Success Story: Modernizing Donor Management
edmonton community foundation
The Edmonton Community Foundation is a community foundation based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, focused on helping donors create lasting philanthropic impact in their community.
The Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF) has long played a vital role in strengthening the community by connecting donors to good causes. But as ECF grew, so did the complexity of managing donor relationships, processing gifts, and generating timely reports. Legacy systems couldn’t keep pace with the organization’s evolving needs. Manual entry, siloed data, and limited reporting tools created operational inefficiencies that slowed teams down.
In search of a modern solution, ECF turned to Foundation Partners for a Salesforce-based transformation. What began as a quest for a more integrated CRM has become an ongoing journey of system expansion, user empowerment, and cultural change.
The Challenge
Before partnering with Foundation Partners, ECF relied on a legacy system that had rigid limitations. Chris Quinn, Chief Financial Officer at ECF noted, “We had maxed out its options unless we spent more money just to enhance it.”
Even basic processes like data imports and gift receipts were difficult to scale. “We could import some information, but nothing to the extent we can with Salesforce,” added Sharlene Clarke, Gift Processing Coordinator at ECF.
What ECF needed was more than a new database. It needed a flexible, future-proof platform that could centralize donor data, streamline processes, and provide a clearer view across departments.
The solution
With Salesforce and Foundation Partners’ deep understanding of community foundations, ECF implemented a modern CRM integrated with Sage Intacct. The transition introduced major improvements in both functionality and flexibility.
“We can now view the full spectrum of our donor relationships from start to finish, whether we’re in the office or working remotely,” said Sharlene. Salesforce serves as the single source of truth for donor records, gift details, and fund data, significantly reducing the manual effort needed to keep everything up to date.
The introduction of Apsona for document merges, grid views, and reporting was a big game changer. “I just started using Apsona to create board reports,” Sharlene said. “It’s something I couldn’t have done in the old system.”
The recurring gift process has also been transformed. “It used to take me hours every Friday to enter recurring CanadaHelps gifts,” Sharlene shared. “Now it takes me minutes.”
Email receipts, which were once printed and mailed manually, are now automated for donors with email addresses on file. “That change alone was life-changing for us,” said Sharlene. “We’re a small team, and this gave us time back while providing donors with the experience they expect.”
Fund Statements: From Frustration to Functionality
The rollout of new fund statement processes was one of the more challenging elements of ECF’s transition. Laura Kugler, Donor Services Associate at ECF, recalled it bluntly: “The fund statement process was hell at first.”
Much of the early difficulty stemmed from data migration and initial training gaps. But the turning point came through hands-on collaboration with Foundation Partners. “Judy Otto, the Project Lead at Foundation Partners, stayed with us through it all,” Laura said. “She showed up, stayed late, and worked through every detail with patience and professionalism. That made all the difference.”
Today, fund statements are generated more efficiently, with custom configurations in place and cleaner data structures supporting them. “There’s still room for refinement,” Laura added, “but we’ve come a long way.”
A Foundation of Support
Throughout the engagement, Foundation Partners remained a steady presence, especially during times of internal transition. As ECF welcomed new administrators like Gurjot Kaur, onboarding support was critical. “Even when I didn’t know what was possible in Salesforce, I always got a clear and helpful answer from Judy,” Gurjot said.
That responsiveness helped maintain momentum even as roles shifted internally. “There was always someone ready to jump in,” Chris affirmed.
Data Confidence, Dashboards, and a Shift in Culture
While ECF is still expanding its use of dashboards and analytics, the team is seeing the benefits of having better access to real-time data. “It wasn’t a straight line to data confidence,” Chris said. “With Salesforce, you can slice the data a million different ways, so we had to figure out the right lens for each team.”
But that flexibility has empowered staff across the organization. “The system is more transparent now,” said Sharlene. “Before, only certain people could make changes. Now, teams take ownership of their data.”
For reporting, the ability to download directly into Excel without formatting issues has been a huge win. “With the legacy system, it was all .csv files and manual cleanup,” Chris noted. “Now, reconciling between systems is faster and easier.”
Still, the team is mindful of report sprawl. “We need a naming convention,” Chris said. “Otherwise, we’ll end up with multiple versions of the same report.”
Looking ahead
From launching the donor portal to cleaning up duplicate records and reimagining marketing campaigns through Account Engagement, ECF has a clear roadmap for what’s next.
“The ability to export reliable data is opening the door for more Power BI work,” Chris explained. “We’re starting to measure and quantify our impact in new ways.”
While some grant types are still managed in SmartSimple, the long-term vision is to bring everything into Salesforce. “That’s probably two years out,” Chris said. “But it’s definitely on the roadmap.”
a trusted partner in transformation
When asked why ECF chose Foundation Partners, Chris was quick to point to the recommendation from the Vancouver Foundation. “That really tipped the scales,” he said. “From the first conversation, we didn’t have to explain what a foundation was. Your team already understood our structure, our pain points, and our goals.”
“Every time we meet with Foundation Partners, it’s productive,” Sharlene added. “You get things done. Always.”
Laura agreed: “Patience, perseverance, and professionalism. That’s how I’d describe our experience.”
As ECF continues its journey with Salesforce, its team is more connected, capable, and confident than ever. With Foundation Partners at their side, they’ve not only modernized their tools, they’ve built a strong foundation for continued impact in the Edmonton community.