Canadian Cancer Society

Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack implementation case study

The Canadian Cancer Society is a national, community-based organization of staff and volunteers whose mission is the eradication of cancer and the enhancement of the quality of life of people living with cancer.

Challenge: Healthcare databases siloed from core CRM

The Society was a decentralized organization spanning 10 Canadian provinces. Each location operated separately, with their own databases and datasets. When the organization restructured to operate nationwide, they needed to consolidate all of their data and systems, so they engaged Heller Consulting.

They decided to move to Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack as their customer relationship management platform and needed a partner to help:

Implement the new platform in a bilingual environment as part of the complex reorganization.
Develop a common data model and new nationwide business processes in fundraising and volunteer engagement for the entire organization.
Implement and integrate additional applications and solutions for business processes, including data collection and cleansing, document merging, public-facing peer-to-peer fundraising, e-commerce, gift processing, and Canadian tax receipting.
Prepare the newly consolidated staff for the technology changes.
Train and enable staff to use the new technology and business processes.

Adding to the project’s complexity, CCS merged with two other nonprofit organizations during the span of the project and faced a reduction in staff and revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Solution: Customized solution and white-glove service

The Heller team worked closely with CCS to build a custom technology solution that meets their needs, while operating within their complex restructuring initiative.

Common Data Model

Consolidation of multiple systems and datasets and business processes, including combining 20 million contacts and their related engagement history into a common data model.

Collaborative Client-Focused Approach

Collaborative project management and multiple iterations of planning, prototyping, testing, refining, and approvals to ensure the project stayed on track. The highly effective 30+ member CCS/Heller project group operated as a single team with a clear focus that delivered on time and on budget.

Change Leadership

To pave the way for smooth technology and process changes, the Heller team worked with CCS executive and project sponsors and leads to develop a vision and identify the critical success factors that would lead to achieving that vision. The Heller team developed change management recommendations and priorities, and the CCS sponsors took ownership and responsibility for delivering on the plan.

Result: Unified data and an empowered, connected team

For the first time, the Society’s nationwide staff now works on a single platform with one set of data, allowing them to collaborate closely on managing relationships with donors, volunteers, and other constituents.

A consolidated metrics pool enables centralized understanding and reporting across districts.

And the entire solution was designed so CCS can easily make changes as the organization’s strategies and processes evolve.

Ready to Get Started?

If you’re a nonprofit organization or education institution and you need help with your technology project, get in touch!