How Salesforce Works For Nonprofits

hands holding change and a piece of paper that says 'make a change'

You would certainly be forgiven for thinking that Salesforce is geared towards traditional corporations. After all, the word ‘sales’ is quite literally in the name. And while it does offer almost endless features catering to for-profit businesses, Salesforce also provides a wealth of value for NPOs, too.

What is Salesforce?

Salesforce is the world’s number one CRM (customer relationship management) platform. It is extremely versatile and flexible, making it a very worthwhile tool – regardless of the size or cause of the nonprofit organisation (NPO).

With nonprofits in mind, Salesforce created the Nonprofit Success Pack, specifically designed for NPOs. It serves to bring nonprofits closer to their constituents, help organisation members and volunteers work as one, and streamline the nonprofit strategy.

Further to the Nonprofit Success Pack, here are four ways that Salesforce can assist nonprofits:

  • Make Use of Excellent Constituent Management

For any nonprofit organisation, their most valuable asset is their people: the partners, members, volunteers and donors that move the mission and vision forward. Salesforce collates and stores a vast amount of supporter information, and then uses the data from that information to draw fundraiser and campaign insights.

This information can be tailored to any specific organisation in two ways:

By Using the Web-to-Lead Feature

Salesforce allows you to automatically convert any information from an online form into a lead (or in the case of a nonprofit, a supporter profile). This is a valuable way of keeping all new supporter information organised without any manual involvement.

By Using Custom Form Fields

Not only will Salesforce automatically store information, but it makes creating custom form fields a breeze. This enables you to create segmented supporter profiles, and gives you a top-down view of your supporter landscape.

  • Provide Clear, Informative Communication

Good communication is the cornerstone of good organisation: it provides the relevant information to the relevant people using the most relevant channel. That last element is important – with so many different communication channels, choosing the right one is crucial (picture, for example, trying to conduct a vote over email).

Salesforce manages multi-channel communication for you, allowing you to talk to your constituents on the channel that makes the most sense for you. This includes:

  • Email communication. These are best for all-audience (or segmented audience) communication, and can be custom designed or built using a template.
  • Web communication. If your NPO offers direct web chat or instant messaging, Salesforce can create template messaging specific to your organisation.
  • Direct mail. Use Salesforce for everything short of physically delivering the mail. Pick the best suited audience segment and track response rates to monitor how your direct mail performs.
  • Social media messaging. By storing profile information, Salesforce makes it easier to respond to any social media comments or direct messages.
  • Manage Fundraising Events

Fundraising events are a popular way for nonprofits to bring in funds and draw awareness to their cause. But they are not without substantial effort and numerous moving parts – even a small scale fundraising event requires significant organisation to ensure everything goes according to plan.

This is another area in which Salesforce shines. Depending on your NPO and the type of fundraising event you’re putting together, Salesforce provides the means to:

  • Handle event registration. With Salesforce, you can build an event landing page (or microsite) for registration or ticket purchase.
  • Manage event logistics. Keep track of any logistics, from venue hire to event decor to speakers, lighting, and other equipment requirements.
  • Boost the guest experience. Use Salesforce to make sure your event is memorable. You can use Salesforce integration to let your guests share the event on social media, or send them personalised thank you emails or any follow up questions.
  • Create Data-Based Reports

Beyond using data to build supporter profiles, Salesforce can create hyper-specific reports to help guide your fundraising strategy and provide campaign insights. Your options are really only limited by your requirements.

For example, you can use surveys to gain supporter data, and let Salesforce break down the mass amounts of information into easily digestible reports. Track your fundraising event progress against your goals to see if you are out performing or underperforming against your targets. Measure engagement rate with your supporters to see if there are any points of drop-off or room for improvement.

Ella Hargreaves, a Partners Executive at Justice and Care has been working with Purus to integrate Salesforce, with the aim of improving overall data management and reporting. She said, 

We have recently started working with Purus to maintain our CRM and CMS systems and implement changes to improve our data processes. The team have been excellent at listening to what we need and have implemented effective solutions very efficiently. They have been extremely responsive and whenever something has needed explaining in further detail, they are more than happy to discuss this over a call. I’ve been really impressed with Purus’ support so far and I look forward to continuing to work with them.

Integrating Salesforce Into Your Nonprofit

If you’re looking to implement Salesforce, but have questions, concerns or hesitations, look no further than Purus. We are dedicated to helping you get the most out of Salesforce for your nonprofit needs.

Lee Aspbury, a Digital Transformation and Innovation Manager at SIPS Education has worked with Purus for a while, and has said, “We have had and are continuing to receive excellent support from Purus. Our implementation was planned meticulously and executed with speed and accuracy. I would wholeheartedly recommend them for any type of implementation, their knowledge of the Salesforce product suite is exceptional.”

Our Salesforce consulting services include:

To find out more about what Salesforce can do for you, reach out to a Purus Salesforce consultant today. Get in Touch.

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