UNICEF Portugal is dedicated to enhancing and creating better lives for children worldwide. As a fundraising arm of UNICEF, UNICEF Portugal’s primary focus is to generate funds that support national and global initiatives for children’s health, education, and protection. With over 500,000 contacts and supporters, the organization needed a modern and efficient system to manage its fundraising activities and donor relationships.
We spoke with the UNICEF Portugal team to learn how Salesforce, implemented by Raise N’Go, has transformed their fundraising operations.
Industry
Non-profit
Implemented Solutions
- Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP)
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud
- Raise N’GO Payments & Receipts App
- Acquia
- Find the best fundraising solution for your organisation
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The Challenge
The team’s primary focus is to raise as much money as possible to support the organisation’s work, which protects, and supports children worldwide.
With the team’s sole focus on improving the lives of children, they needed a fast, modern system that could provide a 360-degree view of their donors, giving access to information immediately from fundraisers doing Face-to-face or Telemarketing Campaigns. The goal was to have real-time access to data, enhance their understanding of donor behaviours, and optimize their fundraising campaigns to be more effective, replacing their old system, which limited their potential.
The Aim of the Project
The project aimed to overhaul UNICEF Portugal’s digital infrastructure, providing the team with the best tools and resources to empower their fundraisers. Key objectives included:
- Increase team efficiency and motivation, as integrating data between systems required a high level of human work.
- Reducing Data Delays: Implement API connectors for fundraising agencies to reduce the time from one month to real-time data access.
- Enhancing Donor Understanding: Providing a deep 360 view and deeper understanding of donor behaviours and preferences.
- Upgrading Marketing Capabilities: Replacing MailChimp with Salesforce Marketing Cloud to enhance campaign management and insights.
- To migrate all data seamlessly and effortlessly across to Salesforce: 500,000 contacts needed to be moved to Salesforce, maintaining all record information.
Project Implementation
UNICEF Portugal partnered with Raise N’Go to implement Salesforce’s Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) as the core fundraising CRM. This solution allowed the team to effectively manage, segment, and execute key fundraising activities. Alongside NPSP, Salesforce Marketing Cloud was implemented to manage all aspects of email-based marketing, from campaigns to detailed insights.
Raise N’GO became an expert in advising UNICEF on its processes and concepts.
Gonçalo Martins Sousa shared: “Tiago and his team are true experts in the nonprofit field and have exceptional project management skills, which means that the entire organisation has benefited from world-class service from Raise N’Go. They are experts in fundraising and marketing concepts, and they didn’t feel like a third party; they always felt like they were part of the team.”
Key features of the implementation included:
- API Integrations: Streamlined data collection from fundraising partners, reducing the wait time from one month to same-day access.
- 360-Degree Donor View: The new system provided a comprehensive view of each donor, including activities, leads, and all communications.
- Enhanced Reporting and Dashboards: Real-time reporting and donor segmentation capabilities were significantly improved, allowing for more targeted and effective fundraising efforts.
- Automated Processes: Automation was introduced to integrate data between the CRM and Key-Systems (Payment providers, Donation pages, Webshop, Telemarketing agencies, F2F Agencies, Marketing automation). The receipt management process was significantly improved through automation, offering now a better donor experience. In the end, this means saving time and reducing manual errors.
Impact on Fundraising and Marketing
The impact of the Salesforce implementation has been substantial:
- Efficiency and readiness to scale: Monthly, the team saved many days of work managing data integration, making it ready to scale.
- All Teams on One System: Bringing all teams onto a single platform has improved collaboration and efficiency.
- 360-Degree View of Donors: With a complete view of donor activities and interactions, the team can now tailor their approach to better meet donor needs.
- Improved Donor Segmentation: The capabilities of Salesforce have allowed for more precise segmentation, enhancing the effectiveness of campaigns.
- Automated Receipt Generation: The automation of receipts has saved significant time and ensured timely communication with donors.
- Power BI Integration: Plugging Salesforce into Power BI has provided deeper insights into fundraising performance and donor behaviours.
On the marketing side, the implementation of Salesforce Marketing Cloud has revolutionized how UNICEF Portugal engages with its supporters:
- Over 40 Marketing Cloud Journeys: These automated journeys have enabled the team to nurture relationships with donors through personalised and timely communications.
- A/B Testing: The ability to test different email strategies has led to optimised campaigns and better engagement rates.
Working with Raise N’GO
UNICEF Portugal’s partnership with Raise N’Go was critical to the success of this project. The team at Raise N’Go brought deep expertise in both Salesforce and UNICEF’s unique needs, offering project management, leadership involvement, and ongoing support—even on weekends.
“Our experience with Raise N’Go has been exceptional. Their understanding of our needs and their commitment to our success have made all the difference. They have become more than just a vendor—they are a true partner in our mission,” the team at UNICEF Portugal shared.
The implementation of Salesforce by Raise N’Go has transformed UNICEF Portugal’s fundraising and marketing capabilities, enabling the team to serve its mission of supporting children worldwide. With modern tools and real-time data, UNICEF Portugal is better equipped to engage with donors, optimise campaigns, and make a greater impact for all children.
Tiago and his team are true experts in the nonprofit field and have exceptional project management skills, which means that the entire organisation has benefited from world-class service from Raise N’Go. They are experts in fundraising and marketing concepts, and they didn’t feel like a third party; they always felt like they were part of the team.
