our fuel and associated costs of the organisation, but to afford new ships and maintain our stations, we need a steady supply of gifts and donations. Fundraising for a new boat or a station upgrade is essential, as well as a full-time job.
Has it always been a mix of membership and donation?
Gunnar Lindgren: It’s very much our heritage and how we are funded, and it has been the same since 1907. In fact, we are one of the older organisations alongside similar organisations in the UK and the Netherlands.
Before then, local fishermen helped each other, volunteered, and gave their lives to rescue people at sea in Sweden.
What’s the main challenge in obtaining new funds for SSRS?
Gunnar Lindgren: As I said, the vast bulk of our membership fees go to fuel and so on. We also need more funds to run the station and boats. Yet, like many similar organisations, the rising cost of fuel, the increasing cost of electricity, all those kinds of things make it more difficult.
Camilla Larsson: This makes it essential to realise the targeted donations and make it as simple and straightforward as possible for people to donate.
Part of the challenge is education, too. Many people do not know we are a non-governmental organisation and even think we are paid for by the government – which leads to people not understanding how we raise the funds to do what we do. Remember, all our crews are volunteers, too.
Gunnar Lindgren: We have many local differences, too. For example, we are very well established in the communities of the Swedish West Coast. However, Stockholm may be the best location in Sweden for getting donors.
What payment options are available? Is there a preferred method?
Gunnar Lindgren: It’s quite different between the memberships and the donations.
For membership, we can take a one-off annual fee of 850sek or a monthly payment of 70sek—in fact, I would say it’s roughly 50/50. We always try to make it as simple as possible, which is appreciated. For many people who buy or own a boat, having a membership with us is almost like taking out insurance when they realise the service we provide.
Where we struggle is getting people who are already members to donate to us, either one-off or monthly. Membership pays many of our costs, but donations are still needed.
Is it essential to have an easy-to-use process for signing up new members or donors?
Gunnar Lindgren: We use Swish, of course, but that does not have the facility to help us sign up or onboard new donors. Instead, we prefer they either donate or sign up via our website. This is where an account information service, AIS, like Brite’s Data Solution product, comes in handy. Unlike Swish, the donor can quickly provide their details in a GDPR-secure way, which means we can continue the relationship with them, which is very important for an organisation like ours.
Is there an interest in how donations are used?
Gunnar Lindgren: We are transparent and write a lot about those things in our annual rapport.
Camilla Larsson: We like to showcase the operational needs as much as possible. People are generally fascinated by the missions and hope their money is well spent.
Gunnar Lindgren: People want to know how their money is used, but more importantly, it is used wisely. We are proudly among the top organisations for transparency in Sweden.
Why did you choose Brite Payments as a payment technology partner?
Gunnar Lindgren: We needed a service that could collect account information in a straightforward step. We used Data Solutions to make it easy for people to donate monthly. When we recruit monthly donors, we have to make sure we have as few steps as possible for them to complete.
It is crucial to make the process seamless and have a smooth website design. Right now, we are in our slowest period, but we are set up and ready for the busy summer months. We need to go from processing 30-50 new members or donors in the winter weeks to processing over 2500 new members or donors weekly in the summer months.
How’s the quality of the customer support with Brite?
Gunnar Lindgren: Everything has been great. During the setup process, everything was perfect, and Axel was a great help. We feel ready to ramp up for the summer.
Can you summarise Brite in three words?
Gunnar Lindgren: That is easy: experts, reliable, and smooth. Absolutely, all three of those words best sum up our experience with Brite so far.
If you would like to donate to SSRS, please follow this link: SSRS Support Us
If you want to learn more about Brite Data Solutions and onboarding with customer payment using instant payments, please contact our payment experts.
