UJA-Federation of New York Unifies Grantmaking with Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud

One Platform for Every Grant, Every Grantee, Every Decision

Sector: Nonprofit | Products: Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud, Salesforce Experience Cloud, MuleSoft | Timeline: 38 Weeks

About UJA-Federation of New York

The Challenge

For years, UJA’s grantmaking operation ran on a legacy system that had served its purpose but could no longer support the organization’s current scale or ambitions. Staff managed data across multiple systems. Manual processes filled the gaps between those systems. No single platform gave anyone, staff, grantees, or lay leaders, a complete and current view of where a grant stood.

The gaps appeared throughout the operation.

Grantees had no direct way to check application status or disbursement information without contacting UJA staff.
Lay leaders had no portal to review the work they were meant to oversee.
Staff spent time on administrative tasks that a modern system should handle automatically.
Mandatory data fields that kept records clean were easy to skip because the system allowed it.

“Data stored in multiple places, processes taking place manually or in multiple systems.”
Jen Kaplan, Executive Director, Operations and Grants Management, UJA-Federation of New York

UJA’s IT team set out to find a Salesforce implementation partner with deep experience in the nonprofit sector. After a focused search, they selected Cloud for Good.

The Solution

Cloud for Good partnered with UJA to replace FR101 with a Salesforce -native grantmaking platform, delivered across two integrated products: Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud for internal staff and Salesforce Experience Cloud for external users. The engagement ran 38 weeks across seven phases, from Discovery through Deployment and Change and Training.

A Single System for Staff

The internal platform gave UJA’s team one place to manage the full grantmaking lifecycle.

Staff can now plan grant award cycles, receive and review applications, manage disbursements, track post-award reporting, and pull reports and dashboards from a single environment.
Outlook integration brought email communication into the same workspace.
Document generation templates reduced the administrative overhead of routine grant paperwork.

A Portal for Grantees and Lay Leaders

The Salesforce Experience Cloud portal gave external users direct, self-service access for the first time.

Grantees can find and submit applications, track application status, submit post-award deliverables, and check disbursement status without contacting UJA staff.
Lay leaders received a dedicated portal to view applications and communicate directly with the team.
Self-registration and multi-user management allowed grantee organizations with multiple contacts to operate within the same account.

Data Migration and Integration

Cloud for Good built a bidirectional MuleSoft integration between UJA’s legacy system and Salesforce, so historical records were preserved, and both systems stayed synchronized during the transition while other departments continued to use the legacy system before migrating to Salsforce fully.
A custom accounting tool connected the new platform to UJA’s financial system of record, without requiring a full financial system replacement.

Change Management from Day One

Change management was woven into every sprint, built alongside the technology rather than added at the end. Cloud for Good established a change agent network across the organization, developed training and communications materials with each build cycle, and delivered a long-term governance framework so UJA’s team could run and grow the system independently after go-live.

“The Salesforce implementation has been a game-changer for the planning division. Not only do we have all of our data in one system, but all of our work processes are also in one system. Our grantees have told us that the move to Salesforce for our grantee platform greatly improved the user experience, making interacting with the system more intuitive. Lay leaders now have a portal to access applications and communicate with staff with questions or concerns. We have built a strong foundation, and it truly feels like the possibilities are endless.”
Jen Kaplan, Executive Director, Operations and Grants Management, UJA-Federation of New York

By the Numbers

90%+ active user adoption at go-live
90%+ data accuracy, driven by mandatory field enforcement
2-day reduction in dashboard creation time
Hours to fully onboard a new staff member, instead of weeks
38 weeks from project start to go-live
10-15 to 1 system consolidation (legacy tools to Salesforce)
Immediate data access for every staff query

The Impact

The results showed up immediately after go-live and continued to compound.

Over 90% of intended users are actively using the system. UJA brought its grantmaking planning division and accounting team into the process from the start, before the system was finished. Staff understood the platform before they were expected to use it independently, and adoption reflected that.

Data accuracy crossed 90% because the new system enforces mandatory fields that staff previously had the option to skip. Data that goes in now comes out clean.

Dashboard creation time dropped by at least two days. Staff onboarding now takes a few hours. The team consolidated 10-15 legacy systems and countless spreadsheets into a single unified Salesforce org. Staff now have immediate data access for every query, across an operation that once required searching 10-15 separate tools.

UJANet user numbers increased, and overall personalization in constituent outreach materially improved. Grantees did not need to be surveyed to register their reaction. They told UJA directly that the new platform is more intuitive and easier to use.

Lay leaders who previously had no portal access now engage with applications and communicate with staff through a dedicated interface.

“We are light-years ahead of where we were in terms of data collection and accessibility. Once the FRD project is complete, our organization will truly be in a great place to move forward collaboratively with all staff having access to the data they need to complete their responsibilities. Our grantees and lay leaders have also expressed that they are thrilled with the new functionality and ease of use of the platforms we developed.”
Jen Kaplan, Executive Director, Operations and Grants Management, UJA-Federation of New York

The grantmaking engagement built a change management foundation strong enough to carry directly into UJA’s next project with Cloud for Good.

The Cloud for Good Partnership

UJA chose Cloud for Good based on Salesforce expertise, nonprofit sector experience, and client reputation. What they found in the engagement matched what they had heard. Feedback given during the project was addressed immediately. The team joined early training sessions, ready to field questions from UJA’s staff. When UJA flagged scheduling issues or process concerns, the team adjusted. When the team needed to navigate something unfamiliar, the Cloud for Good team helped them think it through.

“The Cloud for Good team has been holding our hand since day 1 of this project. The team is always able to help us find solutions because they understand our processes, they are always able to answer a question or point us in the right direction, and they genuinely care about our success.”
Jen Kaplan, Executive Director, Operations and Grants Management, UJA-Federation of New York

Across the dimensions of implementation quality, from overall experience to expertise, collaboration, and responsiveness, UJA rated Cloud for Good a near-perfect 4.9 out of 5.

Cloud for Good’s delivery model is built on the principle that technology alone does not deliver outcomes. Every engagement includes the technical implementation, the change management, the training, and the governance framework, because all four are required for adoption to hold.

Learn more about how Cloud for Good partners with nonprofit organizations, or contact our team to discuss your next project.

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UJA-Federation of New York