In 2009, ServiceWise implemented a Salesforce CRM solution in order to fulfill the foundation’s vision of improving the knowledge and information management processes within the organization, and of creating a centralized, well-integrated information system.

One of the key mandates of the solution has been to facilitate a resource-efficient, time-effective grant application (and later, grant fulfillment) process. To further achieve this, the foundation wished to extend the process to include not only internal stakeholders, but also the grantees themselves.

Customer Solution

To address this need, Yad Hanadiv turned again to Salesforce.com. A Force.com-based customer portal has been commissioned. Built by ServiceWise, a Salesforce.com consulting & implementation partner, in collaboration with BALINK, a Salesforce.com ISV partner, the portal will serve hundreds of grant applicants by providing them with a fully automated, secure self-service channel on the web for managing their interactions with the foundation. This workflow-based portal is available in both English and Hebrew.

Portal users can:

• Submit grant application requests, payment requests, annual reports and more.
• Easily view all information pertinent to their process, whether in a grant application or grant fulfillment stage.
• Gain full visibility to their exact stage in the process, and
• Easily communicate with the foundation

These improvements in service mean that more organizations can submit their worthy causes for consideration by the foundation, and the latter’s resources are better utilized.

Furhtermore, since the portal is fully integrated with the Salesforce CRM system that powers Yad Hanadiv’s operations, it significantly reduced the amount of manual work previously required to service grants, and eliminated inconsistencies in the information collected and managed by the integrated system.

Customer Results

Since its launch in summer 2010, the portal has been used by dozens of grant applicants, and has helped the foundation staff efficiently handle scores of applications. The implementation has resulted in the following estimated benefits:

• A 30% increase in completeness and accuracy of data collected during the application process and serving as the basis for the decision regarding grant selection.
• A 26% decrease in the amount of application handling & processing work hours, from submission to decision.
• A 15% decrease in the work required to produce various data and reports for regulatory authorities to which the foundation reports.
• Higher satisfaction among applicants who have used the grant portal and now have transparent information regarding grant balances, payments schedules and more.