Migrating to Salesforce from Raiser’s Edge—Part 2: Gifts and Attributes

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Rosetta Stone for Migrating to Salesforce from Raiser’s Edge: Understanding Gifts and Attributes

In part one of our Migrating to Salesforce from Raiser’s Edge series, we discussed how to track your fundraising outreach efforts in Salesforce, as compared to Raiser’s Edge.

Now, let’s take a look at tracking your incoming gifts and attributes. (Spoiler – Salesforce makes it all very simple!)

Gifts are, of course, critical to the nonprofit funding model in general. So, it is no great insight to say that gifts need to be tracked, for accounting reasons, if nothing else. But, tracking your entire gift pipeline (from planning a solicitation to check in hand) can make a huge difference in fundraisers’ ability to prioritize their work, in finance’s ability to forecast revenue, and leadership’s ability to make informed decisions. The more nuance you can capture in that pipeline, the more impactful the tracking can be.

Attributes are often one of the ways that nuance and detail around a gift, person, organization, etc., get tracked. Different systems have different names for this kind of information—the kind of detail that needs to also be seen in the big picture. Knowing that a given donor is a volunteer for your organization is important both when interacting with that donor, but also when trying to understand your donor base and your volunteer base. Having the ability to capture these kinds of details in a structured, reportable format opens new ways to analyze your data and therefore new insights into your constituents and donors and their behavior.

Attain Partners expertly helps fundraising teams move from Raiser’s Edge (with or without NXT) to Salesforce for greater functionality and scalability. With that move comes not only a host of new information and tracking superpowers but also a new language and way of organizing information. This primer series for fundraisers currently using Raiser’s Edge was created to help you and your team learn the language of Salesforce and some of its organizing principles. If you missed part one, learn more about Campaigns, Funds, and Appeals.

Gifts and Attributes

Gifts

Raiser’s Edge terms: Gifts
Salesforce translation: Opportunities and Gift Entry

In Raiser’s Edge, you may be used to entering gifts as Gifts either right from a constituent’s record or on its own. For recurring gifts, you choose “Recurring Gift” as the type, and for pledges, you choose “Pledge.” In Salesforce, the workflow is similar, but the main hub is called an Opportunity.

In Salesforce, Opportunities represent opportunities for money. An Opportunity could be a gift that you’re soliciting or a grant you’re applying for. They are connected to Contacts (i.e., constituents) and Accounts (e.g., households, organizations, companies) in a way that allow you to easily see automatically calculated things like last gift amount, total giving, largest gift amount, etc., at both the individual and household or company level.

Like a Gift in Raiser’s Edge, an Opportunity in Salesforce can have a series of payments associated with it, which can be either scheduled for the future or tracked for the past. Payments can be either automatically or manually generated for recurring gifts or pledges and easily marked as paid when payment is received.

Opportunities can be attributed to a Campaign to track the success of your appeals and automatically add appropriate General Accounting Units to the gift. Opportunities have stages (which you will customize during implementation) where you can track progress toward an actual gift. Like in Raiser’s Edge, Opportunities in Salesforce have types, also customized during implementation, to represent the different kinds of gifts (pledge, recurring gift, grant, in-kind, etc.) that you receive. These types can control automated behavior as well as the layout of the page for each type of Opportunity record.

Opportunities are the core of how you report on giving and your fundraising pipeline in Salesforce. Stage and type are key to being able to report on your fundraising in a rich and varied way. Want to know how much you raised last quarter?  Want to know how much you received in in-kind donations last year? Salesforce reports have pre-built filters and summary features that will answer those questions for you.

To ensure the accuracy of your reporting, even gifts that come in without solicitation will have an Opportunity record. Generally, you’d create an Opportunity and track its progress from cultivation through to actual gift. When you receive a gift without solicitation, you will either create an Opportunity and mark it as Closed-Won or system automation will do that for you if you add the gift through the batch entry tool. That way, the unsolicited gift will be included in your reporting and the automatically-calculated amounts along with the solicited gifts.

Attributes

Raiser’s Edge terms: Attributes
Salesforce translation: Custom fields

In Raiser’s Edge, it’s common to use Attributes to tag records in various ways so you can group them in lists and reports. Salesforce is a more structured database, so many things you may have added as Attributes aren’t necessary. Account type (Organization vs. Business vs. Household), for example, is reflected in the record type of the Account rather than requiring a special field to keep track of what kind of account it is. Similarly, the status of the address of a Contact is captured in the fields themselves (there are sets of fields to capture current and former addresses).

Your implementation partner will work with you to determine which of the Attributes you currently use need to be mapped onto new fields in Salesforce, which ones can be mapped onto standard Salesforce fields, and which can be derived from existing Salesforce information. Don’t have an implementation partner? Contact us to learn how we can help your organization move from Raiser’s Edge to Salesforce.

For the Attributes that need to be mapped onto new Salesforce fields, your implementation partner or Salesforce admin can add them easily and they will be available in reports by default. These fields can be available to only certain types of records and only visible to certain types of users, ensuring they don’t clutter the screen when they’re not needed. The difficult part of the process is not adding the fields, but deciding whether or not they should be added, how they will be used, and how to make sure that the data entered into them remains consistent and accurate.

To that end, Salesforce is designed to make maintaining the accuracy and consistency of your data easy. There are a wide range of things to consider when adding a field including the data type, where to make it visible and for whom, who to give edit access to, and more. With Salesforce, it is simple to ensure that only those people best positioned to consider all the implications of new fields and field types are empowered to create them. Taking these steps to keep your data consistent and accurate allows you to take advantage of the full power of the Salesforce reporting and analytics platform, so that your data can become useful information. 

Want to learn about tracking fundraiser portfolios, moves management, and extending functionality in Salesforce?
Send us a message to schedule a time to chat with our experts.

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Attain Partners – Salesforce Experts

No matter if your organization is beginning its Salesforce journey or 10+ years into development, Attain Partners is here to help you achieve your digital transformation goals.

Contact us

To learn more, check out our Salesforce Innovation services, read case studies about our work, and explore blog posts from Attain Partners’ Salesforce team.

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Case Studies
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About the Author

Jaemi Loeb is a Senior Consultant at Attain Partners and a veteran nonprofit leader. Her expertise sits at the intersection between technology and people, tools, and daily operations. She is passionate about helping organizations to streamline their workflows and use data to meet their missions.

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Financial Aid: The Tree Trunk of Higher Education

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Jessika Smith is a Financial Aid Expert Serving Colleges and Universities

At Attain Partners, our financial aid and compliance experts bring decades of direct experience working in education and a successful track record serving the nation’s top colleges and universities. As a testament to our expertise, Attain Partners proudly serves more than 70 of the nation’s top 100 research institutions—including 100% of the Ivy League schools—through the variety of Compliance services we provide.

We sat down with financial aid expert Jessika Smith to learn more about why this field is so impactful and how she shares her expertise.

Attain Partners (AP): How did you get into financial aid?

Jessika Smith (JS): I like to say that financial aid found me. As an undergraduate student, I worked in the Registrar’s and Academic Affairs Offices. A few years after graduating, I ended up in a role in higher education. I hadn’t planned for it and it wasn’t even the job I had originally applied for! Long story short, that job was one of the best opportunities I have ever had. It gave me insight into the entire umbrella of enrollment services. It was the people, place, and culture of this early role that allowed me to develop and grow my passion for financial aid.  

AP: What did you do before joining Attain Partners?

JS: I came from a higher education institution—I had been working as its Financial Aid and Enrollment Services Manager.

AP: What brought you to Attain Partners?

JS: I feel like I found Attain Partners at exactly the right time. Super cheesy, I know! I love continuing to work in higher education, specifically financial aid, but consulting is also an opportunity for expansion that feels somewhat limitless. Attain Partners’ scope is greater than just financial aid, and I hope to be able to grow and expand parallel with that. 

AP: Which of our seven core values speaks to you the most?

JS: Trick question! Our seven core values feel like seasons or phases to me. Each is equally important as the other but time and place sway which “speaks to you the most.” Right now, I am in the Execute with Discipline and Team for Speed phase. As a new employee working with a newer client, these two values feel very important to delivering a top-notch product in a way that supports, educates, and empowers our clients.

AP: What do you like most about the work you do?

JS: Each day is different, I like that. Working in financial aid is dynamic and fluid. Some days, the best part is working directly with the students; while other days, it’s the creative problem-solving or getting into the nitty-gritty of the data and regulations.  

AP: What are the biggest ways you’ve seen financial aid efforts impact organizations?

JS: Financial aid is the tree trunk of higher education and often goes unnoticed as such. The roots are the administrative offices and faculty/staff that make an institution run; almost all connect back to the trunk. The branches are the students, they need the support of the roots and the trunk to grow, change, and succeed. I might be biased, but I think the financial aid office has the biggest impact on the overall operation and success of an institution and its students’ experiences.

AP: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

JS: Time! We’re in the stage where it’s clicking for the client. They really appreciate what we are doing and want to hear our recommendations. It can be hard to step away and shut off “work mode” at the end of the day. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day!

AP: What do you read and watch to keep current?

JS: The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) puts out a daily newsletter as well as a weekly podcast Off-The-Cuff.  In addition, there are a variety of other resources and publications that are accessible through subscriptions and directly online. When possible, I try to venture out of just financial aid and dive deeper into education, leadership, and diversity.

—

Maintaining an efficient, compliant, and service-oriented financial aid operation is no small task for colleges and universities, yet the need to do so has never been greater. Having a high-functioning financial aid office plays a key role in helping institutions meet their strategic enrollment and retention goals while also avoiding potential costly liabilities. Our tailored financial aid consulting solutions are designed to meet the unique needs of each client. Using comprehensive financial aid assessments, we provide schools with a customized action plan to streamline processes and improve efficiencies while maintaining compliance with federal regulations.

Learn More – Jessika Smith

Jessika Smith is a Senior Associate at Attain Partners serving financial aid offices. She holds a Master’s degree from Northeastern University in Higher Education Administration. With over a decade of experience, she excels in providing exceptional service to students and administrative guidance to schools. 

Interested in speaking directly with Jessika? Fill out this form to be connected!

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Embracing the Future: The Rise of Workday Student

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Bridging the Digital Divide: How Workday Student Is Modernizing the Academic Experience

Did you know that in the United States, over 50% of higher education institutions use a student information system (SIS) that was implemented before 2000? These outdated systems are often challenging to navigate, do not keep up with current technology, and lack mobile friendliness. At many institutions, students must juggle multiple systems to access information on grades, financial aid, advising, and courses. Today’s digital native students deserve better. They want an SIS that aligns with rapidly changing technology and instant information access.

Enter Workday Student. Not only does it step into this space, but it also defines it. Designed to meet the ever-changing and dynamic needs of both students and institutions, Workday Student consolidates all aspects of the student experience into one user friendly platform. Accessible anywhere, at any time, and on any device, it simplifies processes and revolutionizes the academic journey.

Understanding the Modern Student’s Needs

Mobile technology is essential to the modern student. Workday Student is easily accessible on phones, tablets, and computers. Additionally, as everything a student needs resides in Workday Student, they have access to a timesaving, simplified platform instead of having to jump between services. Balancing academic, extracurricular, work, and social schedules is enough of a task; a streamlined SIS is crucial to simplify daily life and position students for success. Technology today looks vastly different today than two decades ago, prompting the need for state-of-the-art software. Educational institutions must adopt modern SISs to attract top-tier students and position themselves as industry leaders.

A Unified System for All Needs

Workday Student is a comprehensive platform that helps students and educators achieve their goals. With its streamlined and user-friendly interface, it simplifies tasks like academic planning, course registration, scheduling, and financial aid processing.

Workday Student Stand-out Features:

  • Easy Access: Students can easily access academic records, course schedules, and other vital information.
  • Real-time Data: The platform provides real-time analytics, enabling students to monitor their academic progress and pinpoint areas needing extra attention.
  • Communication Tools: Features like messaging and scheduling ensure connectivity with faculty and peers.
  • Course Registration: Students can view, search, and enroll in courses seamlessly.
  • Financial Aid Module: Manages the entire financial aid process, from application to disbursement.
  • Mobile-Friendly: Designed for smartphones and tablets, ensuring students stay engaged on the move.

Unlock the Full Potential of Workday Student with Attain Partners

Every institution has its unique journey towards student success. At Attain Partners, we’re committed to supporting you every step of the way, ensuring a seamless and effective transition to Workday Student.

  • Gain Insight: Dive deep into your current business processes. Our team offers an unbiased view, reviewing your processes to chart a clear path forward.
  • Leverage Our Expertise: Benefit from our vast experience in Workday implementations. We’re well-versed in best practices and potential pitfalls, ensuring a smooth Workday adoption.
  • Manage Projects Efficiently: Let Attain Partners oversee your Workday Student implementation. We’ll handle project planning, risk management, and resource allocation, ensuring timely and budget-friendly completion.
  • Facilitate Change: Our comprehensive change management strategy, including stakeholder analysis, communication planning, and training, ensures your community is ready to embrace Workday Student.

Ready to Revolutionize Your Student Management System?

In an era where technology quickly advances, it’s critical for higher education institutions to stay ahead of the curve. With Workday Student, institutions are not only keeping pace but setting the standard for a modern, comprehensive SIS.

About the Authors

Michelle Metcalf

Michelle Metcalf is a Senior Consultant in the Strategic Transformation Services practice at Attain Partners. With over a decade of experience in Higher Education and nonprofit sectors, Michelle has honed her expertise in change management, training, testing, and cutover planning. She possesses a deep understanding of the Workday ecosystem, having worked hands-on with modules like Workday HCM, FIN, and Student. Her multifaceted experience spans roles from system analysis to change management, training, and crucial aspects of Workday implementations.

Jess Jones is a Senior Analyst in the Strategic Transformation Services practice at Attain Partners with prior experience in secondary education. She is a Prosci® Certified Change Management Practitioner who is currently specializing in change management and has worked on a variety of projects with non-profit organizations and higher education institutes. Jess has participated in various stages of proposal preparation and submission, training, strategic planning, and change management activities.

Timothy Hutchinson is a Senior Analyst in the Strategic Transformation Services practice at Attain Partners. A recent graduate, he returned to Attain Partners after completing its consulting summer internship program. He is additionally a Prosci® Certified Change Practitioner. Prior to his role at Attain Partners, he gained significant experience in roles regarding fundraising in the higher education space, customer relationship management (CRM), small business development, entrepreneurship, and nonprofit management and advocacy.

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Streamlining Financial Aid Practices to Best Serve Students

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Seth Schader Shares His Passion for Serving College Students Through His Financial Aid Expertise

Maintaining an efficient, compliant, and service-oriented financial aid operation is no small task for colleges and universities, yet the need to do so has never been greater. Having a high-functioning financial aid office plays a key role in helping institutions meet their strategic enrollment and retention goals while also avoiding potential costly liabilities. Our tailored financial aid consulting solutions are designed to meet the unique needs of each client. Using comprehensive financial aid assessments, we provide schools with a customized action plan to streamline processes and improve efficiencies while maintaining compliance with federal regulations.

To learn more about this impactful field, we sat down with financial aid expert Seth Schader to gain insights into how Attain Partners helps college and university financial aid offices confidently navigate change to better serve students.

Attain Partners (AP): How did you get into financial aid?

Seth Schader (SS): There’s a sentiment in the financial aid field that no one chooses financial aid, you just kind of fall into it and stay there. That was certainly true for me. Initially, I wanted to become an academic advisor to help students navigate through degree plans, which can be confusing at times, and help them achieve their goals. So, I looked for jobs in higher education to work toward that end, and financial aid was the first door that opened. Since then, I have found that I get to use so many of my skills and talents in financial aid and still get to serve college students. I can see the positive impact I create for students with my work.

AP: What did you do before joining Attain Partners?

SS: I started in financial aid in 2012 at a community college in Arkansas. Since then, I’ve had so many opportunities to grow. Fast forward 11 years to Boston, where I recently served as the Senior Assistant Director of Student Aid Awarding and Financial Wellness at Berklee College of Music.

AP: What brought you to Attain Partners?

SS: Really, it was the recruitment process and the people. Jenny Rice made me feel so welcome, and Mark Meyers and Reshma Patel-Jackson gave me so much confidence that leadership is here to support me and my work.

AP: Which of our seven core values speak to you the most?

SS: Invent the Future speaks to me the most. I love that Attain Partners makes space for us to dream about what can be and then gives us the opportunities to carry it out.

AP: What do you like most about the work you do?

SS: I love that we get to help colleges and universities serve their students. We work alongside them to ensure their students get what they need when it comes to financial aid support.

AP: What are the biggest ways you’ve seen financial aid efforts impact organizations?

SS: Financial aid is all about opportunity—it creates access to education and a better future. Colleges and universities can leverage financial aid to open doors for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend. Financial aid can also be a fantastic recruitment tool to strengthen enrollment.

AP: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

SS: Change often causes uncertainty, and uncertainty can be scary. When change is necessary to better serve students, there can be some hesitation about adopting those changes. This creates a wonderful opportunity to build relationships with our clients to tackle these challenges head-on. Part of my job is helping our clients confidently navigate change and come out more successful on the other side.

AP: What do you read and watch to keep current?

SS: I utilize the Federal Student Aid Training website along with the FSA Handbook. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is also an incredible organization that offers a variety of trainings and resources.

—

At Attain Partners, our financial aid and compliance experts bring decades of direct experience working in education and a successful track record serving the nation’s top colleges and universities. As a testament to our expertise, Attain Partners proudly serves more than 70 of the nation’s top 100 research institutions—including 100% of the Ivy League schools—through the variety of research enterprise services we provide.

Learn More – Seth Schader

Seth Schader is a Financial Aid Administrator, originally from Arkansas where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He has over 10 years of experience in higher education and a passion for students. Seth is an active member of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) through which he recently earned a professional credential for Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Interested in speaking directly with Seth? Fill out this form to be connected!

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Leveraging a Library Cost Study to Increase Institutional Funding

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How Library Cost Studies Can Increase F&A Rates for Colleges and Universities

Attain Partners’ Library Cost Study is important to a university because library costs are a component of the Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rate negotiated with the federal government for sponsored research. As the university seeks to optimize its F&A cost recovery from sponsored grants and contracts, the Cost Study is an important part of the process.

For the past 40 years, Library Cost Studies have been conducted with consistently positive results. The Study is sensitive to unique university environments and the changing nature of libraries; it is rigorous for trusted results and is performed in compliance with the principles contained in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Guidance*.

Using the default calculation (a university’s FTE), our clients average 1.4 points for the library contribution in their F&A rate. Following a Library Cost Study, the same clients average 2.6 points—a huge increase! The Library Cost Study has helped raise universities’ F&A rates by an average of 1.2 points, which equals approximately $1.2 million/year on a $100 million base.

In addition to the tremendous value for the university, the Study provides important information for the library. The Study highlights the library’s impact on the university mission and informs library leaders as they make budgetary and programmatic decisions.        

Library Cost Studies have been performed over 130 times across more than 40 university libraries.

How Does a Library Cost Study Work?

A Library Cost Study takes place during a university’s F&A rate negotiation base year and, usually, spans an eighteen-month period, with a mandatory 12 months of data collection. The Study relies on a thorough collection of data about the purpose of use for library facilities, analog and digital materials, and in-person and online services. Bespoke in-person and online survey instruments are developed for each institution. The survey methodology utilizes the random moments sampling technique, are completely anonymized, and controls for bias. In-person and web-intercept surveys are deployed for two hours each month for a full calendar year.

To determine the level of expenditures incurred by a library in support of sponsored (funded) research, the Study analyzes library salaries, wages, and benefits, operating expenses, collection and material expenditures, and cross-allocations. Library space use is documented in detail. All expenditures and costs are assigned to library cost centers. The final analysis determines total library expenses by the purpose of use, specifically funded (sponsored) use.

Insights from Each Library Cost Study

A final report summarizes the Study to inform the library component of the university’s F&A rate negotiation. The report shows the allowable F&A library points and the percentage of library use in support of sponsored (funded) research.

In addition, the final report provides valuable information and data for the library including:

  • Showcasing the library’s impact and value to the university.  
  • Providing effective assessment of library services and materials.
  • Giving insight into the purpose of library utilization, e.g., sponsored research, instruction, or patient care (when applicable).
  • Detailing the colleges, departments, and areas of study utilizing library services and resources.

Attain Partners – F&A and Library Experts

Attain Partners is the only consulting firm that offers a federally approved methodology for a Library Cost Study. Contact our team today to find out more about how our consultants can help increase your F&A rate and work with your library to conduct a Library Cost Study.

Learn more about our Library Planning and Strategy services here.

About the Author

Hilary Craiglow is a Senior Manager at Attain Partners, leading our team of library strategists to strengthen library systems. With extensive experience leading academic and research libraries, Hilary has a deep understanding of college and university systems. She is a strategic and visionary administrator, melding rich library traditions with innovative forward-thinking services. As a data and mission-driven leader, she employs proven evaluation and assessment methods and creates organizational transformation through empathy and partnership. Hilary helps library leaders achieve their mission faster, more efficiently, and with greater impact.

*Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards 2 CFR Part 200; Appendix III – Indirect (F&A) Costs Identification and Assignment and Rate Determination for Institutions of Higher Education

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NOLA Public Schools Celebrate Success as First K-12 School District to Implement Salesforce Education Cloud

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As an early adopter of Salesforce solutions, NOLA Public Schools are proud to serve the New Orleans community with high-quality education. In the spring of 2022, they enlisted Attain Partners’ expert Salesforce consultants to update their outdated constituent relationship management (CRM) system (built on Salesforce over a decade ago) and build a modern, user-friendly enrollment solution leveraging Salesforce’s latest technologies and time-saving workflows.

When the new Salesforce Education Cloud was launched in March 2023, NOLA Public Schools and Attain Partners were quick to pivot, implementing the new technology, and providing the community with an even better solution in time for the next school year. Education Cloud positioned NOLA Public Schools to take advantage of the most current Salesforce innovation and the Attain Partners team worked with them to deliver by the original go-live date. The new enrollment solution is built to empower growth and innovation as NOLA continues to prepare its K-12 students for civic, social, and economic success.

We are so excited to partner with Attain Partners to bring Education Cloud to NOLA Public Schools! NOLA’s mission to be the ‛good change’ in public education, work to overcome adversity, and work to champion resilience to pursue the promise of quality education for all students is truly inspiring. We are honored to support their incredible work with Salesforce technology!
Margo Martinez
Senior Director, Industry Solutions & Strategy, Education
Salesforce

Longtime Salesforce Customer Looks to Rebuild to Meet Community Needs

NOLA Public Schools have relied on Salesforce for back-end operations and public-facing solutions for the past 10 years. Their legacy system required a modern rebuild, incorporating the innovative features built into Salesforce’s newer tools, to reduce NOLA Public School’s technical debt and help them better serve the students and families of New Orleans.

Unlike traditional K-12 public schools, NOLA Public Schools is a charter district whereby students do not automatically attend their neighborhood school. Instead, students must apply and be matched with a school in the district. This requires a complex process of student registration, matching, and enrollment for all 45,000 students across 71 schools. The legacy system was limited in how it managed historical school data and sometimes complex relationships that make up modern families with multiple parents and caregivers. The system also offered a clunky and limited experience for users.

Attain Partners has proven to be an invaluable partner in redesigning our enrollment platform. They’re thoughtful about their processes, and I appreciate how that’s reflected in the attention to detail in the discovery and project management sides of the work. Their technical knowledge is top-notch, and the team is a pleasure to work with.
Dave Hand
Executive Director of Data Systems and Solutions
NOLA Public Schools

A New Enrollment Solution Built on Education Cloud

Attain Partners began building a new enrollment solution using the Salesforce Education Data Architecture (EDA) to provide families with a more intuitive method to enter personal information and select preferences about which schools they’d like to attend.

When Salesforce launched the new Education Cloud a few months into the build, the Attain Partners team dove into the native features and benefits, discussed the impact with NOLA Public Schools, and made a mutual decision to pivot to Education Cloud.

Attain Partners realigned the in-progress enrollment solution, taking advantage of the functionality built into Education Cloud. The process included mapping data and schema and converting automations, workflows, and formulas. Attain Partners experts were also able to decrease the algorithm complexities of multiple languages, varying distances to schools, where siblings attend school, available public transportation options, funding categories, and wait lists.

When I first started working with NOLA, they had one of the oldest active Salesforce orgs I had ever seen, even basic actions took multiple steps and kept them from the important parts of their job. Once we got them up and running on Education Cloud, they were able to double their most optimistic day of enrollment numbers just days after going live. We’re already helping them look into where else Education Cloud might be able to drastically improve their day-to-day operations.
Jason Cook
Jason Cook
Principal Salesforce Consultant
Attain Partners

The First-Ever K-12 Education Cloud Implementation Achieves Record Success

Attain Partners and NOLA Public Schools were able to make quick decisions to launch the new enrollment solution within the original timeframe set for the 2023 – 2024 school year making this first-ever K-12 Education Cloud implementation a huge success.

We are super thankful for the Attain Partners team. Parents have overwhelmingly embraced the self-service enrollment feature this year, and as a result, we’ve made over 8,000 student placements within the last month. We made roughly the same number of placements in July – November of last year!
Dave Hand
Executive Director of Data Systems and Solutions
NOLA Public Schools

NOLA Public Schools Deepens Salesforce Footprint with Education Cloud

Attain Partners sought to position NOLA to maximize the benefits of its Education Cloud investment, take advantage of native features, and set them up for continued innovation with Salesforce. NOLA Public Schools is officially the first-ever K-12 institution to go live with the new Salesforce Education Cloud, a clear testament to their long-rooted history of using Salesforce solutions to serve their community.

The enrollment solution is the first step on the roadmap of Salesforce adjustments and growth for NOLA Public Schools. Moving forward, Attain Partners plans to build and implement a streamlined registration process, a college and career success hub, a new family-facing portal for easier engagement, and support the ongoing maintenance of NOLA’s Education Cloud solution.

We are so excited about the immediate impact NOLA Public Schools has seen by implementing a solution and moving to Education Cloud. It is a testament to the power of marrying an innovative platform and experienced partner with a client who has the readiness, capacity, and deep understanding of their business needs. We look forward to partnering closely with Dave and the team at NOLA to continue to deliver game-changing solutions for the families of New Orleans.
Kristi Phillips
Managing Director and Nonprofit Market Lead
Attain Partners

Attain Partners – Salesforce Experts

No matter if your organization is beginning its Salesforce journey or 10+ years into development, Attain Partners is here to help you achieve your goals. Contact our team today to learn how we can help your organization advance its mission by harnessing the power of Salesforce.

To learn more, check out our Salesforce Innovation services, read case studies about our transformative work, and explore blog posts from our Salesforce experts.

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Why I Chose a Career in Research Administration

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Lindsey Demeritt Shares Her Journey, Insights, and
Rewards Working in Research Administration

At Attain Partners, our research administration experts bring decades of direct experience working in education and a successful track record serving the nation’s top colleges and universities. As a testament to our expertise, Attain Partners proudly serves more than 70 of the nation’s top 100 research institutions—including 100% of the Ivy League schools—through the variety of research enterprise services we provide. We also offer in-depth, sponsor-based research administration training tailored to the needs of any institution.

Research administration is a growing field full of opportunity, and our roster of experts is expanding rapidly. In celebration of National Research Administrator Day, we sat down with Lindsey Demeritt, a Manager in the Research Enterprises Services practice of Attain Partners, to learn more about her experiences, the pivotal moments that led her to this field, what keeps her engaged in research administration, and why she cares so much about welcoming newcomers into the field.

Attain Partners (AP): What is your title at Attain Partners?

Lindsey Demeritt (LD): I am a Manager in the Research Enterprises Services practice of Attain Partners.

AP: What did you do before joining Attain Partners?

LD: Before joining Attain Partners, I was the Director of Sponsored Projects for the Dell Medical School at UT Austin. I was there for a little over seven years. Before that, I was the Assistant Manager for Sponsored Projects at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for three years.

AP: What is your educational background, and how has it contributed to your research administration career?

LD: I have a Master’s in Secondary Mathematics Education and a BSBA in Information Systems. I wouldn’t say that either of these two degrees “prepared” me for a career in research administration, but I have applied what I learned from my degree programs to my work time and time again. As a research administrator, we teach, we coach, we analyze, we problem-solve, and we shift gears all day long.

Additionally, I’ve been able to engage in professional development activities that have allowed me to continue with my love of teaching and education, just in terms of training in our field, rather than in math.

AP: How did you get into research administration?

LD: As I transitioned my career from full-time teaching, I worked with the University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Education’s budget office. Shortly after I started, I was given the opportunity to serve as the local implementation manager for the College of Education on a new system implementation. Our office managed all the post-award (non-scientific, of course) elements. Over time, my role morphed into post-award compliance for the college. Later, I was promoted to an assistant director position at the Center for Educational Research and Development, facilitating pre- and post-award grants for the College.

AP: What brought you to Attain Partners?

LD: I had two colleagues come over to Attain Partners—one fairly recently—and when I realized it was time for me to move on from my former institution, I reached out to see what their thoughts were on moving to the consulting realm. They both had great things to say and between them and my conversations with the various Attain Partners team members in the recruiting process, I knew Attain Partners was going to be a good fit for me and a great place for me to continue to grow as a research administrator.

AP: What do you like most about the work you do?

LD: I enjoy getting to work with new people, seeing how different organizations do their work, and providing support to our clients however I can. 

AP: How do you keep current in research administration?

LD: I am engaged in the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) and have been for nearly 15 years. Additionally, I am active on various listservs and am looking to start engaging with the Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI).

AP: What advice would you offer someone considering a career in research administration?

LD: I would advise that it is a great career path! Research Administration is an incredibly welcoming and cooperative field. At no point in my career have I ever had something come up about which no one was willing to share their knowledge with me. There is a saying, “Why reinvent the wheel?” and research administrators seem to live by this—share and share alike!

It also tends to be a career path with a lot of flexibility, and how far you go in the field is often limited mostly to location, but with the advent of remote work, even that is becoming less impactful. I have had several opportunities to advance my career quite a bit because I was able to relocate a few times over the years; but, with remote work, you can often take the next steps without ever packing a single box. I would also advise that you get involved in the research administration community—to attend meetings, join listservs, and find a few people who you can use as mentors/touchstones. This field is incredibly dynamic and so much fun!

AP: What do you like to do for fun outside of work?

LD: I have two small children, so my “outside of work” is spending time with them! I love to travel and have thankfully given both of them the travel bug too, so we are almost always planning our next trip.

AP: What is your favorite energizing food/beverage?

LD: Coffee!

From our team to yours, Happy Research Administrator Day!

Attain Partners – Research Administration Experts 

Compliance is critical to your organization’s ability to make an impact. Our team provides world-class expertise in navigating the complex and dynamic regulatory environment, implementing industry best practices, and optimizing performance.  

Learn more about our services here and explore blog posts from our research administration experts here. 

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Inventing the Future: Attain Partners' Key Takeaways from Dreamforce 2023

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Attain Partners Experts Share Fresh Perspectives and Groundbreaking Insights from Dreamforce 2023

At Attain Partners, we embrace the spirit of innovation and a relentless pursuit of excellence in serving our clients. Dreamforce 2023, the global event bringing together the brightest minds in the Salesforce ecosystem, has once again invigorated our Salesforce Innovation team with fresh perspectives, groundbreaking insights, and invaluable conversations. We return from Dreamforce 2023 inspired, energized, and more determined than ever to apply what we’ve learned to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible to help our clients advance their missions.

We renewed our commitment to delivering exceptional solutions and services and are excited to dig deeper to embrace responsible AI, explore new ways to help our clients extract value from their data, and continue to invest in the relationships that enable us to live out our core values to Execute with Discipline and Invent the Future.

Education Cloud Innovation Continues

The biggest and brightest takeaway the Attain Partners team saw at Dreamforce 2023 was the keynote announcing further innovation in Salesforce’s Education Cloud, soon to be extended to include core Advancement functionality for higher education users.

Doug Barrow, Higher Education Market Lead of Attain Partners’ Salesforce Practice and the former Salesforce.org’s Advancement Lead, shared, “It’s great to see the expansion into Advancement. This is a game-changer for institutions focused on delivering institution-wide CRM. I can’t wait to see what longtime Salesforce Trailblazers, like Babson, are able to do with the technology in the next year.”

Attain Partners is ready to help clients navigate these changes and take advantage of new functionality and tools. Read more about this huge Education Cloud for Advancement announcement and contact us to schedule a time to chat further.

We Must Embrace AI Responsibly and Ethically

AI emerged as a pivotal theme, resonating with Dreamforce attendees across industries. Salesforce’s commitment to responsible AI innovation was a central focus, emphasizing fairness, transparency, and accountability in AI-driven decisions.

AI is not merely a technological advancement but a transformative force.
Skye Tyler
Salesforce MVP and Senior Specialist Leader, Attain Partners

While Salesforce showcased new AI features and enhancements, reinforcing the concept of “AI for Everyone,” Skye reminds us that AI won’t replace staff, but rather that it has the power to significantly enhance efficiency and impact.

While AI is here and its potential continues to grow, a responsible and ethical approach to its use is a critical first step for every organization. Attain Partners is excited to continue to help our clients identify where the strongest opportunities in their respective roadmaps are to implement AI features and embrace ethical ways to do so.

Data and Analytics Add Organization-wide Value

Alanna Steffens, Senior Principal and Practice Lead of Attain Partners’ Salesforce Innovation Services, underscored the power of data and analytics in advancing client missions. Now that Salesforce Data Cloud and Tableau are free to a certain extent, there’s no reason not to try it and get a taste of how an enhanced data and analytics strategy can improve business operations, insights, efficiency, and visibility.

Attendees discussed the power of the new Education and Nonprofit Clouds and Customer 360 features that continue to enable organizations to better serve constituents—from students to donors. Attain Partners is happy to help organizations evaluate these offerings and provide tailored recommendations to support a seamless transition.

Whether you’re a nonprofit organization or an educational institution, harnessing the potential of data and analytics is key to making informed decisions and driving success.

Nonprofit Transformation is Imperative to Mission Success

Chris Pifer, Salesforce MVP and Senior Solution Architect, highlighted the significance of nonprofit organizations at Dreamforce 2023 and their shared interest in digital transformation. The curiosity and excitement surrounding the new Nonprofit Cloud were especially exciting to the Attain Partners team.

Salesforce announced that all nonprofit organizations will be granted free licenses to both Tableau and a base level of Data Cloud, providing greater access to constituent insights and a starting point for any organization not yet on its transformation journey. Chris says he “expects 2024 to be a key turning point in the Salesforce ecosystem, changing what is possible and how organizations work on the platform.“

Attain Partners had the pleasure of sponsoring the exclusive nonprofit reception, where we discussed strategy, mission, goals, and next steps with leaders from the nation’s top nonprofit organizations. Our ongoing partnerships with nonprofits and Salesforce enable us to continue to explore the strategic possibilities offered by new Clouds and new licenses to drive mission-advancing outcomes for those we serve.

The Trailblazer Event of the Year Highlighted Adaptation, Innovation, and Collaboration

“Dreamforce, once again, was the family reunion it has always been. It was great to connect with so many individuals from the higher education and nonprofit communities and learn the most recent innovations for AI, Data Cloud, and Education and Nonprofit Clouds,” Doug Barrow said.

The theme of continuous adaptation and awareness is universal throughout the Salesforce ecosystem. Staying informed about new features, Clouds, and changes in permissions and access management is crucial in maximizing the benefits of Salesforce. Attain Partners’ experts pride themselves on staying at the forefront of innovation to help our clients continually improve, grow, and harness the full power of Salesforce.

We’d love to hear from you!

What were your key takeaways from Dreamforce 2023? What are your thoughts on using Education Cloud for Advancement, extending Data Cloud at your organization, embracing AI ethically, and migrating data for added value?

Let’s continue the conversation.

Contact us

Attain Partners – Salesforce Experts

No matter if your organization is beginning its Salesforce journey or 10+ years into development, Attain Partners is here to help you achieve your goals. Contact our team today to learn how we can help you advance your mission by harnessing the power of Salesforce.

To learn more, check out our Salesforce Innovation services, read case studies about our transformative work, and explore blog posts from our Salesforce experts. Read our latest advancement insights here. 

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Salesforce Announces Expanded Functionality for Education Cloud to Connect Every Step in the Learner's Journey

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Advancement Expert Doug Barrow Shares His Insights on What the Education Cloud Updates Mean for Higher Education Institutions

If you’re a Higher Education Advancement professional, or an Advancement CRM nerd like many of my friends, there was a lot of buzz created today at Salesforce’s annual Dreamforce Conference where it was announced that Salesforce’s Education Cloud will soon be extended to include core Higher Education Advancement functionality. This is an exciting announcement, one long in the works. It does likely leave a few questions for many since Salesforce CRM has already been the primary advancement solution selected with its AppExchange partners (also known as “ISVs,” or Independent Software Vendors) over the last half-decade. 

As a Salesforce Higher Education alum where I spent the last five of my nearly nine years at Salesforce in leadership positions focused on creating a presence for Salesforce in the Advancement CRM Market, I continue to see innovative offerings provided to give clients choices. My firm, Attain Partners, delivers Advancement solutions on the Salesforce platform and is the 2022 Salesforce Education Consulting Partner of the Year. 

Extending Education Cloud

So, with this much success, why is Salesforce extending the new Education Cloud, which released functionality for Recruitment & Admissions this past April, and Student Success in June to include Advancement and Alumni Engagement?

It’s simple: Institution-wide CRM.

This has always been the vision and it simply can’t exist without foundational functionality that serves alumni and donors. This release—available in October—fulfills the vision for institution-wide CRM by Salesforce on a singular data architecture with functionality from birth to bequest. 

Salesforce provides a vast support system to its customers and partners to help them find success and adapt to an evolving landscape. Much of Salesforce and its ecosystem is based on the free-market premise that customer choice is good. Salesforce makes it easy for companies to build native applications on the #1 CRM even if there is the potential for overlap. They support their partners immensely and are largely indifferent to what path is chosen.

It’s important to note that Salesforce is very much an industry-focused company, and Salesforce Education Cloud is now a full-fledged member of the Industry Product strategy and Data Architecture (Person Accounts).

While AppExchange applications deliver success today, such as ascend, a successful and proven solution from UC Innovation, there is room in the market for a foundational solution that targets a full, institution-wide, constituent view. 

Disproportionately, the current AppExchange partners serve the largest fundraising universities/foundations which raise more than $30 million a year. What about the other 4,200 institutions that use old and outdated technology? They also deserve a modern, extensible platform to engage donors and alumni. What about the REALLY large fundraisers who may want to take the foundation of Education Cloud and build a bespoke solution? Is this a viable option for them?

For some institutions, it may make sense to maximize limited resources to administer a single Salesforce CRM to serve all of the campus from Recruiting to Alumni Engagement. The good news is that this extension of Education Cloud is focused on solving these challenges and others.

How Does This Impact ISVs?

The current solutions on the market are strong and deliver on the Salesforce promise made to Higher Ed Advancement: That fundraising organizations deserve a single, strategic system for advancement success built with leading technologies. Salesforce AppExchange solutions are now very mature, have a robust and influential user base, and a community where those users support each other. Short story, they’re not going anywhere and will continue to flourish, particularly for institutions not looking to go institution-wide on a single Salesforce instance. These partners now have the option of aligning to the Education Cloud model to help further accelerate enterprise-wide CRM adoption. 

Salesforce will flourish as well. They have a brilliant team led by the GM of Education Cloud and are now fully part of the Salesforce Industry Product strategy team, not a smaller organization that had to build their own technology without proper Salesforce resources. 

Answering Questions as they Arise

As you think through how the expanded Education Cloud can help your institution achieve its goals, I encourage you to reach out to Salesforce directly as well as the AppExchange partners. There is new information to digest, and the best decision is a fully informed decision.  

We’re Here to Help

Of course, our experts have deep knowledge and experience to help navigate the current advancement landscape. Attain Partners wants to become your trusted advisor to help your institution successfully transform. Send me a note on LinkedIn, and I would be more than happy to nerd out together.

Be sure to also sign up for our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn to get more Advancement and Higher Education insights.

Attain Partners – Salesforce Experts

No matter if your organization is beginning its Salesforce journey or 10+ years into development, Attain Partners is here to help you achieve your goals. Contact our team today to learn how we can help you advance your mission by harnessing the power of Salesforce.

To learn more, check out our Salesforce Innovation services, read case studies about our transformative work, and explore blog posts from our Salesforce experts. Read our latest advancement insights here. 

Learn more – Doug Barrow

Doug Barrow has spent his entire 20+ year career in educational technology in strategy, business development, and advisory services helping others achieve their goals. As a first-generation college graduate, the son of a Headstart teacher, and husband of a high school advanced physics teacher, Doug fiercely believes that Education has the power to positively transform lives. The work of Salesforce and its partners empowers those who power education.

With a front-row seat to the amazing growth of Salesforce.org over the last decade and his creation and leadership of the “Higher Education Industry Advisor” team at Salesforce, Doug provides tremendous insight to help ensure implementation fidelity and digital transformation success.  

Interested in chatting with Doug and our Advancement team directly? Fill out this form to be connected. 

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Migrating to Salesforce from Raiser’s Edge—Part 1: Campaigns, Funds, and Appeals

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Rosetta Stone for Migrating to Salesforce from Raiser’s Edge: Understanding Campaigns, Funds, and Appeals

People and departments that raise money for nonprofit organizations go by many names and speak many dialects. Your department might be called advancement, development, community engagement, or just fundraising.

You may call your recurring efforts to raise operational funds an annual campaign or an operations appeal. You may call the person responsible for nurturing a relationship with a donor a solicitor or a portfolio manager. And yet, when fundraisers gather, they are generally able to translate amongst themselves, as if those internal ways of naming were all dialects of the same language.

Databases and CRMs (Customer/Constituent Relationships Management) are similar—each has its own structure, principles around which information is organized, and way of naming things. A Salesforce implementation partner, like Attain Partners, can help your nonprofit organization understand the ins and outs of databases and CRMs to build reliable systems to help you increase efficiency and raise more money.

Attain Partners expertly helps fundraising teams move from Raiser’s Edge (with or without NXT) to Salesforce for greater functionality and scalability. With that move comes not only a host of new information and tracking superpowers but also a new language and way of organizing information. We created this primer series for fundraisers currently using Raiser’s Edge to help you and your team learn the language of Salesforce and some of its organizing principles.

A note on capital letters: When I refer to a database object, I will use a capital letter to clarify that I am referring to an object/data table rather than the real-world activity that might share its name. For example, in Salesforce, there is a Campaign object. The capital letter indicates that I’m referring to the object, not a literal fundraising campaign that you might undertake.  

Campaigns, Funds, and Appeals

Raiser’s Edge terms: Campaigns, Funds, and Appeals
Salesforce translation: Campaigns and General Accounting Units

In Raiser’s Edge, you may use a Campaign as the umbrella for several Appeals, all of which send the contributed dollars to a specified fund. In Salesforce, a Campaign can be used in much the same way you’re used to – as an umbrella for several appeals. But Salesforce allows you to nest Campaigns, where each Campaign can have a parent with up to five levels of hierarchy.

So, let’s say you have an annual campaign and are doing a physical mailing to support it. In Salesforce, you’d set up the annual campaign as a Campaign and then also create a Campaign for the physical mailing. When you create the physical mailing Campaign, you’ll choose the annual campaign as its parent. The mailing Campaign inherits various information from the annual Campaign and when you report on the annual Campaign, the data from your mailing Campaign will be included. You can select that annual Campaign as the parent for as many Campaigns as you like (e.g., a mailing, a gala, an email solicitation).

Campaigns in Salesforce can track the sending of physical mail, email, event invitations, etc. along with your constituents’ responses. Sometimes, your constituents will respond with a gift, which can also be connected to the Campaign. (More on gift tracking in part two.)

In Raiser’s Edge, Funds tracks the money your organization raises. In Salesforce, you’ll use General Accounting Units, which are records of your general ledger or budget line codes (each code or code-set gets its own record). When you create a Salesforce Campaign, you can assign General Accounting Units to it—any gifts that come in through that Campaign will be assigned the same codes. You can assign multiple General Accounting Units to the same Campaign and set percentages for each.

For example, gifts from that annual campaign mailing might go 50% to your operating fund and 50% to your endowment fund. Or gifts to your annual campaign umbrella Campaign (and all the Campaigns that have it as a parent) might go 100% to your general fund. Salesforce is simple and flexible, so it can handle your business rules and can be customized to ensure proper coding, even when your fundraising staff isn’t familiar with what that means. You can also assign General Accounting Units to any Opportunity, which is the central Salesforce way of tracking gifts, whether or not they come in response to a specific Campaign.

Want to learn more about tracking gifts in Salesforce? Read part two of our Migrating to Salesforce from Raiser’s Edge blog post series.

Attain Partners – Salesforce Experts

No matter if your organization is beginning its Salesforce journey or 10+ years into development, we are here to help you achieve your digital transformation goals.

To learn more, check out our Salesforce Innovation services and read case studies about our work. Contact Attain Partners today to learn how we can help you achieve your goals by harnessing the power of Salesforce. Explore blog posts from Attain Partners’ Salesforce team.

About the Author

Jaemi Loeb is a Senior Consultant at Attain Partners and a veteran nonprofit leader. Her expertise sits at the intersection between technology and people, tools, and daily operations. She is passionate about helping organizations to streamline their workflows and use data to meet their missions.

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