How the RSPB’s supporter advice team help members

What does a typical day look like for you?

On a normal day, the team and I answer queries from members and supporters via phone, email and post. We work on everything from new memberships, membership renewals and updating supporter details to donations and queries about the different memberships on offer and how to best make use of them.

We also guide our supporters and members through any positive or negative situations they might find themselves in.

What’s the best or most memorable member experience you’ve had?

I love helping new members make the most of their nature reserve visits. For example, when I spoke to a new member from Suffolk, they asked about RSPB Lakenheath Fen. I was happy to be able to discuss what it’s like there, which areas on the nature reserve are good viewpoints, how helpful the staff and volunteers are and what species they might see there.

I had an email back a week later from that member – they said they had seen their first Bittern there! Joyful moments such as this one make me appreciate the work the RSPB does, and how much we need our members to do it.

Tom Oliver, Supporter Adviser for the Supporter Services team

Why do you love to hear from the RSPB members?

I see our members as the eyes and ears of the RSPB. They tell us what we’re doing well and celebrate those moments with us. They also tell us what’s not working so we can learn and do our best to rectify any problems. Our members and supporters are the reason we can do what we do as an organisation, and I take a lot of pride in representing them as a Supporter Adviser at the RSPB.