Supporters of East Anglian Air Ambulance can now support life-saving missions through a new fundraising app each time a helicopter takes off or a rapid response vehicle is deployed.

This new opportunity is thanks to a revolutionary new type of fundraising app developed by a technology business building on research by computer scientists at Lancaster University.

East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) is a charity providing advanced out of hospital critical care 24 hours a day,365 days a year to the most seriously ill and injured people in the region by air and road.

It operates two helicopters and four rapid response vehicles from its two bases in Norwich and Cambridge and relies almost entirely on the financial support of donors to keep their critical life-saving service in the air and on the road 24/7.

Seizing an opportunity to take their charitable donations to the next level, EAAA and the Lancaster University spin-out company ’If Give Limited’ have launched ‘EAAA Missions’. The innovative app uses real-time data to enable the charity’s supporters to give micro-donations each time the crew are tasked to somebody experiencing a medical emergency.

At its core, the technology developed by computer science researchers at Lancaster University and If Give harnesses the 24/7 life-saving charity’s in-house mission data, which records every time an EAAA crew is sent out to provide urgent out of hospital critical care to people experiencing life-threatening situations. This includes cardiac arrests, medical emergencies and road traffic collisions.

The If Give team’s data capturing algorithms can turn each mission into an opportunity for donors to make automatic micro-donations through the EAAA Missions app, ranging from as little as 10p, each time EAAA's crew are tasked by air or road.

When the EAAA crew have been called to a medical emergency, donors will be able to see a brief summary about the type of call out they have supported, such as its date, time, approximate location and which vehicle and crew responded.

Simon Judd, Head of Individual Giving and Supporter Engagement at East Anglian Air Ambulance, explained the app's role in fostering a sense of community among supporters.

”With 'EAAA Missions,' donors can become members of our life-saving crew," says Mr Judd. "Their contributions, no matter how small, have a significant impact on our ability to save lives."

By leveraging real-time data to create immersive and engaging experiences for donors, the team behind the 'EAAA Missions app' believe their technology represents a major step forward in digital fundraising and has the potential to redefine the landscape of charitable giving.

“In today's changing consumer landscape, brands and services focus on technology to offer personalisation, convenience and responsiveness,” said Ludwig Trotter, Founder of If Give and a PhD researcher at Lancaster University. “Today's charitable donors expect the same level of personalised service and responsiveness and seek meaningful connections and tangible impact from the causes they support.

“Forward-thinking charities like EAAA are looking to revolutionise their approach towards regular donations and deliver experiences that are more tailored to individuals. Our app transforms raw operational data into compelling narratives.

“People can tailor their donations to supporting particular types of emergency rescue missions, or even when teams located at specific bases are in action, which helps to build a new level of engagement between supporters and the charity.”

This innovative fundraising model has attracted attention across the sector, demonstrating its versatility and effectiveness in driving engagement.

“Through our approach of “If this happens, I will donate”, literally anything can become a trigger for meaningful change,” said Mr Trotter.

“As charities continue to adapt to the digital age, collaborations like the one between EAAA and If Give Limited are paving the way for a more connected and impactful future in the charity sector.”

Professor Nigel Davies, Head of Lancaster University’s School of Computing and Communications, and Co-Founder at If Give Limited, outlined the transformative potential of this collaboration.

“In a world where everything is becoming more automated, and digitalisation becomes widespread, lies a huge untapped potential for charities,” he said. “EAAA Missions marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of digital fundraising.

"By harnessing the power of data, we are empowering supporters to make a tangible impact on causes they care about, like never before.”

The EAAA Missions app has also been shortlisted in the forthcoming Third Sector awards in the Digital Innovation of the Year category. These prestigious awards, now in their twentieth year, recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of UK-based charities, social enterprises and not-for-profits.

The Lancaster University research behind the technology was supported through the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) EP/N028198/1, UKRI Impact Accelerator Account and the If Give opportunity has been supported by Innovate UK’s ICURe (Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research).

People can download the app from https://eaaa.ifgive.app/download