Interview with Pontus Olsson, Web manager at Astma- och Allergiförbundet
I am engaged in civil society and wanted to work within a non-profit organisation. At Astma- och Allergiförbundet, I am responsible for the design and development of our web portfolio as well as for the maintenance of the overarching technology. We have several different websites with various purposes.
One example is the Food Allergy Card, where people with allergies can register their details and create a card in the desired language. This card can then be used to communicate their allergies at restaurants during travels, for instance if someone with a peanut allergy is planning a trip to Thailand.
Another initiative is the Allergy Academy, where we offer short courses that are free and designed for those who want to learn more about children's allergies.
Astma- och Allergiförbundet was founded in 1956 by dedicated people with the goal of enabling more people to live a healthy life and for healthcare to work equally well across the entire country.
We are non-profit and we do good for our members. We have achieved several important successes over the years. Among other things, we drove forward the smoking ban in public places together with other organisations. We have also ensured that pollen measurements are conducted nationwide, which benefits our largest group - the pollen allergy sufferers.
After over 20 years of persistent work, our organisation reached a major milestone last year when the government decided to develop a national allergy program.
When I started at Astma- och Allergiförbundet, we did not have a smooth solution for direct debit and needed to take a major overhaul throughout the organisation to get a comprehensive solution for payment and collection.
We did a solid job of going through the payment solutions available on the market. Eventually, we selected three finalists. One of the contenders is a giant within payment solutions but did not have a ready-made front-end solution like Octany does, the other contender offered an economically attractive bid but lacked a ready solution for one of the requested payment methods.
We needed a solution that is smooth, simple, and works. Our choice was Octany. We felt that they at Octany have the technical experience and understood our type of organization. We simply liked the complete solution with features like an email engine, memorial gifts, campaign shop, etc.
The best thing about Octany is that we feel they care about their customers, understand us, and are solution-oriented. Our organizations have developed a great rapport. Octany provides a comprehensive solution that fits us perfectly.
Due to reduced government support, we have intensified our fundraising activities to continue working on issues that affect over three million Swedes suffering from asthma and allergies.
We are also working to improve our communication. This will be reflected on our website, which will soon feature a more structured layout.
This year will also be marked by a special focus on asthma, but I cannot reveal more details at the moment.
