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Modernising non-profit rescue operations: a HubSpot-powered solution for WIRES

Narrate this article
Modernising non-profit rescue operations: a HubSpot-powered solution for WIRES
2:12
Call Triage

3x

Faster
Case Status

100%

Visibility
Over

130k+

Cases/year

WIRES is a not-for-profit wildlife rescue powerhouse operating 24/7 across NSW. With a network of over 3,500 volunteer rescuers and a dedicated call-center team, WIRES assists in over 130,000 animal rescue cases each year. Their mission is to save native animals and inspire community involvement in wildlife care. 
To support this mission, WIRES relies on efficient coordination between callers, volunteer rescuers, veterinarians, and support staff. The organisation recognised that its legacy rescue management system was hindering these efforts. They partnered with Engaging.io to modernise their volunteer and rescue call platform, aiming to improve responsiveness, data accuracy, and scalability in handling wildlife emergencies. 

The problem
Limited visibility, increasing complexity, and growing rescue demand

As WIRES’ rescue operations continued to grow in volume and complexity, the limitations of their existing systems became increasingly apparent. What had once been workable processes were now slowing response times, increasing administrative burden, and limiting visibility across the rescue lifecycle. Two core challenges stood in the way of scaling effectively.

Problem 1:

WIRES relied on an ageing, siloed rescue database that forced volunteers and operators to duplicate information across spreadsheets and external dispatch platforms. This manual approach created delays, increased the risk of errors, and required operators to trigger xMatters alerts separately. Without a central CRM connecting callers, animals and volunteers, tracking rescues end-to-end was cumbersome and slowed call triage.

Problem 2:

During peak periods and crisis events, WIRES’ processes struggled to scale. There was no real-time view of active rescues, volunteer responses, or case status, making it difficult for managers to prioritise urgent cases or identify bottlenecks. Volunteer activity after dispatch was largely invisible, and reporting on outcomes required manual reconciliation across systems. This lack of a single source of truth reduced operational insight and raised concerns about the organisation’s ability to cope with large-scale emergencies

The solution
Engaging.io delivered two purpose-built systems designed to work together: a custom call centre logging system and a standalone volunteer portal, both integrated with HubSpot CRM and xMatters to create a unified, end-to-end rescue management ecosystem.

At its core, the solution was designed to replaced the legacy rescue database with HubSpot Service Hub as the central system of record. However, rather than forcing complex operational processes directly into standard HubSpot forms, we architected external systems purpose-built for WIRES’ operational realities, with HubSpot orchestrating tickets, automation, reporting, and data governance. 
The Strategic Plan
The Implementation
The process
  1. Rescue calls are captured via a custom-built call centre logging system that lives outside HubSpot. This interface is purpose-designed for high-pressure rescue intake and is accessed directly in HubSpot via a CRM Card.
  2. Call centre operators complete a guided intake form capturing caller details, location data, and animal information. Upon submission, the system creates or updates the relevant HubSpot contact records and automatically generates a linked Service Hub ticket.
  3. This ensures structured data capture, eliminates duplicate entry, and centralises all case information within HubSpot as the operational source of truth.
Unified call logging
The process
  1. Rescue calls are captured via a custom-built call centre logging system that lives outside HubSpot. This interface is purpose-designed for high-pressure rescue intake and is accessed directly in HubSpot via a CRM Card.
  2. Call centre operators complete a guided intake form capturing caller details, location data, and animal information. Upon submission, the system creates or updates the relevant HubSpot contact records and automatically generates a linked Service Hub ticket.
  3. This ensures structured data capture, eliminates duplicate entry, and centralises all case information within HubSpot as the operational source of truth.
Intelligent ticket management
The process
  1. HubSpot Service Hub manages the full rescue lifecycle through a clearly defined, custom rescue pipeline.
  2. The system supports complex scenarios, including incidents involving multiple animals, with structured record relationships enabling individual tracking where required.
  3. Automated duplicate checks reduce repeat responses, and ticket progression is governed by urgency, rescue status, and defined operational rules.
Automated rescuer dispatch
The process
  1. When a case is ready for dispatch, HubSpot triggers an automated handoff to xMatters.
  2. Volunteer notifications are sent based on predefined criteria such as geography and skillset. Volunteer responses sync back into HubSpot in real time, automatically updating ticket status, assignments, and activity logs.
  3. This removes manual coordination overhead and ensures dispatch decisions are tracked within the CRM
Volunteer portal features
The process
  1. The volunteer portal was built as a standalone system outside HubSpot, designed specifically for field rescuers and coordinators. It integrates bi-directionally with both HubSpot and xMatters.
  2. This portal acts as a central operational workspace, with role-based access controls determining what each user can see and action. Mobile-responsive design, guided workflows, and contextual prompts enable volunteers to manage cases efficiently in the field.
  3. All relevant updates, status changes, and rescue outcomes synchronise back to HubSpot, maintaining a complete operational record without requiring volunteers to work directly inside the CRM.
Workflow automation
The process
  1. HubSpot workflows orchestrate escalations, internal updates, and follow-on actions across the rescue lifecycle.
  2. Automated notifications keep coordinators, carers, and relevant stakeholders informed at critical stages.
  3. Tickets progress through the pipeline based on defined triggers rather than manual chasing, ensuring operational consistency at scale.
Data management and security
The process
  1. A clean CRM data model underpins the entire solution. Custom properties, structured associations, and controlled permissions ensure sensitive rescue and volunteer data is secure and accessible only to the appropriate roles.
  2. Secure member authentication within the volunteer portal, combined with HubSpot permission layers, supports segmentation across volunteers, vets, donors, and partners without compromising compliance.
Reporting and visibility
The process
  1. HubSpot is configured as the central system of record, with real-time dashboards and custom reporting designed to provide visibility across rescue volumes, response times, volunteer engagement, and operational bottlenecks.
  2. This consolidated reporting framework will support informed resourcing decisions, compliance reporting, and continuous operational improvement. The underlying architecture has been designed for scale, ensuring WIRES can expand reporting depth and operational insight as demand grows.

The Implementation

The WIRES project was delivered through a structured, phased approach designed to address immediate operational challenges while establishing a scalable, future-ready foundation. Each phase built progressively on the last — from discovery and data consolidation through to custom system development, integration, testing and handover readiness.

Phase 1 – Discovery, audit and foundation

The project commenced in March 2024 with collaborative discovery workshops involving WIRES’ rescue office staff and volunteer representatives. Together, we mapped the end-to-end rescue process, identified operational pain points, and audited the existing technology stack, including the legacy rescue database, xMatters, spreadsheets and fundraising systems.

Core deliverables were prioritised and defined within a structured project plan, with success metrics focused on faster call handling and reduced administrative load.

Phase 2 – HubSpot configuration and data consolidation

HubSpot Enterprise Hubs were configured to serve as the central system of record. This included implementing a custom Animal object to track individual rescues and defining a tailored “Rescues” ticket pipeline aligned to WIRES’ real-world stages, including New, In Triage, Dispatch Pending, Dispatched, In Care, Resolved and Closed.

Marketing Hub Enterprise was configured to support donor communications and public awareness campaigns, while Operations Hub enabled data quality automation, taxonomy enforcement and validation logic.

Data migration consolidated volunteers, veterinarians, donors, partners and historical rescue records into HubSpot. Structured segmentation and custom properties established a single source of truth across stakeholders.

A Google Maps API integration standardised geolocation capture, writing precise GPS coordinates directly to tickets to support dispatch logic and hotspot analysis.

Phase 3 – Custom system design and integration

Two purpose-built systems were designed and developed to integrate with HubSpot.

The call centre logging system was developed as a custom intake interface embedded in HubSpot via a secure CRM Card. Designed for high-volume, high-pressure environments, it captures caller details, animal information, urgency indicators and location data within a guided workflow. Submissions create or update contact records and generate structured Service Hub tickets in real time.

The volunteer portal was built as a standalone, responsive web application integrating bi-directionally with HubSpot and xMatters. Volunteers can view allocated cases, access rescue details and update statuses, with all activity synchronised back to HubSpot to maintain a complete and auditable record.

Role-based access controls were implemented across both systems, including HubSpot’s custom “Volunteer Position” object, to ensure users only see relevant data and actions.

The xMatters integration enables near real-time dispatch automation. Rescue tickets in HubSpot can trigger notifications to assigned volunteer groups via API, with responses synchronised back through webhooks. A custom middleware layer was implemented to manage webhook communication and support complex integration requirements, creating a closed-loop process between HubSpot, xMatters and the volunteer portal.

HubSpot workflows orchestrate escalations, follow-ups and structured summaries for coordinators and carers, ensuring rescues progress through a defined lifecycle.

Phase 4 – Testing, training and handover readiness

Structured QA, user acceptance testing and staged rescue simulations validated the full end-to-end solution across both systems, including high-volume and multi-incident scenarios. Performance refinements focused on mapping logic, duplicate detection and usability in high-pressure and mobile environments.

Security reviews confirmed appropriate role-based access and data separation.

Onboarding training and documentation were delivered to key stakeholders to support adoption and internal ownership post-handover. The platform was finalised for a controlled rollout, with monitoring and optimisation processes in place to support a smooth transition when activated.

 

 

The Impact and Results
Designing infrastructure that supports rescue at volume

 

Through the delivery of an integrated call centre logging system, standalone volunteer portal, and structured HubSpot configuration, WIRES has a cohesive rescue management ecosystem built for operational clarity and long-term scale.

The solution brings together intake, dispatch, rehabilitation tracking, automation, and reporting into a single, connected architecture, replacing fragmented legacy processes with a technically robust and future-ready foundation.

The solution establishes HubSpot as the structured system of record, underpinned by two purpose-built external systems: the call centre logging interface and the volunteer portal. This architecture ensures operational usability is not compromised by CRM constraints, while still maintaining clean, centralised data governance.

By separating intake, field operations, and orchestration layers, WIRES now has a modular framework that can evolve over time. Enhancements to volunteer workflows, reporting models, dispatch logic, or stakeholder communications can be introduced without re-engineering the entire system. This positions WIRES for iterative growth rather than reactive rebuilds.

The introduction of a custom Animal object, defined ticket pipelines, role-based segmentation, and controlled automation creates a data model that supports deeper reporting and strategic insight over time.

Once active, every rescue interaction will be captured in a structured, auditable format. This enables; Accurate tracking of rescue volumes by species, region, and urgency; Clear visibility into dispatch timelines and volunteer engagement; 
Long-term analysis of rescue hotspots and capacity trends.  Importantly, this foundation reduces reliance on manual reconciliation and spreadsheet-based reporting, allowing operational and leadership teams to make decisions from a consistent data source.

The closed-loop integration with xMatters introduces structured dispatch accountability, with every notification, response, and escalation recorded in HubSpot. This reduces coordination risk during high-volume or crisis events and provides a transparent audit trail for operational review. Workflow automation across triage, referral, and follow-up processes ensures that cases move forward based on defined logic rather than manual oversight. This design supports sustainable growth without proportionally increasing administrative workload.

The call centre interface is tailored for high-pressure intake, reducing friction for operators while enforcing structured data capture. The volunteer portal provides field rescuers with a focused, mobile-optimised environment to manage cases without navigating a complex CRM. For volunteers, this means clearer case visibility and simpler status updates. For the animals in care, it means fewer administrative bottlenecks between intake, dispatch, and rehabilitation tracking.

Rather than implementing a short-term patch, WIRES now has an extensible operational backbone designed to support future integrations, reporting expansion, and digital innovation. The combined architecture of HubSpot, the custom call logging system, the volunteer portal, and the xMatters integration delivers a scalable, technically robust foundation. It strengthens governance, improves coordination design, and creates the infrastructure required for WIRES to grow confidently while maintaining operational integrity.

And if WIRES' mission speaks to you, their website is the place to go - whether you want to volunteer, donate, or find out what to do if you come across an injured animal. 

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