Getting to know Big Hearts Community Trust with Good HQ

Good HQ Community Manager Lauren Plüss shares Big Hearts' experience of using the platform to gain feedback for their organisation. Big Hearts: How we use Good HQ Being a finalist in the Scottish Charity Awards in 2017, Big Hearts signed up to Good HQ to help promote their work in the local community. They have now collected fourteen reviews through the Scottish Charity Awards but also through embedding the use of Good HQ in their communications and making it a regular feature on their social media. They even recently held a competition where reviewers could win a signed Hearts FC calendar to help generate more feedback! Find out how Charlotte Caillez, Communications & Fundraising Officer, has been using Good HQ over the last year. What is Big Hearts? Big Hearts Community Trust is Heart of Midlothian Football Club's official charity. We are an independent charity aiming to support families and individuals in need. We currently run four main programmes of support - including a multicultural youth club, a range of activities for kinship care families, monthly Football Memories sessions and 'Big Hearts Supporters' our initiative enabling Hearts fans to volunteer in their community. How did you find out about Good HQ? We discovered Good HQ about a year ago, when Big Hearts was named finalist in the Scottish Charity Awards. The platform is really easy to use and we enjoyed the possibility to share our news and volunteering opportunities on one unique page easy to share on social media. How have you collected reviews to date? We've just asked our community of supporters to visit our Good HQ page and tell us more about their experience with Big Hearts. The feedback are really positive and it's great to have a list of reviews from a wide range of people involved with us: partners, volunteers and families we support. What are your plans for Good HQ in 2018? This year, Big Hearts is working on a new strategy to support even more families in need and we will share updates on Good HQ for anyone interested to know more. We will also promote our new volunteering opportunities with the full role description available on our Good HQ page. Have you seen any impact from being on Good HQ yet? Being listed on Good HQ helped raise our profile as a Scottish charity. The promotion on social media from the Good HQ team was a huge help in getting reviews too. What’s your favourite review of your organisation? We love the review left by our partner Care and Repair, explaining how working with Big Hearts helped their organisation expand their services to new groups of people. It sums up how we work in partnership with local organisations and charities, using the power of the Club's crest to reach out to 'hidden groups' and improve the lives of the most vulnerable. What's your experience of using Good HQ been like to date? Very easy and straightforward to use. We've been lucky to be involved in testing new features on the page and it's been great to have the flexibility to come forward with some ideas. The team is very approachable and always keen to help charities get the most of the platform. What would you say to others considering joining Good HQ? It would be a shame not to sign-up! The platform is great for small charities and can complement your profile on other social media. I would also add that the Good HQ team is very helpful and reactive whenever you have a question. Find out more about Big Hearts on Good HQ and share your own story about a charity close to your heart.