For UK charities, the run up to Christmas is Peak—that moment when response volumes surge, supporter expectations rise, and the pressure to process, bank and thank every donor quickly to create the best supporter experience becomes more important than ever. It’s a period that tests every part of a fundraising operation, from data and visibility to staffing, quality control and, most importantly, supporter care.
We know achieving the best supporter experience is paramount. And we deliver.
This year, at Woods Valldata, we’re incredibly proud to have delivered over 99% SLAs during Peak for our charity partners. It's an amazing achievement across the busiest period. It’s a result that reflects not just operational control, but a deep commitment to keeping donor journeys moving with warmth, speed and accuracy. Because while SLAs may look like metrics, the real story behind them is people—your supporters and the experience they receive when they choose to give. This short video tells you a little more about how Woods Valldata achieved it.
In this article, we’re lifting the lid on how we achieve high response handling and fulfilment performance year after year, and why our approach helps our charity partners protect supporter experience, boost engagement, and ultimately increase lifetime value.
In fundraising operations, it’s easy to treat SLAs as targets to hit. But SLAs only matter if they genuinely protect and enhance supporter experience.
For us, that’s exactly what they’re designed to do.
Strong SLA performance means:
And when these things go right, we see tangible outcomes: higher retention, stronger loyalty, and improved lifetime value. Supporters who feel seen, valued and acknowledged come back—and they come back for longer. In fact, Sound Fundraising Strategies explain that "Effective thank‑you strategies can “increase donor retention by up to 70%.”"
For Woods Valldata, delivering the best supporter experience isn’t the result of heroic effort or “all‑hands” panic. It’s the product of robust processes, experienced teams, scalable infrastructure, and a culture that embraces planning as a year‑round discipline rather than a last‑minute scramble.
You can’t deliver 99.9% SLAs in December if you start preparing in November.
Our Peak planning cycle begins in July or before—months before that first festive pack lands on a supporter’s doormat. At this stage, we’re working with our charity partners to build volume forecasts, review client needs, model operational flows and understand resource requirements down to a granular level.
As Peak approaches, that planning intensifies. Forecasts are re‑scoped weekly, then twice weekly through December, ensuring we always have the right people, capacity and equipment in place exactly where they’re needed.
This rolling re‑forecasting model allows us to:
Charity teams often tell us how difficult this is to replicate in‑house—especially when they’re juggling BAU alongside growing campaign complexity. But at Woods Valldata, we're experienced and skilled at accommodating the Peak surge. Our processes, systems and workforce are designed to flex at scale, without compromising the detail that matters for supporters. We know how important this is for our charity partners and are proud to be able to consistently and reliably deliver.
During Peak, we process hundreds of thousands of items in a very tight window. That includes everything from opening and sorting mail to banking donations, capturing data, managing supporter queries, fulfilling premiums, and sending out personalised acknowledgements.
Reliably. Accurately. Every day.
It’s only possible because of the combination of:
Specialist teams: Experts in inbound response handling, supporter services, data capture, fulfilment and production, all working together.
Scalable staffing models: Experienced permanent teams supported by trained temporary staff who can be deployed where needed.
Robust processes and automation: Our internal workflow engines, QA controls and technology platforms (including tools like SmartView, DAT and SmartThank) keep everything moving smoothly and the charity team informed and in control.
Continuous cross‑business communication: Operations, client services, warehouse, data and supporter services teams remain in regular contact to keep every piece of the journey aligned.
This scale is incredibly difficult for most charities to match internally—particularly when supported by only one or two teams. That’s where outsourcing to a partner with dedicated capacity can transform both supporter experience and operational efficiency.
One of the things our clients often tell us they value most is our willingness to adapt fast. When something isn’t working perfectly, we won’t wait until January to fix it. Our teams are empowered to suggest and implement improvements mid‑Peak, keeping journeys flowing even when volumes shift unexpectedly.
That agility is the difference between simply coping with Peak and excelling at it.
The best supporter experience shouldn’t suffer just because response volumes are high. And it doesn’t need to.
Peak isn’t just a busy season for us—it’s a moment where the whole organisation comes together. Here’s how some of our operational leaders describe it:
This sense of purpose is what underpins our performance. We know that every donation we process represents a moment of generosity. And every supporter deserves a journey that reflects that.
If you're already outsourcing response handling, but your current partner isn’t delivering the reliability, visibility or supporter experience you expect, now might be the moment to explore what a specialist provider can offer.
If you’re managing response handling in‑house, but you need scalability, resilience and improved supporter journeys, throughout the year, or just at Peak, we can help you evaluate what outsourcing could unlock.
At Woods Valldata, we ensure your supporters are banked, thanked and looked after—even on the busiest days of the fundraising calendar.
We’d love to show you how.
👉 Get in touch to arrange a meeting with our team.
Together, we can make every supporter moment count.