In this blog, we aim to share our experiences and insights from our first NPC for Fundraising implementation through the combined lenses of CV Fund and Vera Solutions, hoping to assist other organizations considering implementing Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud for Fundraising.
CV Fund has historically faced challenges with outdated tools and manual processes that slowed down its ability to track donors and manage fundraising. Handling relationships with 1,000 to 2,000 organizations became impractical with spreadsheets alone. They required a solution for donor management, commitment tracking, inbound grant management, and effective campaign execution.
Seeing the gaps, CV Fund partnered with Vera Solutions in December 2023 to implement Salesforce NPC for Fundraising. Our experience last year in the Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud Partner Design Program gave us valuable insights into the Nonprofit Cloud Suite.
Kicking off in February 2024, we aligned on project expectations to ensure a smooth and successful implementation. The project was implemented over the course of 22 weeks with strong collaboration between CV Fund staff and Vera consultants in the US and Brazil. The system went live in May 2024 and is now used to track fundraising, incoming and outgoing grants, and manage contacts and accounts in their CRM.
CVF's Success Using Salesforce NPC for Fundraising
2. Events Tracking: CV Fund needed a way to track events and keep donors updated in real time. While Salesforce’s built-in feature allows for basic task management, NPC for Fundraising takes event tracking to a whole new level. It goes beyond just tasks by incorporating various activities, which gives CVF a complete view of its events. They could also create detailed schedules that cover every aspect of projects from start to finish. Plus, CV Fund can analyze data to see what worked, spot areas for improvement, and make smart decisions for future events.
3. Fundraising: CV Fund also struggled to manage its fundraising pipeline effectively. By implementing this solution, they can now efficiently monitor opportunities, follow commitments, manage gifts, and track transactions. This has greatly improved their ability to handle individual and institutional fundraising.
4. Grant Management: CV Fund needed a system to monitor inbound grant payments effectively. With NPC for Fundraising, CV Fund could manage fundraising and inbound grants more efficiently. The platform allowed them to track and manage grant applications using customizable records that included important details, stages, and timelines. It also enabled them to track grant payments accurately and promptly through the Payments feature, ensuring precise financial reporting. This solution helped them streamline their financial and operational workflows.
"We deeply appreciate Vera Solutions for their exceptional responsiveness and clear explanations throughout our collaboration. Their collaborative approach and guidance made them feel like an integral part of our team at CV Fund. We were particularly excited whenever Vera unveiled new functionality, which was pivotal in establishing our CRM and fundraising systems. Their ability to swiftly and accurately translate our requirements was instrumental in achieving our project goals effectively, improving our daily efficiency, and increasing our fundraising impact."
The client’s new solution provides:
- A streamlined CRM system with Nonprofit Cloud for Fundraising
- Smoother processes for institutional fundraising, inbound grant, and event management
- Dashboard insights to make more informed decisions on future fundraising strategies
- The ability to replace outdated tools and manage tasks and data more efficiently
CV Fund is now ready to improve fundraising and inbound grant management, to ensure that going forward there will always be smooth handling and distribution of funds to community partners.
Wondering what it’s like to implement Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud for Fundraising? We asked the project team a few questions.
Here’s what they said:
Thinking about the project, what went well?
This implementation of NPC for Fundraising was a significant milestone for us, especially since it was our first time working with the new product. The client’s use case naturally aligned with the features and components of NPC for Fundraising, including guided flows for managing gift designations, gift entries, commitment schedules, fundraising-related objects, and detailed gift-oriented reports and dashboards. These new tools have now provided CV Fund with a solid, reliable solution for their fundraising needs, allowing them to move away from manual processes.
But what truly stood out during this project was our strong working relationship with CV Fund. From the very beginning, we integrated well with their team. It was great to see how we grew closer to being colleagues rather than just external consultants. This level of camaraderie and mutual respect made the collaboration exceptionally smooth and productive.
How was the client engagement?
This project was one of our favorites due to the high level of client engagement. The CV Fund team did an excellent job of communicating their fundraising process, stakeholders, and organizational and system goals. Their thorough understanding helped facilitate a smooth design, development, configuration, and testing process.
“This was not my first time working with NPC, but it was my first time working with NPC for Fundraising objects and many of the common components now available like Interest Tags, Action Plans, and the ARC. I think this was a really good use case in terms of seeing what NPC for Fundraising is capable of. I enjoyed learning more about how the gift-related objects worked, and how NPC for fundraising supports gift management from transaction opportunities,” shared Kai.
“CV Fund was always very responsive, open, and proactive throughout the project. This made the workflow quite easy and allowed flexibility where needed,” expressed Isabella.
What Would You Change Next Time?
Every project faces some challenges, but by working through them, we gain valuable insights. We always seek to understand better how new solutions will affect entire organizations in the long run. One key takeaway from this project is that it’s important to think about not just short-term goals and quick wins, but also how decisions will impact the organization in the future. This is something we talk about often with our clients, stressing the need for careful planning and thinking ahead in every project.
“At the start of the project, it’s crucial to identify the expected client workload and its impact on their daily operations to avoid implementation during their busy periods,” shared Alan.
How is NPC for Fundraising helping CV Fund?
When CV Fund started using NPC for Fundraising, it made huge differences in their fundraising processes. Not only were tasks automated more smoothly, but the system’s configurability made maintenance and customization easier.
The Events Tracking feature helps them make sure donors get timely updates. It also helps manage campaigns and enables CV Fund to see how well they reached out to people using Salesforce Campaigns. With help from Salesforce NPC, CV Fund has started running successful campaigns, managing resources better, and monitoring outreach effectiveness using detailed reports.
Were there any unforeseen challenges with Salesforce NPC for Fundraising?
What advice would you give to someone considering Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud for Fundraising?
If you’re considering Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud for Fundraising, here’s some important guidelines to keep in mind:
- Try the free NPC for Fundraising trial org to explore its features and sample data to understand the solution better
- Get all the information and licensing you need upfront
- Use Salesforce resources and Trailhead to expand your knowledge
- Choose a Salesforce partner with a strong technical team
Why Choose Vera Solutions?
With over 14 years of experience working with nonprofits, Vera Solutions has been a leader in developing fundraising, portfolio and program management, impact measurement, and grant management solutions on the Salesforce Platform.
Having taken an advisory role in the Nonprofit Cloud product suite development, we have some key insights and recommendations on where the new Salesforce NPC can add value and drive efficiencies for your organization.
Currently, over $12 billion of programs, grants, and projects advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals are managed using Vera’s flagship product, Amp Impact. Our team has extensive knowledge of the nonprofit sector and deep experience in delivering the right solutions for a wide range of clients.
We also offer:
- A large pool of highly skilled and experienced Salesforce Consultants, with over 300 active Salesforce certifications and counting
- Experience successfully delivering over 1,000 projects in the social sector
- More than 420 customers working in 150+ countries
- A dedicated team located across 5 continents, covering more than 14 languages
As a long-time Salesforce International Impact Partner and a 2023 Salesforce Consulting Partner, we’ve been dedicated to the Salesforce ecosystem for more than 14 years. With the growth of Amp Impact, Vera Solutions has also been recognized twice as Salesforce.org Product Partner of the Year (2019, 2022) and with a Partner Innovation Award (2021). As such, we are constantly evaluating the Salesforce platform’s latest features and enhancements and how they can be leveraged to support our clients’ missions.
