You’ve got to hand it to us. Our podcast always delivers the goods.

Our latest guest is the brilliant Tara Honeywell. She has a background in the commercial sector, over six years at Barnardo’s and serves as a non-executive at GoodPAYE. Impressive, right?

Tara talks about using tech to create sustainable, profitable ventures that funnel back into charity. Here are the highlights of our conversation.

Disclaimer: we’ve paraphrased Tara’s lovely words for this article. Listen to the podcast for her full, unedited insights.

Six years ago, Tara left her corporate job for Barnardo’s. She’s applying her commercial experience for the benefit of social causes:

“I realised the potential in using Barnardo’s assets to launch profitable ventures. The profits from these ventures go back into the charity, enhancing our support for children and young people.”

Leading the Commercial Ventures department, Tara explains: “Our approach blends risk-taking with the need for immediate revenue. We focus on empowering other departments in the organisation with marketable ideas. Guiding them to find market opportunities and develop successful entry strategies.

“We also play a crucial role in securing the necessary funding,” Tara adds. “This can be through Barnardo’s own resources or external sources, including philanthropic investors. Moreover, we seek out external funding for certain projects, always ensuring alignment with investors who support our mission. This approach not only sustains us but also amplifies our impact in the social sector.”

The main challenge in convincing nonprofits to try commercial ventures? Taking on risk:

“Every venture carries a risk and requires resources. At Barnardo’s, we navigate this by spreading risks across a portfolio of ventures,” says Tara. “Recently, there’s more flexibility in investment guidelines for charities,” she continues. “But there’s still so much regulation. For nonprofits looking at similar models, it’s crucial to balance your core mission with strategic, calculated risks.”

Addressing how to manage the long-term aspect of such ventures, Tara elaborates: “By investing in ventures aligned with our mission, like education or mental health, we innovate while staying true to our cause. This strategic, long-term approach is key to adapting to the changing fundraising landscape and reaching (in our case) younger demographics.”

Tara Honeywell rewrites the charity fundraising playbook with GoodPAYE’s tech-forward approach. GoodPAYE, born from collaborative efforts at the Good Lab is a unique venture, co-owned by Barnardo’s, Crisis, The Royal British Legion, RNIB and WaterAid.

“Our goal was to rethink payroll giving, an underutilised method despite its tax benefits,” Tara explains. “Payroll giving, despite being tax-incentivized like gift aid, is relatively unknown. In the UK, only 4% of employees use it, compared to 36% in the US.”

Detailing GoodPAYE’s strategy, Tara adds: “We’re making fundraising more effective by aligning donors directly with causes. By automating and integrating payroll giving, we’re drawing from fintech’s playbook on gift aid.

“Instead of focusing on large organisations, we’re broadening our reach to include SMEs. GoodPAYE is about making charitable giving via payroll easy and accessible, fitting effortlessly into existing accounting and HR systems. This approach is especially crucial in economically tough times, providing a cost-effective way for people to support charities. GoodPAYE is here to streamline and expand this underutilised avenue of giving.”

Ever wondered how you turn tech jargon into plain English for a room full of varied minds? Tara Honeywell at GoodPAYE has been doing just that:

“I’ve become the linchpin for communication, making sure that our executive team, technical advisors and shareholders are on the same page. This role of a translator is essential in a tech project, especially when it involves various stakeholders with different backgrounds and perspectives.”

She points out the importance of managing expectations and understanding the limitations of the initial product:

“Navigating the complexities of a tech project like GoodPAYE involves constant learning and adapting. It’s crucial to communicate these evolutions to our stakeholders, especially when dealing with a minimal viable product that might need to evolve or be replaced as we grow and learn.”

Tara’s work with GoodPAYE offers key lessons. They’re helpful for anyone wanting to know how nonprofits can succeed in using technology. She stresses how important it is to have tech knowledge from the start (refreshing to hear that from someone else!):

“Bring in a tech expert early on. They’re crucial for grasping the full range of technical possibilities and constraints. It goes beyond creating a functional product. You need to craft something that optimally serves your users and aligns with your mission. A tech expert guides you through the intricacies of development. So, the end product is not just operational but also perfectly suited to your objectives.”

Tara further highlights careful planning and a thorough understanding of the project’s scope: “Value the discovery phase – workshops, user journeys, process mapping – and learn from those who’ve done it before. Avoid rushing into the build phase just to get to market.”

The need for a balance is important too, especially with the limited funding typical of startups:

And there you have it – Tara Honeywell, the genius at blending profit with purpose. Her story is a must-hear for anyone in the nonprofit world looking to sprinkle a little business savvy into their cause.

Don’t miss our podcast where Tara’s insights come alive. Listen now.