Support software for UK charities, on a charity budget.
Charities answer email from donors, supporters and the people they help, often across a fundraising arm and a services arm, with small teams and volunteers. Solves turns those shared inboxes into owned tickets in one queue, keeps each brand distinct, and prices in GBP team bands so an extra pair of hands does not cost an extra seat.
Starter to try it, then GBP team bands.
The short answer
Donor care and beneficiary care, in one shared queue
A charity inbox is rarely one inbox. There is fundraising, there is the service or helpline side, and there is often a general info address as well. Solves brings them together so nothing is missed, while keeping each one recognisable to the person who wrote in.
Every email becomes an owned ticket with a clear state, an assignee and a priority, so a worried supporter is not left waiting because a message slipped down a shared mailbox. Your team works one queue, filters it with saved views, and replies with the right tone for the right audience.
Because Solves is email-first, it does not try to sell you a phone system or live chat you do not need. It does one job well: turning support email into dependable, owned work. For a small charity team that focus is the point, not a limitation.
What charities get
Built for small teams with two audiences
Fundraising and services, kept apart
Run a fundraising brand and a services brand from one login, each with its own address, sender name, signature and saved replies, so donors and beneficiaries each hear the right voice.
One queue, brand badges
Every open ticket across the arms you can access, in one list, with a brand badge on each row and brand filters and saved views a click away.
Volunteers without a seat penalty
GBP team bands instead of per-agent pricing, and light collaborators who can add private notes only, so a volunteer or trustee can help without a full seat.
Saved replies for common asks
Reusable replies for gift aid questions, donation receipts, event details or referral steps, scoped to a brand or shared across the charity. No fake placeholders.
Response times you can stand by
First-response and resolution SLA timers, with a clear view of what is breaching, so you set honest expectations for supporters.
Care taken with supporter data
Customer content encrypted at rest with per-organisation keys, authorised access only, metadata-only logs, and a WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility target.
Getting started
From shared inbox to owned tickets
Connect your support address
Move off a Gmail or Outlook shared inbox with forwarding-first mailbox setup. Guided, plain-English steps verify each address before live sending is allowed.
Add a brand per arm
Create a brand for fundraising and one for services, each with its own from-name, signature and saved replies, so every reply looks like the right part of the charity.
Work one queue together
New email arrives as owned tickets badged to their brand. Assign, prioritise, add private notes for colleagues, and reply to supporters with the correct identity every time.
In practice
What this looks like for a charity day to day
Picture a small charity with a fundraising brand and a separate services brand, plus a general info address. A gift aid query from a donor, a referral question from a service user and a press enquiry all land in one queue, each badged to its arm. A caseworker handles the referral, the fundraising lead handles the donor, and a volunteer adds a private note on the press question without being able to reply publicly.
No per-seat penalty for the people who help
Charity teams flex. A campaign weekend or a grant deadline pulls in volunteers and trustees who help for a few hours. Most helpdesks charge per agent, so each occasional helper costs a full monthly seat. Solves uses GBP team bands, so you size the plan to your team and let helpers help, with light collaborators limited to notes only when that is all they need.
Honest about free, and about moving in
Several helpdesks offer a free plan, each with caps; Solves offers a Starter at GBP 29 for three users, one brand, one mailbox and 1,000 tickets a month . Moving off a shared Gmail or Outlook inbox is straightforward through forwarding-first setup. Bringing across history from another helpdesk is in pilot and done with hands-on help, not a self-serve transfer, so we will be clear about what carries over before you commit.
Honest comparison
Solves for a charity vs a general helpdesk
Where a single Solves workspace fits a small charity team, and where it deliberately stops.
| Solves | Typical helpdesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Fundraising and services in one login | Included, core to the product | Often a higher-tier add-on |
| How you pay for volunteers | GBP team bands, no per-seat penalty | Usually per agent, per month |
| Pricing currency and VAT | GBP ex VAT, VAT-visible invoices | Often USD, VAT handled separately |
| Supporter data at rest | Encrypted, per-organisation keys | Varies by plan and provider |
| Phone, live chat and social | Not included, by design | Often available as add-ons |
Competitor facts last verified 13 June 2026. Re-check the vendor's current plans before deciding.
Solves is email-first and does not claim to be a contact-centre suite. If your charity runs a staffed phone helpline or live chat at scale, a broader platform is the better fit alongside, or instead of, an email desk.
Email-first, on purpose
Solves handles support email: tickets, ownership, notes, SLAs and multi-brand. It does not do live chat, phone or social inboxes. That focus is why a small charity team can run two arms without drowning in channels.
FAQ
Charity questions
Is there free support software for charities in the UK?
Solves has a Starter at GBP 29 that covers three users, one brand, one mailbox and up to 1,000 tickets a month, on outgoing replies. It is paid from the start and small pilots, not a forever-free tier. If your charity needs more brands, more users or higher volume, you move onto a paid GBP team band. We say this plainly so you are never surprised by a bill.
What is the best free software for charities in the UK for handling email?
For a small charity the honest answer is to start with what you already pay for, then add a shared support desk only where a shared mailbox stops coping. Several helpdesks offer a free plan, including Help Scout, Zoho Desk and Hiver, each with its own caps. Solves offers a Starter for small teams. The best choice is the one that handles your real volume without forcing a per-seat charge on the volunteers who help at busy times.
Can one desk run both our fundraising and our services enquiries?
Yes. Multi-brand is core to Solves, so your fundraising arm and your services or beneficiary-facing arm can each keep their own support address, sender name, signature and saved replies, while your team works both from one shared queue. A reply to a donor goes out as the fundraising brand, and a reply to a service user goes out as the services brand, with a guard that stops a teammate sending as the wrong one.
Does Solves charge per volunteer or seat?
No. Solves uses GBP team bands rather than per-agent pricing, so an occasional volunteer who picks up overflow does not cost you a full seat. You size the plan to your team and let helpers help. Light collaborators can be limited to adding private notes only, so a trustee or specialist can weigh in on a ticket without being able to reply to the public.
Is our supporters' data kept safe?
Customer support content is encrypted at rest with per-organisation keys, access is limited to authorised users, and our logs hold metadata only, never message bodies or email addresses. Solves is built for UK SMEs and charities and targets WCAG 2.2 AA for accessibility. We do not make compliance certification claims we cannot stand behind; we describe exactly what the product does.
Give your supporters a desk that keeps up
Book a setup call and we will help you connect your addresses and split fundraising from services, or start at £29 first.