Every year, Invest in Others (IiO), a nonprofit that works to amplify the charitable work of the financial services community, hosts an awards gala to celebrate financial advisors who are making an especially big impact in their communities. Jessica Dunham McLaughlin, the VP of Programs and Operations, has been deeply involved in the planning and execution of this substantial event for nearly ten years. Logistically, it’s always been a challenge.

To give you a sense of what’s involved, companies select event sponsorship packages that, along with other benefits, come with a certain number of seats for guests at the gala. That means when an organization decides to sponsor the event, the IiO team knows that the company has X number of guests. They then work with that organization’s contact to get the names and contact information of all their guests. Until recently, that could involve dozens of emails back and forth. With over 60 sponsors who collectively bring more than 600 guests, it’s no small task for Invest in Others.

“Managing attendee lists has always been a significant challenge, with frequent changes leading up to the event. Before implementing Sleek’s solution within our Salesforce environment, we were manually tracking guest lists on Excel, creating a labor-intensive process for both sponsors and our team.” – Jessica, Invest in Others VP of Programs and Operations

The Greatest Inventions Begin with a Problem

Jessica wanted to find a way to make things simpler for everyone, both for her team and the sponsors. Rather than emailing back and forth, surely there was a way to provide a personalized digital space for sponsors to enter a guest list and to make updates leading up to the gala. This self-service model wouldn’t just improve the sponsor’s experience by empowering them to check an always-up-to-date and editable list of attendees (with an automatically allotted number of seats), but it would save the IiO team from a lot of tedium.

The Invest in Others and Sleek team members got together to discuss what such a solution might look like and what it would take to build it. Sleek business analysts are familiar with the wide array of native tools Salesforce has to offer and are quick to identify features and functionality that fit a unique use-case. For a self-service portal that allows external users to interact with a subset of your Salesforce data, Experience Cloud is by far the best solution. You can create a branded experience through an easy-to-learn, drag-and-drop builder. You can then use sharing sets and permissions to nuance what certain users can and can’t see. Jessica and her tech-savvy team quickly saw the value in a self-service portal and put Sleek’s experts to work on building it.

So, What Changed?

“What really elevates this process is the sponsor’s ability to revisit their registration form at any time. This empowers them to not only keep track of the current guest list but also make adjustments as needed. The result is a remarkably smoother and more user-friendly experience.”

– Jessica, Invest in Others VP of Programs and Operations

The experience for IiO’s busy team also changed dramatically. Rather than tracking down sponsors to get their attendee lists and constantly updating spreadsheets to keep up, they could sit back and let sponsors manage their own guests. There was less “Did we miss an update? Are we sure this is the most up-to-date list?” and more time to focus on other important work. When sponsors added guests, that data was automatically updated on the Salesforce side, so Jessica and her team could also pull an up-to-date list in under a minute.

Sleek’s Jason Long also came up with an novel solution for managing tables and guest seating. The best part about it? It didn’t involve a third-party app that would add extra costs to the project. Instead, Jason created a collection of reports and displayed them on a dashboard so that the IiO team had a visual representation of their tables and could see how many attendees were assigned to each.

Sleek’s Managed Services Package Plays a Role

After implementation, Sleek Salesforce Managed Services replenish that pool of resources so that if special projects come up (like a self-service sponsor registration process), you’ve got experienced and Salesforce-certified consultants to bounce your ideas off of and provide technical support to make it happen. With staff turnover and the addition of new features, it can be great to have access to additional training from Sleek’s business analysts. We’ll also perform regular health and optimization checks on your Salesforce org and make sure you get the latest in new QSS™ functionality, which is always improving.

“As a small organization without dedicated IT or advancement services resources, the Managed Services Package has proven to be an invaluable resource for us. We really appreciate being able to lean on the talented Sleek team, whether we have a quick technical question or need assistance with new functionalities.” – Jessica, Invest in Others VP of Programs and Operations

The story of Invest in Others’ gala encapsulates why we do what we do. Sleek’s role is to bridge the gap between what you wish your Salesforce org could do and a real implementation of Salesforce functionality. We’re intimately familiar with fundraising, events, engagement, and all the other wonderful things nonprofits do and we know how to make sure your Salesforce org is set up to best support you. With less of your day spent on tedium and data management, you and your team are free to focus on the important things.

Ready to infuse your Salesforce org with the tender love and care it deserves? Whether you’re seeking hours for new reports, dashboards, training, or an extra set of Salesforce-certified and Advancement-experienced hands, Sleek’s Salesforce Managed Services is your solution. Connect with us today to explore how Sleek can be your trusted partner in advancing your organization’s goals.