CLIENT
Worcester Street Kitchen
SECTOR
Charity / Community
THE RESULT
Increased donations, volunteer enquiries and awareness
The problem
Worcester Street Kitchen provides food and support to homeless and vulnerable people in Worcester, feeding around 60 people at each service. The work was already happening. A dedicated group of volunteers was giving its time and energy to support people who needed it.
But digitally, the charity was almost invisible. There was no strong online presence explaining what Worcester Street Kitchen did, why it mattered or how somebody could help.
That created two problems. Potential donors and volunteers had difficulty discovering the charity and understanding how to support it, while the people running Worcester Street Kitchen were having to manage much of the operation manually. The charity was doing important work. It simply didn't have the digital infrastructure behind it to help that work grow.
What I found
This wasn't really a website problem. Worcester Street Kitchen needed a clearer identity and a simple digital system connecting three groups of people: Those who needed help. Those who wanted to help. And the volunteers making everything happen.
For potential supporters, the charity needed to communicate what it actually did and make donating straightforward. For prospective volunteers, it needed a clear route to get involved. And for the team behind the scenes, there was an opportunity to reduce some of the manual administration involved in coordinating volunteers.
The objective wasn't to create a complicated charity website. It was to remove friction between people wanting to help and the charity that needed their support.
What I changed
I started by helping Worcester Street Kitchen establish a clearer identity that better reflected the warmth, community and purpose behind the organisation.
From there, I built a new website designed around the actions that actually mattered. Visitors could quickly understand what Worcester Street Kitchen does, see the different ways it supports vulnerable people and, importantly, find straightforward routes to donate or volunteer.
The charity's regular evening meals, next-day lunch bags and monthly eat-in events were given clearer visibility, while photography and straightforward messaging helped people understand the real work happening behind the organisation. But the work didn't stop with the public-facing website.
I'm now working with Worcester Street Kitchen on an online volunteer booking and rota system designed to reduce manual coordination and give the team more time to concentrate on the people they're there to help.
The outcome
The new digital presence had an impact almost immediately. Within weeks of launching, Worcester Street Kitchen reported a significant increase in awareness and a substantial amount of new donations. Volunteer enquiries now have a proper digital route into the charity, while supporters have a much clearer and easier way to contribute.
And the next stage is about improving the organisation behind that growth. By digitising more of the volunteer coordination process, the aim is to reduce administration and make it easier for Worcester Street Kitchen to organise the people who give their time to support the service.
There's no revenue figure or conversion percentage needed here. Growth for Worcester Street Kitchen means more people knowing it exists, more people able to support it and more time available to help the people who need it.
“You have been patient beyond words and extremely diligent in understanding what we are about and how best to achieve our aims. They know so much ‘stuff’. Within a couple of weeks of launching we’ve had a huge amount of money donated and better still lots of eyes on our fledgling charity."
Peter Webber, Trustee
Worcester Street Kitchen
