Case Study: Severn Area Rescue Association achieves instant volunteer access to funds and tighter spending control with Soldo

SARA increased their Soldo card count to give volunteers instant access to money wherever they were and to keep a closer eye on spending during the pandemic

The Severn Area Rescue Association is a volunteer lifeboat and inland search-and-rescue charity with nearly 300 volunteers that had relied on paper-based expense processes and out-of-pocket spending. When the pandemic hit—reducing fundraising, complicating cash use and creating urgent PPE and repair needs—SARA, which had been using Soldo’s prepaid card platform for about a year, needed a faster, more transparent way to get money to crews in the field.

SARA increased its Soldo card count and used the Soldo app plus Xero integration to give volunteers instant access to funds, upload digital receipts, and let one finance manager oversee real-time spending with card limits and controls. The result was paperless expense management, faster on-the-ground purchases (including PPE), more funds moved through the account in 2020 than the year before, and smooth financial support across 126 operations that year.

Severn Area Rescue Association

Mark Carwardine

Chief Executive Officer