Salesforce.com generously donates their top grade—Enterprise—version of the application to nonprofits. Nonprofits get ten licenses and for many organizations, that is more than enough to make Salesforce available to everybody: the development/fundraising/marketing staff, the volunteer manager, the events coordinator, the executive director as well as the odd board member.
Since it is free, why would a nonprofit need to spend anything at all on their database, especially when there is a fellow on the board, an intern from a local college, or a generous volunteer with an IT background willing to do the necessary tweaking? Nonprofits are so often strapped for program funding that back office technology gets pushed out to whatever free help comes along.
At Cloud for Good, we understand that your mission is critical, which is why we recommend that every Salesforce donation recipient should, if possible, get some help from qualified consultants, even if just to get off the ground. Your Salesforce is THE heart of all the people related to your organization—all your contacts, all your partners, volunteers, donors and prospective donors, your clients—the people who matter to you! It just makes sense to set your Salesforce up to reflect the unique organization you are.
Why a professional?
- Commitment: Salesforce consultants are committed to Salesforce. We keep up with the thrice-yearly updates. In fact, Salesforce requires us to take an exam three times a year to insure that we are on the ball with the latest version and the latest improvements.
- Experience: If you have a problem, chances are we have already solved it. Nonprofits are the core of our business—and you should make sure every consultant you work with knows the nonprofit environment as well as Salesforce. We have the experience with Salesforce that most volunteers simply lack.
- Follow-through: As your organization grows and changes, your Salesforce consultants, the folks who already know your mission, are ready to step in to work with you. Many volunteers, even dedicated board members, move on to other projects. Your consultant can help make a transition to a new volunteer management system, for instance, practically pain-free.
- Plain, old-fashioned know-how: We know how to accomplish what you want to do, whether it’s getting Salesforce working with your Outlook or your Google Apps, or setting up a nifty dashboard that really captures your organization’s impact for board members and donors, or tracking your supporters’ involvement from that first subscription to your newsletter to the final bequest in the planned giving campaign.
- Return on investment: With a Salesforce that has been configured by professionals who are committed to YOUR mission, organizations often find the investment worth it. Because your Salesforce is tailored to your specific needs, because it works with the way your organization functions, because the data you glean helps you make strategic decisions that can impact your whole nonprofit—you may very well reap benefits that translate into higher donation levels, more effective volunteer campaigns or even better run events.
At Cloud for Good, we hope you’ll consider our trained consultants when you are looking for help with your Salesforce. But even more, we hope you’ll consider the positive benefits of a professional consultant with nonprofit experience before you make the move to the cloud. Contact us to learn about our Salesforce implementation and support services.
