Claire House Children's Hospice: Doubling Vote Night Income

Claire House Children's Hospice runs a Strictly-style dance night where guests vote for their favourite couple. Voting had always been done with cash: buckets passed round the room, counted by hand, with the result announced late in the evening. It raised money, but it capped what any guest could give to whatever happened to be in their pocket.

For the 2026 event, eight couples took to the floor and every vote was cast from a phone.

How It Worked

Each couple had their own voting page and their own text code, printed on the tables and shown on screen. A guest voted by donating £10, either by tapping a card or phone, or by sending a text. Votes landed instantly against that couple and rolled straight into the running total.

The tallies were hidden all evening. Claire House ran the night in suspense mode, so no couple could see whether they were ahead, and the standings were revealed on the big screen only at the end. Voting opened at 6pm and the last vote came in at 22 minutes past midnight.

The Result

• £5,780 raised through voting, double the hospice's usual voting income
• 578 votes cast across eight couples, at £10 a vote
• 234 separate payments, none of them cash
• 63% of the money came through Apple Pay and Google Pay, which a cash bucket cannot collect
• No counting, no reconciliation, and the result ready the moment voting closed

"We raised an incredible amount through the voting, and it actually doubled the voting income we would usually receive, which is fantastic. We didn't take a single cash vote all evening, and the whole process was so much easier and smoother for both our guests and team.

We're absolutely delighted with how it worked and couldn't be happier with the outcome. Thank you again for helping us make it such a success."

• Claire House Children's Hospice