Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

National charity jumps on Web 2.0 social collaboration bandwagon

Free for charities Huddle.net gets Care for the Family collaborating online

Care for the Family has chosen Huddle.net, an online collaboration application to improve teamwork across the organisation. Huddle combines online collaboration, project management and document sharing using social networking principles.

With more than 100 employees, Care for the Family is one of the UK’s key charities promoting strong family life and helping those suffering from family breakdowns. Staff across four offices UK-wide and community representatives in Greater Manchester and the Isle of Man are using Huddle to work on projects together and exchange research and statistics.

With Huddle, Care for the Family’s employees can instantly create a network of collaborative team workspaces, each time bringing together the right team for the right project. Huddle is secure, easy to use and free to charities.

The senior management team is already taking advantage of Huddle’s document sharing tools to distribute teams’ quarterly reporting on best practice. They also collaborate to create a survey template for use at the Care for the Family seminars. In addition, Huddle is used to facilitate training and plan workshops.

“Charities cannot afford to ignore Web 2.0. It solves many of our common problems: constant need for keeping costs low, improving communication between staff in various locations and bringing volunteers together,” said Jon Mason, Executive Development Officer, Care for the Family. “There are many collaboration applications available on the web, so proper evaluation is a must. We couldn’t fault Huddle – it offers a special package for charities, which is completely free and offers all necessary training and customer support.”

Care for the Family has already discovered some of the biggest benefits of Huddle – eliminating ‘email storm’. Traditionally exchanging up to 100 emails a day between various members of the team, the charity stopped sending any emails that involve ‘action’. All documents that require review or approval are now posted online in the charity’s huddle. Those responsible for action are tasked with review deadlines. Additionally, online editing means the staff can work from any computer, PC or Mac, not worrying about downloading and converting files.

In the future, Care for the Family is hoping to use Huddle to collaborate with similar interest groups in New Zealand and South Africa.

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Note to editors:

Charities interested in using Huddle completely free should download an application here

About Care for the Family

Care for the Family has been supporting and encouraging families in the UK since 1988. Its family-building events have been attended by over 300,000 people and many more have been helped through special initiatives - including stepfamilies, bereaved parents and those parenting alone. Founded by best-selling author and speaker Rob Parsons, the charity is committed to strengthening family life and helping those who face family difficulties.

About Huddle.net

Huddle.net combines online collaboration, project management and document sharing using social networking principles. It offers an easy, secure and low-cost online service for everyone from individuals through SMEs and enterprise to government. Huddle is also free for charities. With Huddle you can instantly create a network of collaborative team workspaces, each time bringing together the right team for the right project.

Established in November, 2006, Huddle.net is based in London, UK. Its customers include John Lewis, Boots, Edelman and UNICEF and a number of government organisations and charities. Huddle.net is backed by Eden Ventures Partners.

Huddle has been chosen as one of top 20 UK Web 2.0 companies by Web Mission 2008 sponsored by UK Trade & Investment department and one of 100 top UK start-ups by Startups.co.uk in 2008.

Press contact:

Zuzanna Pasierbinska-Wilson
Email: zuzanna@huddle.net
Tel: +44 (0) 2077932400
Skype: zuzannapw