Alameda County Community Food Bank
For more than 35 years, Alameda County Community Food Bank (ACCFB) has passionately pursued a hunger-free community. Their vision: a community in which children, adults, and seniors of Alameda County, California do not worry about where their next meal is coming from.
Here is an example of how one nonprofit has been using Salesforce NPSP, Volunteers for Salesforce, and Program Management Module managed packages since before the announcement of the new Nonprofit Cloud. One of our large food bank clients, Alameda County Community Food Bank (ACCFB), moved from the Blackbaud CRM fundraising and CRM platform to a technology stack centered around Salesforce:
Assessment
ACCFB started its journey with Heller Consulting by going through a needs assessment. The assessment allowed the Heller team to understand the food bank’s unique business processes, and then tailor technology recommendations based on that understanding.
Overall technology strategy
The Heller team collaborated with ACCFB to develop a technology roadmap that aligned technology solutions with the organization’s goals. The solution included moving ACCFB from the Blackbaud CRM fundraising and customer relationship management (CRM) platform to a technology stack centered around Salesforce.
Accelerated Volunteers for Salesforce solution
The Heller team started with an accelerated implementation of the Volunteers for Salesforce solution to help ACCFB address an immediate need to engage, manage, and track more volunteers to support increased demand for services during the global pandemic. The solution included mapping of new processes within the new system and customized forms to handle both individual and group sign-ups.
Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) solution
Heller Consulting implemented Salesforce NPSP, configuring it to meet ACCFB’s specific needs. The Heller team also helped ACCFB select and integrate Neon Fundraise with NPSP to support online fundraising activities, including their Virtual Food Drive. As part of this phase of the overall project, the Heller team guided ACCFB through decisions about terminology and configuration to ensure consistency across their new Salesforce-based solutions.
Marketing Cloud Account Engagement solution
Working with ACCFB, the Heller team implemented Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly called Pardot), a marketing automation tool in the Salesforce ecosystem. The solution allows ACCFB to build sophisticated and automated email campaigns, fundraising appeals, and other marketing communications.
Solution for ACCFB food recovery program
The Heller team worked with ACCFB to implement the Salesforce Program Management Module to help streamline ACCFB’s food recovery program in which food donors (such as grocery stores that donate food) work with partner agencies (such as churches that distribute food). As a facilitator between these two entities, ACCFB matches donors with agencies, provides scheduling support, and tracks food safety compliance. The solution integrates with the Ceres food bank software system that ACCFB uses, which ties in the pounds of food distributed, giving ACCFB a complete view of their food recovery program in one place and allowing them to report on it effectively.
Overall change management support
With Heller Consulting’s change management approach, ACCFB felt supported throughout the organization’s digital transformation. ACCFB staff members and Heller team members built a strong relationship, and Heller’s deep knowledge of ACCFB’s business processes helped get the right staff members involved at the right stages of the project.
“The Heller team’s deep understanding of technology and commitment to our organization, plus their experience working with other food banks, has made our work with them smooth and efficient. They appreciate our goals and challenges, and they built a relationship with our staff that felt like a true partnership.”
Gina Schumacher, Salesforce Administrator, Alameda County Community Food Bank
Result: Integrated technology solutions that support ACCFB’s goals
ACCFB has successfully moved to a new technology ecosystem that aligns with the organization’s long-term goals. With the Salesforce platform at the core, the solutions work together to streamline processes and improve the effectiveness of fundraising, marketing, and program efforts. ACCFB now has a more complete view of individuals who interact with the organization that, for example, allows the development team to market to volunteers and allows volunteer directors to see when volunteers have also made food or monetary donations. ACCFB can also now report more accurately and extensively on volunteer interactions, partnerships, food distributions, and more.