Bristol-based counselling charity Kinergy are a very busy service dealing with hundreds of clients per year across Bristol, Avon and the wider area. They came to us with a range of data management headaches.
At the heart of the problem was the fact that their old server-based Microsoft Access database had become pretty much obsolete. It was no longer serving their needs, particularly with respect to remote working, and also due to difficulties when seeking to report their impact to funders. Compounding this was the fact that a commercial Salesforce developer lacking experience in the charity sector had attempted to solve their problems and failed. Frustration was running high and time was running short!
Following an introduction via the Lloyds Bank Foundation we got to work assessing the functional requirements of the charity. Our ability to compare and contrast their operating model with that of dozens of other charities we’ve worked with meant that time could be spent more efficiently. It became apparent that the basic system architecture could be assembled by bringing together a number of tried and tested elements from other Salesforce development projects we’ve led. A number of custom features could then be woven in to ensure organisation-specific needs were met. As a further element of the project we were able to exceed client expectations by introducing new features they hadn’t previously known were deliverable. Moving all referral processes online using digital forms was a real game-changer in terms of efficiency, along with a fundamental shift towards paperless working.
The charity’s business manager Bert Weenink comments:
“We were getting increasingly frustrated that we could not make Salesforce match our very specific needs. This was after spending a considerable amount of money on ‘expert’ help provided by advisors who just didn’t understand what we wanted our new database to produce. Through the Enhance programme sponsored by the Lloyds Bank Foundation we contacted Matt Wilson. From the moment our Clinical Manager and myself started talking to Matt we found that he understood exactly what we were looking for and what could be done to make Salesforce to fit our needs. Matt’s understanding of the needs of our charity and his awareness of technical solutions were second to none. We are deeply grateful to him for getting our new CRM ready for use!”