Key question: How can we optimize our database to ensure it supports effective organizational processes and meets our needs?
As women’s funds grow, they need better methods for data collection and management beyond what Excel offers. Salesforce can improve data management and processes but requires significant effort, time, and commitment. This group, experienced with Salesforce, works together to refine their systems, share insights, and advance cultural change towards full Salesforce utilization.
Inspiration
Each fund in this group is at a different stage of Salesforce adoption for data management. They face challenges in optimizing their processes and systems, often grappling with whether their Salesforce setup is optimal. Many have only migrated part of their data, leading to inefficiencies due to unlinked data and lack of integration across systems.
The funds also recognize the need for a cultural shift to ensure Salesforce is used daily by all staff. This transition requires a user-friendly system, clear understanding of its benefits, and adequate support.
The Process
The goal is to achieve both a cultural and technological shift where Salesforce supports effective organizational processes. The collaboration has three main objectives:
- At the Fund Level: Improve each fund’s Salesforce platform and processes. Each fund will enhance their Salesforce use based on internal needs and insights from the collaboration.
- At the Collaborative Level: Learn from other women’s funds about best practices and improvements. External facilitators will manage a learning community to support both groups.
- At the Prospera Network Level: Help other funds improve their Salesforce processes. This involves upgrading the FFDB package, sharing Salesforce demos and videos, developing knowledge products, and establishing a pool of consultants skilled in working with feminist funds and Salesforce.
Ways of Working
- Each fund in this collaboration is working with its own consultant in designing its system on Salesforce.
- Each women’s fund is leading their own customization processes, in collaboration with their own consultants.
- GFW will provide guidance and support to Fondo Semillas and Ukrainian Women’s Fund and any other funds that need the support.
- The funds engage with and learn from each other through a collaborative platform.
What Does Success Look Like?
- Through the Learning Community, funds have addressed questions on grantmaking processes and procedures, learning from each other and adjusting their practices accordingly.
- Collective learning, ongoing engagement, and mutual support have deepened understanding of each other’s work and strengthened relationships.
- By the end of the collaboration, each fund should be confident in its Salesforce setup and MEL customizations, resulting in:
- Migration of necessary information
- Increased Salesforce use among staff
- Improved staff comfort and knowledge with Salesforce
- Enhanced flow of grantmaking cycles
- Better tracking and sharing of individual grants and portfolio data
- The group’s extensive experience with Salesforce will also result in concrete learning products based on each fund’s journey.
Between the lines
This collaboration builds on prior work by Prospera and Global Fund for Women to develop the Feminist Fund Database (FFDB), an open-source Salesforce package. The aim is to upgrade the FFDB and customize it for each fund’s needs. The upgraded package and learning products will be open-source, available to other women’s funds, and may include webinars or Q&A sessions for additional support.
The initiative requires a mix of Salesforce technical skills and familiarity with feminist principles. The collaboration will build staff capacity and establish a pool of consultants experienced in working with feminist funds and Salesforce.