July 04, 2016 | Andrew Lawlor

Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to political advocacy for veterans’ rights.

CVA depends on a network of volunteers across America—but these grassroots campaigners had no online forum to connect, plan, or even sign up for events.

During election years like 2016, advocacy groups compete for volunteers’ time. After announcing its Tour of Duty initiative, CVA needed to encourage volunteers to stay committed. Moreover, the organization had to give its part-time employees an online management tool for coordinating teams of volunteers.

Aptaria set up 2 different kinds of Salesforce communities to address CVA’s challenges. The combination, unusual for Salesforce nonprofit customization, saved money and provided different levels of access for volunteers and employees.

Volunteers can now communicate and collaborate through message boards. They can also register for events and invite friends and family to join the initiative. Part-time employees can edit CVA’s database and oversee geographically spread-out teams.

Our solution also includes gamification, or game-like features. The Salesforce system rewards volunteers’ advocacy activities with points, badges, and the chance to climb higher on the leaderboard. As CVA’s national outreach director Cory McGregor explains, “The community has helped volunteers realize how important they are to our organization. They can log in and see their hard work.”

Read the full CVA case study.

Does your organization face similar challenges? Contact us to discuss how a Salesforce nonprofit implementation could help you achieve your goals.