Despite these challenges, it’s incredible how much these nonprofits have accomplished over the years with less-than-ideal systems. As a way to guide those embarking on their own Salesforce journeys, we’ve compiled five key pitfalls nonprofits should avoid when starting a Salesforce implementation:

Salesforce’s Case Management application now allows human service organizations to management long-term relationships with their clients, specifically designed for case managers and program managers. Check out our free webinar recording that walks through Salesforce’s Nonprofit Cloud Case Management product!

Does your nonprofit distribute grants or re-grant funds? Tired of tracking everything in spreadsheets? Check out our free webinar recording that walks through Salesforce’s grant management functionality, with a deep-dive on the Outbound Funds Module.

Ever wonder why the application you ended up with doesn’t look anything like the sales demo? What the salesperson showed with ease and grace now seems clunky and cumbersome? Do you feel you like you were sold a Tesla but ended up with a Yugo? This session will cover all the “tricks of the trade” from someone whose led hundreds of sales demos.

We believe that Salesforce’s innovative platform paired with OneTenth’s unconventional consulting model will help move missions forward for nonprofits of all sizes. 

Internationals Network now has a central platform where all fundraising and program data is captured, providing more visibility across the organization to key activities.  This consolidated view will allow Internationals to capture consistent impact metrics across all programs.

"The transition to Salesforce has allowed us to automate and streamline tedious processes, giving us more time to focus on our programmatic work.  We're excited to take advantage of all the platform has to offer.”

Months would pass and organizations would still struggle adapting to the new system. Frustrated users would retreat to their old ways of doing things for certain tasks or just abandon the CRM application altogether. So what went wrong? And how can it be avoided?

After hundreds of CRM implementations, there’s one thing I’m sure of - the success of your rollout heavily depends on how well you prepare for post-go-live.

So if all agree, why is that so many organizations still implement CRM in a ‘big bang’ approach...yet somehow expect a different result?

Complex security models can be costly to build, so why build it upfront in fear of what might happen?  Keep it open, see how the organization adapts to it, and if there is a real need to start closing certain areas off, do it in an iterative fashion.

Salesforce.org, in their effort to support larger and more mature nonprofits have built a robust Grant Management feature that includes all the “must-haves” to get your grant program up and running, with the ability to scale through configuration and customization.

Throughout this cycle, there may be many players, perhaps a team of resources at your organization that play a critical role in each step of the way.  The process is dynamic and collaborative, like a restaurant kitchen, and this is where spreadsheets fall short. 

So as a major gift officer, if I’m trying to meet my year-end fundraising goals of securing 5 new $25,000 gifts, what tools does NPSP offer me to support my efforts?

With a marketing spend that dwarves its competitors, it is hard to have a conversation about CRM in any industry without talking about Salesforce.  Between its innovative platform, customizability to just about any industry, and vast network of apps, integrations, and resources...Salesforce continues to take the CRM world by storm.

Although technology can’t replace relationships, CRM can do wonders in tracking those relationships and ensure you’re making the most of them!

If you’ve weighed the pros and cons and you’re still on the fence, V4S just might just be the application to move you over to Salesforce.

Sometimes initial funding dries out and organizations struggle to achieve their mission.  While other times, missions may shift or expand, and a new stream of funding becomes essential.  In either case, the true reality of nonprofit work comes to the fore - it’s not enough to be an expert in your cause, but you also need to be an expert in fundraising. 

A few years ago, I was facilitating a design session for a CRM implementation at a mid-sized nonprofit.  At one point, I asked the project team to give me examples of the type of constituents they track.  Their response caught me off guard.