Overview

Pepperwood Preserve, a conservation science and environmental education-focused nonprofit, needed Salesforce NPSP coverage while their solo administrator was on maternity leave. Client Cloudcare filled that void, provided peace of mind for Pepperwood’s staff, exceeded expectations, and built a solid relationship that continues to this day.

Introduction

Founded in 1979, Pepperwood Preserve consists of a 3,200 acre reserve that serves as a refuge for over 900 species of plants and animals. As leaders in ecosystem-climate research, Pepperwood’s staff produces critical research studies to help guide natural resource management and conservation planning in California’s North Bay region.

Pepperwood also offers a variety of educational classes and events to cultivate an ethic of conservation and environmental preservation, while honoring and respecting the Wappo people, the original inhabitants of the region.

“Pepperwood’s reserve sits within the traditional homeland of the Wappo people. We respect and honor past, present, and future generations of Wappo and their continued connection to this land. We are grateful for the opportunity to gather in this beautiful place and we give our respect to its first inhabitants.” Clint McKay (Dry Creek Pomo, Wappo, Wintun)

The Challenge

As a small nonprofit, Pepperwood Preserve relies on donations from the public in order to fund environmental classes and events. Data management is key to Pepperwood’s operational strategy, as donor lists, donation outreach, class schedules and attendees, as well as other types of data and processes need to be maintained, updated, and automated. Pepperwood uses the Salesforce CRM system to handle and process this massive amount of data and relies on one Salesforce Administrator for all aspects of setup and configuration.

But, what happens when the sole Salesforce Administrator needs to take an extended leave from work? In Pepperwood’s case, the administrator was starting a family and planning to take four months off for maternity leave. Without a skilled administrator, Pepperwood would have no one to handle Salesforce customizations, fundraising platform management, report generation, or any of the other critical tasks required for successful daily operations. Enter Client Cloudcare.

Solution

Pepperwood reached out to Client Cloudcare for assistance before their sole administrator left for maternity leave. By utilizing Client Cloudcare’s Managed Services contact for administrator coverage, the team was able to quickly jump in, perform a thorough assessment of Pepperwood’s Salesforce instance and connected applications, and work with their current administrator to identify and document all mission-critical tasks. Going above and beyond, the team at Client Cloudcare was also able to identify and remediate on-going pain points and provide further Salesforce enhancements.

At one point during the maternity leave period, Pepperwood’s payment processing and event registration systems experienced a malfunction, just before their spring classes were set to go live. The Client Cloudcare administrator was able to quickly identify and remediate the issue, allowing Pepperwood to proceed with the planned class registration date. By working with Client Cloudcare, the solo administrator, and her team of nine system users were able to have peace of mind, knowing that Pepperwood’s Salesforce NPSP instance and connected applications were in great hands.

Client Cloudcare worked hard to create a solid relationship with Pepperwood Preserve, by maintaining and enhancing their Salesforce NPSP instance, with special attention to major donor data, grant data marketing/MailChimp information, class/event registration, donation processing and much more. After their regular Salesforce administrator returned from maternity leave on a part-time basis, Client Cloudcare continued working with the Pepperwood team. This provided much needed help for the Pepperwood administrator, who was able to delegate system requests and accomplish tasks that had been long overdue, while also allowing time to care for her newborn child.

Conclusion

As a small nonprofit relying on a solo Salesforce Administrator, Pepperwood found that peace of mind is invaluable when major life events occur. It’s a girl! The Pepperwood administrator gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby and returned to work after four months to find their Salesforce instance operating smoothly and efficiently. Because Client Cloudcare went above and beyond, the initial four-month contract was extended into a long-term contract that we continue today.