How Buttle UK automate Longitudinal Grant Evaluation with Makerble

Buttle UK transformed a complex, spreadsheet-heavy impact process into a seamless, automated workflow - giving them richer insights, with less admin.

ABOUT

Buttle UK provides life-changing hardship grants to young people across the UK, many of whom are living in poverty, experiencing family breakdown, or estranged from their parents or guardians. These grants provide practical, emotional and educational support - often marking a turning point in a young person’s life.

But for a charity committed to learning and transparency, understanding the real impact of those grants over time is just as vital as giving them.

THE CHALLENGE

To capture outcomes effectively, Buttle UK had developed a thoughtful longitudinal evaluation model, sending three different surveys over a six-month period:

  • A 3-month survey to the referring professional (e.g. youth worker or case worker)
  • A 3-month survey to the young person or their parent/guardian
  • A 6-month follow-up survey to the young person or parent/guardian

But with new grants being made every month — and a growing caseload - keeping track of survey timing, respondents, and data analysis became overwhelming. The team was juggling complex spreadsheets just to stay on top of who needed what, when.

THE SOLUTION

With Makerble, Buttle UK streamlined their entire follow-up process. Now, once a new batch of grantees is approved, staff simply upload a spreadsheet of recipients into the platform.

From there, Makerble takes care of the rest:

  • Automatically sending 3-month surveys to referrers and families
  • Triggering the 6-month surveys at the right time, without manual chasing
  • Allowing surveys to be completed via email or SMS - whichever works best for recipients

Everything is securely logged and instantly available for analysis.

THE IMPACT

Instead of spending hours managing reminders and data merges, the Buttle UK team can now focus on what really matters: learning from the data.

With Makerble’s filters and Lenses tools, they can:

  • Segment results by age, region, or type of hardship
  • Compare progress between different groups
  • Surface powerful insights — both qualitative and quantitative — in real time

Makerble has helped Buttle UK transform a demanding process into a scalable, insightful, and human-centred evaluation system - one that matches the care and ambition behind every grant they give.