The Access Group Acquires Donorfy

"Be patient. There will be ups and downs in the process. So be prepared to stick with it for a while." That advice comes from Robin Fisk, former CEO of Donorfy, a U.K.-based company whose cloud-based CRM platform helps charities and non-profits streamline fundraising, manage donor relationships, and automate administrative tasks. With Corum as its sell-side advisor, Donorfy was successfully acquired in November 2024 by The Access Group, a provider of business management software for small and mid-sized organizations.

Donorfy: A highly trusted and respected CRM supplier

Fisk co-founded Donorfy with Ben Brett in 2014. Both had previous experience in the charity and non-profit CRM space, having previously founded and later sold ProgressCRM, a company that provided fundraising software. The ProgressCRM product was designed for on-premises installation. When Fisk and Brett conceived of Donorfy they specifically wanted their solution to be SaaS and cloud-based so that customers could use it on a self-service or even trial basis. 

Fisk and Brett bootstrapped Donorfy using their own money to start the company, with Fisk taking on the role of CEO. Over the years the company became successful, with a growing ARR and a solid reputation as a highly trusted and respected CRM supplier. More than 1000 charities across the U.K. and Scandinavia used the Donorfy CRM product.

The need to retire

Despite his success leading Donorfy, Fisk realized that the time was approaching for him and Brett to retire. He recalls, "Time had passed, and we were at a certain age as founders where we wanted to retire. Setting up a business in 2014, we knew then that as we built the business everything about it was to lead to an eventual M&A transaction."

In thinking about an M&A, Fisk soon realized that he needed help. He still had a business to run and needed a competent M&A advisor to lead the M&A process. Even before deciding to go through an M&A, Fisk began listening to podcasts about the process, and was particularly impressed by Corum's approach, professionalism, and experience. So in 2013 he signed up with Corum to be his M&A advisor.

A quick start

From the beginning, Fisk felt that a strategic buyer was best suited to acquire Donorfy. He knew that a financial buyer such a PE firm would want him to stay on and run the company after the transaction. But Fisk and Brett wanted to retire and didn’t want to, as Fisk put it, "hang around for earnouts in three or four years." The founders wanted to find a strategic buyer who desired what Donorfy had to offer, acquire the company, and then run it themselves.

Corum launched Donorfy to the M&A market and quickly generated interest from a number of strategic buyers. In fact, Fisk was surprised by how quickly he received LOIs. "I thought it would be hardest to get offers,” he admits, “but actually, the offers happen quite early on in the process and then you just pick one."

An unexpected snag

Fisk and Brett chose one of those interested buyers to be Donorfy's acquirer ‒ a buyer that Fisk says, “checked all the right boxes for us." The founders then proceeded further through the process with the buyer, but for reasons that Fisk still doesn’t understand, the buyer pulled out of the deal. Not only was that surprising, it also caused Fisk and Brett to wonder whether after putting in so much work to get this far, if they were going to find the next "right one."

Going on hiatus

Fortunately, Corum offers a hiatus program to its clients ‒ an opportunity for sellers to pause their participation in the M&A process with the intention of returning to it at a later time when conditions improve. During the hiatus period, Corum still keeps the seller in mind when inquiries come in from prospective buyers. Fisk took advantage of that opportunity, which worked out extremely well. Another buyer, The Access Group, materialized during the hiatus. They had an informal interest in acquiring Donorfy before the start of the M&A process, but didn't pursue it further. However, this time they turned that previous interest into an actual offer, which Fisk and Brett accepted. 

Thinking back on his experience with the M&A process, Fisk says it's somewhat like a roller coaster. "It's a bit of a journey," he says, "so just be patient." 

Life after the deal

Fisk acknowledges that exiting a company that you've founded and built is emotionally difficult. "Because it's your baby," he says, "you care about it.  So to not have that anymore once you've passed it over to someone else, takes a little bit of getting used to. It's a healing process."

Now retired, Fisk fills his life with other meaningful activities, such as volunteering.  "I volunteer for a non-profit near me,” notes Fisk. “It's been fun getting involved with that." He's also using his experience to help business leaders, especially regarding M&A. "I want to help a business get ready for the transaction. I don't want to be a dealmaker, but I'm quite interested in understanding where founders want to get to and help them set up their business for the next step." Fisk also has more free time to visit his grandchildren and travel. He notes, "There’s some travelling in the diary, so I'm going to see some of the world."