Impact Measurement and Outcomes Evaluation Using Salesforce for Nonprofits - by Dustin MacDonald (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Conduct impact measurement and outcomes evaluation, with a specific focus on nonprofits, using Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud (aka Salesforce for Nonprofits). As funding grows more challenging for nonprofits, having a robust technology system in place allows nonprofits to better seek out funding and receive more when they do. Readers of this book will be better positioned to ensure the long-term success of their organization and make maximum use of their technology.

The book begins with an introduction to Salesforce and to Nonprofit Cloud for users who may be new to the platform. Next, you will learn the fundamentals of impact measurement and outcomes evaluation. You will understand why these are important and discover several frameworks that can be used to select outcomes that make sense for your organization to prove that its work is successful. These frameworks include Social Return on Investment (SROI), Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), and Pre and Post Comparison (and others).

You will use your chosen framework to develop a logic model or theory of change which demonstrates how the work that nonprofits do translates into the outputs and outcomes that clients experience and that nonprofits seek funding to deliver. After covering the theory, author Dustin MacDonald teaches you how to translate the framework you chose into Salesforce. You will learn how to create reports, dashboards, formula fields, roll up summaries, and other basic Salesforce tools in order to collect the information you need to validate your framework.

This book also demonstrates how to report on the outcomes you have achieved, tweak results to improve performance, and see the entire end-to-end experience in practice through a set of case studies. The book concludes with a discussion of advanced tools and techniques available inside Salesforce, such as Einstein Prediction Builder, as well as information on how you can immediately apply what you have learned to your own organization.

What You Will Learn

• Understand how to use Nonprofit Cloud to collect and analyze data
• Know how to create a theory of change that shows your impact
• Become adept at working with impact measurement frameworks
• Build everything you need in Salesforce without writing a single line of code
• Turn your insights into new funding to keep your organization strong

Who This Book Is For

Salesforce administrators, nonprofit staff members, and others working at nonprofits who are required to conduct impact measurement and outcomes evaluation. Additionally, business analysts and technical architects who are designing and implementing solutions for nonprofits at implementation partners will benefit from this book.

From the Back Cover

Conduct impact measurement and outcomes evaluation, with a specific focus on nonprofits, using Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud (aka Salesforce for Nonprofits). As funding grows more challenging for nonprofits, having a robust technology system in place allows nonprofits to better seek out funding and receive more when they do. Readers of this book will be better positioned to ensure the long-term success of their organization and make maximum use of their technology.

The book begins with an introduction to Salesforce and to Nonprofit Cloud for users who may be new to the platform. Next, you will learn the fundamentals of impact measurement and outcomes evaluation. You will understand why these are important and discover several frameworks that can be used to select outcomes that make sense for your organization to prove that its work is successful. These frameworks include Social Return on Investment (SROI), Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), and Pre and Post Comparison (and others).

You will use your chosen framework to develop a logic model or theory of change which demonstrates how the work that nonprofits do translates into the outputs and outcomes that clients experience and that nonprofits seek funding to deliver. After covering the theory, author Dustin MacDonald teaches you how to translate the framework you chose into Salesforce. You will learn how to create reports, dashboards, formula fields, roll up summaries, and other basic Salesforce tools in order to collect the information you need to validate your framework.

This book also demonstrates how to report on the outcomes you have achieved, tweak results to improve performance, and see the entire end-to-end experience in practice through a set of case studies. The book concludes with a discussion of advanced tools and techniques available inside Salesforce, such as Einstein Prediction Builder, as well as information on how you can immediately apply what you have learned to your own organization.

You will:

• Understand how to use Nonprofit Cloud to collect and analyze data
• Know how to create a theory of change that shows your impact
• Become adept at working with impact measurement frameworks
• Build everything you need in Salesforce without writing a single line of code
• Turn your insights into new funding to keep your organization strong

About the Author

Dustin K. MacDonald is 10x Salesforce Certified, including as a nonprofit Cloud Consultant. He holds an Accredited Professional in Einstein Prediction Builder and is currently a Senior Consultant at a mid-sized Salesforce Implementation Partner that focuses exclusively on nonprofits and public sector organizations. He is a former Affiliate Professor in Data Science at Eastern University in St. David's, Pennsylvania and holds several degrees: Bachelor of Professional Arts in Human Services, Master of Science in Data Science, and Master of Business Administration. Dustin was motivated to write this book because there are no books available on Nonprofit Cloud for nonprofit users who may lack technical knowledge, and the timing is right as Salesforce is increasing its focus on this vertical.