When nonprofits implement Salesforce, they often expect it to instantly transform how they manage donor relationships, streamline processes, and track data. But the truth is, like any powerful tool, Salesforce requires the right approach to really make a difference. Too often, organizations find themselves at odds with Salesforce and all it can do, or isn’t doing. This was the case for Rav, a fundraising operations director at a fast-growing nonprofit.
Rav’s team struggled with inconsistent data, broken integrations, confusing reports, and processes that just didn’t fit their day-to-day operations, leaving them underwhelmed by Salesforce and overwhelmed with manual entry. The potential was there—but they needed the right guidance to unlock it.
So, what did we do differently?
Instead of offering a one-size-fits-all solution, Purple Otter started by understanding how the team worked. We focused on their unique needs, identifying bottlenecks, and customizing scalable workflows that fit their goals. The result? Not only were data and scalability issues resolved, allowing Rav’s team to breathe a collective sigh of relief, but the team could also use Salesforce to anticipate donor needs and manage moves in ways they hadn’t imagined. This approach laid the groundwork to grow monthly sustainer revenue by 50% and direct marketing revenue by 30%, but the most important takeaway is this: It wasn’t about Salesforce itself—it was about finding the right partner to guide them on their journey.
At Purple Otter, that’s exactly what we do. Here’s how we make the difference:
Exclusive Focus on Nonprofits and Grantmakers
Our expertise lies in serving nonprofits and grantmakers exclusively. We understand your unique challenges—from managing grants to building lasting donor relationships—and we design Salesforce solutions tailored to your needs. Whether you’re implementing Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP), Nonprofit Cloud, Data Cloud, or grantmaking tools like Outbound Funds, we ensure every solution is built to help your organization thrive.
Our team has worked with organizations across North America to help them streamline operations, improve fundraising, and deliver programs more effectively.
What this looks like:
- Database Migration: Purple Otter’s team migrated an NGO with 2, 000, 000+ supporters from a legacy supporter database to Salesforce NPSP, with integrations across digital platforms, email and SMS marketing, third-party canvassing vendors, finance, and a highly agile and segmented direct marketing program. This helped realize the organization’s vision for agile and secure business infrastructure, a strong digital supporter experience, accessible analytics, and scalable direct marketing infrastructure.
- Digital Transformation: We executed a digital transformation initiative with an environmental nonprofit’s national canvassing program, moving a 100% manual and paper-based processing to portal-enabled data collection and payments. This reduced data entry steps by 80%, democratized data entry to unburden head office staff, reduced time-to-first-welcome for new donors, and dramatically improved the nonprofit’s security and compliance stance.
- Data Automation: Our team helped a nonprofit automate data entry from its suite of eight (eight!) third-party canvassing vendors by implementing Mulesoft-based data automations. This eliminated manual coding of hundreds of gifts and new sustainer acquisitions each week, allowing the nonprofit to reassign nearly a full FTE to more meaningful relational work.
- Full Platform Migration: We worked with an environmental fiscal sponsorship hub to migrate from Blackbaud to Salesforce NPSP, to streamline donor reporting across two 501c3s, four core program areas, and 70+ fiscally sponsored projects.
- Streamlined Processes: Purple Otter helped a rapidly-scaling home-ownership nonprofit receive thousands of digital applications from potential future homeowners, manage a complex review process for each application, and cultivate ongoing relationships after selected families moved in to their homes
Big Shop Talent, Small Shop Experience
Our team consists of senior-level Salesforce consultants who not only bring deep expertise but also emphasize relationships. Like with Rav, we know that understanding your goals and challenges is key to creating a solution that works.
“Purple Otter has become our primary technical asset in developing our fundraising strategy and maintaining our Salesforce ecosystem.” — Oxfam Canada
We don’t just deliver technical solutions; we ensure that Salesforce empowers your team to do more, without the risk of being passed off to junior associates or dealing with cookie-cutter systems that fall short of meeting your goals.
Commitment to Collaboration and Long-Term Partnership
We believe true success comes from long-term collaboration. Throughout any project, we work closely with key stakeholders to ensure alignment and build trust in the process, so there are no late-in-the-game crises or surprises.
Our work with nonprofits and grantmakers doesn’t end after the initial setup. We’re here to ensure your Salesforce platform evolves with your needs, scaling as your organization grows. We offer long-term innovation partnerships that support ongoing digital transformation efforts, empowering your organization to reach beyond “bare minimum” to achieve sustainable growth and operational efficiency.
What this looks like:
- Advising on technology and digital strategy (as fractional CTO services), offering long-term planning and expert project management to prioritize and execute digital transformation strategies
- Partnering with your in-house resources to build skills and ownership
- Supplementing your in-house resources with extra capacity, when you want to push forward projects that aren’t getting done
- Supercharging your in-house resources with fractional access to specialized skill sets, such as systems architecture, iPaaS (enterprise integration), portal development, and footprint expansion from NPSP into other cloud products (Data warehouse, Data Cloud, Marketing Cloud)
Through lasting partnership, we help your organization not only keep pace with the digital age but thrive in it, co-creating ongoing, strategic innovation that propels your mission forward.
Our Design-Minded Approach
We also take a design-minded approach to implementation. What does this mean for you? It means a solution that’s intuitive, user-friendly, and aligned with your team’s workflow. We craft implementations that are easy to use, ensuring your staff can leverage Salesforce to its full potential.
What this looks like:
- Strategic Simplification: For one grantmaker, users were reporting confusion about how to navigate a complex, multi-stage grantmaking process within Salesforce. This friction was causing delays in getting grants reviewed, approved, and disbursed. Purple Otter conducted a comprehensive design process, conducting interviews, reviewing existing documentation, collecting user feedback, and ultimately designing a bespoke process in Salesforce using Flow Orchestrator to boost user experience. This intervention removed friction and increased the pace of deal flow, allowing the organization to process grant applications faster and with less support from grant operations leadership. New staff require significantly less on-boarding effort to become effective users.
Let’s Find a Way Forward
At Purple Otter, we believe that the key to success isn’t just the platform—it’s about finding the right partner to guide you through your Salesforce journey. Whether you’re looking to optimize fundraising, streamline operations, or improve program delivery, we’re here to help.
No matter where you are in your Salesforce journey, we can find the right path forward together. Let’s talk.