Nonprofit Guide: Salesforce Program Management

For decades, the nonprofit world has been relying on tracking clients and services through ledgers and spreadsheets. Today, thousands of data points change daily, and the amount of data available is coming faster than many can wrap their arms around. Having a birdseye view of the clients you serve and others with whom you engage can transform the frustration of data inefficiency into the wonder of data fluency. Salesforce program management offers a modern solution to these challenges, ensuring that nonprofits can effectively manage and utilize their data to better serve their communities.

We’re here to help you through your program management journey so your organization can focus on its vision, mission, and goals!

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Nonprofit Program Management Goals

Whether you’re with an association, human services agency, or membership-based organization, effective Salesforce program management is the holy grail of your existence. It should allow you to manage constituent engagement across your organization efficiently.

Effective Salesforce program management helps changemakers overcome their pain points, which may include:

• Disparate systems that give a fragmented view of both the organization and its constituents
• Difficulty in getting to impact measurement
• Clients, who are perhaps coming from a vulnerable place, having to retell their story to multiple people within an organization
• Inefficiencies for staff managing multiple systems or Excel spreadsheets
• Inability to efficiently and accurately report on service delivery to funders and other stakeholders

What is Effective Program Management?

An effective Salesforce program management platform provides insight into the present and historical engagement of clients, volunteers, and partners, enabling you to see at a glance all of the ways you deliver on your mission. Reporting and analytics let you access critical indicators to assess and measure program outcomes for individuals and families efficiently.

Your program management platform should track service delivery by date, provider, service type, and relevant unit of service related to an individual’s program participation. In essence, control of that data can guide decision-making to improve program offerings, discontinue existing programs, or add additional services. This allows a nonprofit program manager to define a group of people engaged in the same series of programming or affiliated within a specific location. A forward-looking, complete view of the organization brings the concept of being data-informed to reality.

This birdseye view can enable organizations to consider standards related to:

Answering the Big-picture Question: Is there an Impact?

When venturing into a new system for nonprofit program management, the leading answer organizations need is: Is there an impact? The path to meeting goals for many nonprofit organizations can be cloudy. However, with an effective Salesforce program management platform, your organization can see where it is creating an impact and not. That clarity is one of the unexpected outcomes from being a “data champion” and optimizing program management for greater efficiency.

Need a New Program Management Solution? Meet PMM.

Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud’s Program Management Module (PMM) provides a unified framework for a nonprofit program manager who needs to track, report, and observe their programs at a glance. Whether you’re providing housing services for those in need, distributing food as part of a community outreach program, offering workforce development or career services, or dedicated to bettering your community, Program Management Module (PMM) can support your efforts.

Salesforce Program Management through PMM can help your organization to:

• Define the programs and services that you provide.
• Track people, households, organizations, or other entities that have applied for and enrolled in programs, including those on a waitlist.
• See service recipients grouped by common criteria, such as those receiving services at the same location.
• See the number of services distributed or delivered and to what recipients.
• Report on program utilization and other trends to see how well your programs and services are performing.
• Do all of this without spreadsheets!

Using PMM, organizations can immediately see how well clients and families are supported, the programs they are using, what activities individuals are and are not participating in, and how participants perform by quarter. PMM provides the data architecture, interface, and automation to track various functions within your program, fully developed with nonprofits in mind.

Comparison with Other Program Management Solutions

Choosing the right program management solution is crucial. Here’s how Salesforce program management stacks up against other popular solutions:

Feature	Salesforce PMM	Microsoft Dynamics 365	Blackbaud
Unified Data System	Yes	No	Yes
Real-time Reporting	Yes	Limited	No
Customizable Dashboards	Yes	Yes	Limited
Integration with Other Tools	Extensive	Limited	Extensive
User-Friendly Interface	Yes	Yes	No

Key Features Comparison:

• Unified Data System: Salesforce PMM provides a single source of truth, unlike Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Nonprofits, which lacks integration capabilities.
• Real-time Reporting: Salesforce offers real-time insights, whereas Blackbaud does not support real-time data access.
• Customizable Dashboards: Both Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 offer customizable dashboards, but Blackbaud has limitations.
• Integration with Other Tools: Salesforce excels in integration, surpassing Microsoft Dynamics 365’s limited options.
• User-Friendly Interface: Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 provide user-friendly interfaces, while Blackbaud is less intuitive.

This comparison highlights Salesforce PMM’s strengths, making it a superior choice for nonprofit program management.

Click here to learn more about how Provisio Partners can deliver on nonprofit program management for your organization.

Learn more about Using Salesforce Horizontally for Greater Impact. 

 

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FAQs

Here are answers to some common questions about Salesforce program management:

What types of nonprofits can benefit from Salesforce program management?

Salesforce program management is versatile and can support various types of nonprofits, including associations, human services agencies, and membership-based organizations. Any nonprofit looking to improve data management and program efficiency can benefit from it.

Can Salesforce PMM help with grant management and reporting? 

Yes, Salesforce PMM can streamline grant management by tracking funding sources, grant allocations, and reporting requirements. It provides the necessary tools to generate accurate reports for funders and stakeholders.

How customizable is Salesforce PMM?

Salesforce PMM is highly customizable, allowing nonprofits to tailor the platform to meet their specific needs and workflows. This flexibility ensures that the solution can adapt to various program requirements and organizational structures.

Is Salesforce PMM user-friendly?

Yes, it features an intuitive interface that is easy for staff to learn and use.

Can Salesforce PMM integrate with other software we are currently using? 

Yes, Salesforce PMM offers robust integration capabilities, allowing it to work seamlessly with other software solutions such as financial systems, CRMs, and marketing tools. This ensures a cohesive and efficient workflow across your organization.

How do we get started with Salesforce PMM?

Start by assessing your needs, engaging stakeholders, and working with a Salesforce implementation partner like Provisio Partners.

For more information or specific questions, please contact us.