Dynamics 365 provides a single platform for managing volunteers, donors, and operations. It can streamline training and certification, automate administration, improve supporter engagement, and deliver compliance-ready reporting.
New Zealand is a country of adventurers. At home and abroad, Kiwis are known for their love of the outdoors - mountains, rivers, bush, and coastline. Visitors come for the same reason, drawn to a landscape that is both breathtaking and, at times, unforgiving. When people get lost, injured, or in trouble, Land Search & Rescue is the organisation that steps in. Incorporated in 1994, Land Search & Rescue provides specialist search and rescue services across suburban, urban, wilderness, alpine, and rural environments, from regional parks and forests to shorelines and caves.
With more than 3,000 trained volunteers spread across 70 teams nationwide, Land Search & Rescue completes over 500 search and rescue operations in an average year. Coordinated through the New Zealand Police and the Rescue Coordination Centre, their professionally trained responders are on call every hour, every day, standing ready to bring lost and missing people home safely.
Supporting such a wide network of volunteers, funders, and community stakeholders requires more than goodwill. It takes smart systems, careful investment, and a clear strategy for making the most of limited resources. For Land Search & Rescue, Microsoft Dynamics 365 has become the backbone of that approach. The platform has been steadily extended over time to manage everything from volunteer training and accreditation to donor engagement and government compliance.
About LANDSAR
Land Search & Rescue is a not-for-profit organisation that runs lean by necessity. Despite the scale of their operations, their resources are limited, and every investment must be tied directly to impact. Their focus is always on the service they provide, ensuring volunteers have the skills and support to save lives, and giving government agencies and funders confidence in the organisation’s capability.
That means supporting two very different but equally important communities. The first is their volunteers: more than 3,000 people nationwide who commit their own time, energy, and resources to search and rescue work. As an accredited training provider, Land Search & Rescue must deliver specialist training, track competencies, and maintain accreditation records to a high standard.
The second community is their supporters. This includes donors, government funders, policymakers, and partner agencies. They need regular engagement, accurate reporting, and evidence of compliance to ensure confidence in the value Land Search & Rescue provides.
Balancing these demands while operating with a small staff team has meant Land Search & Rescue needed technology that could deliver efficiency, reliability, and scalability. Microsoft Dynamics 365 became that foundation.
The strategic direction for Land Search & Rescue’s technology journey was set by former CEO Carl McOnie and COO Tony Wells. Today, that foundation is being developed and optimised by Johnny Franklin, Chief Development and Project Officer, and Matt Ellingham, Information & Communications Technology Manager. Together, they continue to balance ambition with pragmatism, always focused on delivering the most value back to volunteers and funders.
The approach
Land Search & Rescue has taken an incremental journey with Dynamics 365, extending the platform step by step to support volunteers, funders, and stakeholders.
Volunteer Portal and Training
A central hub built on Dynamics 365 allows volunteers to log in, book training courses, and track their competency records. The system manages waitlists, assigns tutors, tracks attendance, and issues certificates automatically, transforming what was once a complex, paper-heavy process.
“We have always been conscious that we are a small team,” says Matt Ellingham.
Every new feature or automation has to make life easier for our volunteers and staff. By building carefully and capturing data the right way, we know we are setting ourselves up for even greater value in the future.
Donor and Supporter Engagement
Dynamics 365 Marketing was introduced to run fundraising campaigns, while Customer Insights replaced MailChimp to manage communications. This gave the fundraising team clear visibility of donor pathways and supporter engagement without relying on disconnected tools.
Surveys and Feedback
Customer Voice enables Land Search & Rescue to collect real-time feedback. Automated surveys capture input during onboarding and offboarding, track health and safety requirements, and even record clothing measurements, ensuring volunteers are supported at every stage.
Integration and Data Management
An e-learning platform was integrated with Dynamics 365 via API so that training records are automatically updated and visible in the portal. SharePoint automations simplified the preparation of course materials, replacing scattered files with a single library linked to each event. Administrators can now generate draft emails with the right attachments ready to send in seconds.
Automation and Efficiency
Power Automate ties everything together, replacing repetitive manual tasks with low-code workflows. Meanwhile, early use of Power BI has helped prepare the organisation for the next phase of reporting and insights, ensuring data captured today can be fully leveraged in the future.
At every stage, Land Search & Rescue has made deliberate, focused choices. By closing off standalone systems and extending Dynamics 365 only where it adds value, the organisation has built a platform that grows with them and delivers cumulative, compounding benefits over time.
The impact
For volunteers, the impact has been immediate and practical. Booking onto training courses is easier, competency records are always up to date, and certificates arrive automatically by email. Groups can self-manage training and skills at a local level, while still meeting the standards required by Land Search & Rescue’s national accreditation. The result is less time spent on paperwork and more time focused on preparing for real-world rescues.
For administrators, automation has replaced hours of manual effort. From managing waitlists to preparing course materials, processes that once meant juggling spreadsheets, emails, and file folders now happen quickly and consistently inside Dynamics 365. The integration with SharePoint means all event documents are in one place, and automated workflows create draft emails ready to send, a major step up in efficiency for a small staff team.
For funders and supporters, Dynamics 365 has opened new levels of visibility and engagement. Donor journeys can be tracked from first-time giving through to regular support or bequests. Campaigns can be run and measured without relying on disconnected mailing lists. Government agencies and policymakers can rely on accurate, timely reporting that demonstrates compliance and confidence in Land Search & Rescue’s capability.
“As our resources have grown, we have been able to build step by step,” says Johnny Franklin.
Each time, the choice has been to integrate into Dynamics rather than add a disconnected tool. It has made us more efficient, more accountable, and ultimately more sustainable as a not-for-profit.
Across all of this, data is being captured in a structured way that creates future value. Even where the organisation does not yet have the capacity to fully analyse and exploit it, the building blocks are there. When resources allow, Land Search & Rescue will be able to unlock insights into everything from volunteer engagement to search and rescue trends.
Just as importantly, the partnership behind the technology has proven to be as valuable as the systems themselves. With a consistent team of Fusion5 experts on hand, Land Search & Rescue has been able to access the right skills at the right time. Each investment has been tightly aligned to impact, ensuring that every step forward compounds the value of the platform and frees the organisation to focus on what matters most, saving lives.
Land Search & Rescue’s journey with Dynamics 365 is far from finished. The next steps include expanding into health and safety management, strengthening reporting, and making it even easier for new staff and volunteers to navigate systems through Copilot-powered user guides. Each development continues the same measured, incremental approach that has delivered compounding value over the years.
Working with Fusion5 has allowed us to keep building at a pace that suits us. We can focus on what really matters, knowing we have a team who understands our environment and helps us get the best from our systems.
Matt Ellingham, Information & Communications Technology Manager, LANDSAR
Exploring how Dynamics365 can support non-profit organisations?
From volunteer training and accreditation to donor engagement and compliance reporting, Dynamics 365 helps not-for-profits streamline operations and deliver greater impact. With the right partner, organisations can build incrementally, close off standalone tools, and extend the platform step by step to achieve cumulative, compounding value.
Q&A
How can Dynamics 365 help non-profit organisations?
What is unique about the way non-profits should adopt technology?
Non-profits often benefit from an incremental approach. By extending Dynamics 365 step by step, each enhancement builds on the last, avoiding duplication of effort and creating cumulative, compounding value over time.
How can small teams get the most from Dynamics 365?
With limited resources, small teams rely on consistent expertise and targeted investments. Working with a trusted partner ensures each development delivers measurable impact while keeping the platform efficient and sustainable.
What future opportunities exist for non-profits using Dynamics 365?
The platform continues to evolve with new capabilities such as health and safety management, advanced reporting, and AI-powered user guides. These features make it easier for non-profits to support volunteers, engage funders, and strengthen operations without adding complexity.
