How BrightMinded helped a Sussex-based charity, CAPITAL, reimagine their website and members portal.

About CAPITAL

CAPITAL is a lived experience led charity that connects people with lived experience of mental health challenges, support services, and professionals working in the field. By bringing these voices together, CAPITAL helps shape better mental health services, deliver valuable training opportunities, and build stronger connections across the community.

At its heart, CAPITAL ensures that experiences are not just heard but actively influence the way support is designed and delivered. Their goal is to create more inclusive, effective, and compassionate services for all.

As part of giving back to the local community, we chose CAPITAL as the recipient of a free digital transformation and be one of the first to use Sodalis, our digital membership product designed for smaller associations. 

The importance of a well functioning CRM (Customer Relationship Management system) for member-led organisations

The challenge: 

For any membership association, relationships are at the core of success. But managing those relationships through spreadsheets, Word documents, and paper forms can quickly become overwhelming. Without a central system, CAPITAL faced disconnected data, time-consuming manual processes, and limited capacity to engage with their community. Applications were processed manually, renewals required re-typing information, and valuable member insights were difficult to capture or use. 

The solution: 

To tackle these challenges, we implemented our pre-packaged CRM and CMS system for CAPITAL. This provides a unified platform where member data live in one place, with automated workflows to handle applications, renewals, and updates.

As part of the process, we migrated their data from an older database and restructured it so it could work seamlessly with the CRM’s features, like mailing. This now allows CAPITAL to send targeted communications, for example promoting new services available in a specific geographical area or council district.

We also redesigned the membership registration form to capture richer member data. With this in place, CAPITAL can apply targeted engagement and deliver more relevant information and support to their community.

Beyond administration, Sodalis now enables CAPITAL to track key data points and turn them into insights that inform communication and marketing decisions. This has transformed how they serve and retain members.

The results: 

The shift to a dedicated CRM has created a change in how CAPITAL manage their community. They are able to:

• Store all member data in one place for easy tracking and management.
• Replace paper and manual workflows with efficient automation.
• Reduce errors and save staff time, allowing more focus on the mental health mission.
• Deliver a smoother, more reliable, and more engaging experience for members.

Brightminded’s implementation of Sodalis gave CAPITAL the infrastructure they needed to overcome long-standing data challenges. With stronger systems in place, they now have the tools to deepen connections, improve engagement, and continue driving meaningful change in the mental health space.

A brand new website and memberzone for CAPITAL and its members

The challenge: 

The initial challenge was CAPITAL’s existing site being built on Wix, which limited flexibility and scalability. While it served as a basic online presence, it wasn’t able to support the charity’s growing needs as an association. There was no dedicated space for members to access resources or engage with the community, and the site’s structure made it difficult to expand functionality over time.

The solution:

Our solution to the problem was  to implement Sodalis, the integrated CRM and CMS solution built on WordPress, ensuring a more robust and adaptable platform designed for membership organisations. Within this setup, we introduced a secure MemberZone, giving CAPITAL’s members a dedicated space to log in, access materials and connect with the organisation directly. 

The result: 

The results speak for themselves. CAPITAL’s move to WordPress established a strong, growth-ready digital platform that can grow alongside the charity. Members enjoy a smoother, user-friendly experience, while the team benefits from a platform that is easier to manage, scale and tailor to users’ specific needs. This upgrade not only enhanced accessibility but also deepened engagement, helping CAPITAL continue to deliver value to its members in a sustainable way.