The Finnish Bible Society (FiBS) is a cornerstone of Christian ministry in Finland, dedicated to translating, publishing, and distributing the Bible. Focusing on making the scriptures accessible to all, the Society also supports international translation projects and Bible engagement initiatives. Whether working on a new, youth-friendly translation of the Bible or ensuring people with disabilities have access to scripture, the Finnish Bible Society’s mission is deeply rooted in spreading the Bible Engagement.
Industry
Non-profit, Religious
Implemented Solutions
- Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP)
- Advanced Reporting and Dashboards
- Integration with different Apps and Web solutions
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Before our partnership, the Finnish Bible Society faced challenges in effectively managing donor and customer data. Although they had a system in place, it needed more sophistication for targeted communication, mass mailing, and advanced segmentation. With a new focus on expanding its donor base and improving engagement, the Society sought a robust solution to centralize its data, streamline operations, and support its growing needs.
Why Raise N’GO and Salesforce?
In 2019 the United Bible Societies (UBS) organised a workshop where several Bible Societies discussed CRM and Marketing Automation benefits and implementation challenges. We were invited to share our digital transformation partnership with the Portuguese Bible Society and provide some insights about successful CRM implementations. Some team members of FiBS were there since they were considering implementing a CRM to support their growth strategy. A couple of months later, we were selected as the Salesforce-certified partner to implement their solution.
Katja Hannula, the Director of Finance And Administration, explained, “Our goal was to centralize all our customer and donor data in one place. With Salesforce, we could integrate all our systems, from donation tracking to webshop purchases and Bible app usage, providing a complete view of our supporters. This level of integration allows us to create sophisticated segmentation and communicate more effectively with the right people at the right time.”
Impact on Fundraising and Donor Engagement
“Every month, Salesforce saves me 40 hours a month, which is ¼ of my time, which is amazing,” shared Hanna Hokkanen, Fundraising Manager
Salesforce has significantly improved the Finnish Bible Society’s ability to engage with donors and manage fundraising efforts. With the integration of Salesforce, the Society can now:
- Segment Donor Data: Salesforce’s advanced segmentation capabilities allow the Society to target its communications more effectively, leading to higher conversion rates in campaigns, particularly in telemarketing efforts for new monthly donors.
Salesforce enables the Society to create highly targeted segments based on various criteria, such as donor behaviour, donation amounts, and communication preferences. This segmentation is crucial for personalizing outreach and has resulted in high conversion rates, particularly in telemarketing campaigns for acquiring new monthly donors.
- Automate Communications: Salesforce’s automation features have streamlined the process of sending emails and other communications, reducing the manual workload and ensuring that supporters receive consistent and personalized messages.
Salesforce automates many transactional messages, such as thank-you emails for donations, welcome messages for new monthly donors, and follow-ups based on donor actions. This automation ensures timely and relevant communication, reducing the manual workload and enhancing donor engagement.
- Enhanced Reporting and Decision-Making: Salesforce’s reporting and dashboard features have become invaluable tools for the team. By digging deep into the data, the Society can quickly find answers to critical questions, assess the effectiveness of campaigns, and make informed decisions.
- Centralized Donor Data Management: Salesforce acts as a central hub for all customer and donor data, including donations, communication preferences, purchases in the web shop, and interactions with the Bible app. This comprehensive view allows the Finnish Bible Society to better manage and understand its supporters, leading to more informed fundraising strategies.
- Integration with Other Systems: Salesforce seamlessly integrates with other systems ensuring that donations, purchases, and other interactions are accurately recorded and processed without manual intervention. Currently, the Salesforce CRM is integrated with:
- Online Donation Pages (WordPress)
- Finnish Payment Solution (Paytrail)
- BibleBooster App
- Accounting system
- Marketing Automation (Mautic)
- Advanced Reporting and Dashboards: The Society leverages Salesforce’s reporting and dashboard features to gain insights into its fundraising efforts. These tools allow the team to track campaign performance, analyze donor data, and make data-driven decisions, ultimately improving the effectiveness of their fundraising strategies.
- Improved Communication with Parishes: Salesforce helps manage and segment data related to local churches, enabling more targeted and effective communication. This is particularly important as a significant portion of their donations comes from churches. The Society can maintain strong relationships with these vital organizational donors by keeping up-to-date contact information and using Salesforce for targeted outreach (Katja Hannula and Laura…)
These capabilities have empowered the Finnish Bible Society to streamline its operations, improve donor engagement, and make more strategic decisions in its fundraising efforts.
Katja noted:
“Salesforce saves us a tremendous amount of time, particularly with reports making segmentation for direct mail and other campaigns easy. The ability to connect and analyse data from multiple sources has transformed how we operate.”
Working with Raise N’GO
The Finnish Bible Society partnered with Raise N’GO to implement Salesforce, and the collaboration has been instrumental in their success. Katja praised the partnership, saying,
“Raise N’GO has been patient and responsive to our needs. They didn’t just help us set up Salesforce—they’ve been there every step of the way, helping us optimize our processes and ensuring we’re getting the most out of the platform.”
Using Technology to Scale Your Mission
The Finnish Bible Society has revolutionized its donor management and engagement strategies. The integration of donor data, automation of communications, and the ability to generate insightful reports have all contributed to more effective and efficient operations. With Salesforce at the core of its activities, the Society is better equipped to fulfill its mission of spreading the Bible text and engaging with supporters across Finland and beyond.
Salesforce saves us a tremendous amount of time, particularly with reports making segmentation for direct mail and other campaigns easy. The ability to connect and analyse data from multiple sources has transformed how we operate. (…) Raise N’GO has been patient and responsive to our needs. They didn’t just help us set up Salesforce—they’ve been there every step of the way, helping us optimize our processes and ensuring we’re getting the most out of the platform.
