Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta (BGCMA) is a prominent nonprofit organization serving 10 counties across metro Atlanta, dedicated to nurturing young individuals from diverse backgrounds through academic support, character development, and healthy lifestyle programs.
Facing challenges with manual DHS form filling and operational inefficiencies, BGCMA sought to enhance their processes to provide seamless services to thousands of young people annually. To achieve this, they partnered with Bolt Today to implement Salesforce. This case study delves into BGCMA's journey, their strategic objectives, unique operational needs, and the significant outcomes realized through the successful deployment of Salesforce solutions.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta is a well-established organization serving ten counties across the metro Atlanta area.
As Brittany Dunn, Senior Director, Strategic Learning at Boys & Girls Club,
described,
"We serve young folks from 6 years old through 18. We have after-school care at all our club locations and a summer program. We also have a residential campsite in Madison, Georgia, where our kids can experience nature for a week during the summer in a traditional overnight camp."
The organization reaches nearly 10,000 young people annually through its diverse programming.
Brittany emphasized, "We focus on academic success, character and leadership, good citizenship, and living a healthy lifestyle. It's not just a daycare facility where you drop your kids off to be supervised. We're developing your young person in those different pillars as they travel through their journey in Boys and Girls Clubs."
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta offers a strong set of programs designed to support school academics and provide extra academic assistance. Additionally, they have a character and leadership program that instills social responsibility within the community.
Brittany added, "We also have the healthy lifestyle program that focuses on overall wellness, including nutrition, avoiding risky behaviors, and promoting physical activity."
This holistic approach ensures that children and teens receive comprehensive support and development in various aspects of their lives, nurturing well-rounded, responsible, and healthy young individuals.
Objectives of implementing Salesforce
The primary objective for Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta (BGCMA) in implementing Salesforce was to transition their entire membership process online.
Brittany Dunn emphasized, "The intent obviously was to get fully online our full membership process that was the ultimate northern star."
This initiative aimed to enable families to complete the registration process, including the Department of Human Services (DHS) requirements, from the comfort of their homes. Additionally, digital signatures by staff members would eliminate the need for physical paperwork, streamlining the enrollment process and enhancing operational efficiency. The overarching goal was to modernize and digitize their membership operations, making them more accessible and convenient for families while improving administrative workflows within the organization.
Challenges Faced by BGCMA
- Lack of Centralized Data and Visibility: Prior to implementing Salesforce, Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta struggled with fragmented data across their operations, hindering real-time visibility into member information and organizational insights.
Brittany Dunn highlighted, "Wasn't a lot of visibility into our data... Data in Salesforce gives high of visibility and access immediately."
- Manual Processes and Inefficient Workflows: The organization relied heavily on manual processes, which led to inefficiencies in managing member registrations, program enrollments, and administrative tasks. Automated workflows were necessary to streamline operations and improve accuracy.
“Our membership clerks, were responsible for manually entering all the application data. With 300 kids in one club and part-time staff handling the workload, this process was both time-consuming and overwhelming,” said Brittany.
- Physical Storage of DHS Forms for Audit Purposes: BGCMA was required to store physical copies of these forms for seven years for audit purposes, consuming significant warehouse space. This added to the logistical challenges and inefficiencies of their existing system.
- Complex Program Management Needs: Managing diverse programs including after-school care, summer programs, and residential camps posed significant challenges.
Brittany noted, "We desperately needed online registration."
Each program had unique requirements for participant management and tracking, necessitating a more integrated solution.
- Development of the DHS Form: Handling a large membership packet, including sensitive information like social security numbers, required a strong solution. Bolt Today facilitated the development of a secure online DHS (Department of Human Services) form on Salesforce, ensuring compliance and efficiency in data handling.
- Manual DHS Form Filling:
- The process often required multiple back-and-forth exchanges between BGCMA reviewers and parents. If any information was missing, the reviewers had to return the form to the parents for completion.
- Parents were required to manually fill out a 15-page application for each child, a task that became increasingly tedious and time-consuming for families with multiple children.
- BGCMA needed certain categories in the form to be marked as mandatory to ensure completeness.
- Manual Signing:
- The signing process was entirely manual, leading to delays and added administrative work.
- Household Composition and Income Section:
- The form had only 7 rows for household composition and income, but digitalization required more space. The challenge was to fit the data effectively within the digital form's constraints.
- Manual DHS Form Filling:
These challenges underscored the need for a comprehensive Salesforce solution tailored to address specific operational pain points and enhance organizational effectiveness.
Solutions Provided by Bolt Today
Bolt Today partnered with the Boys and Girls Club to implement a comprehensive Salesforce solution tailored to their needs. The approach included:
One of the critical features implemented was the management of DHS forms on Salesforce. This included several key functionalities:
- Secure Data Handling: Brittany emphasized the importance of handling sensitive information like social security numbers with care.
"Bolt did a really good job walking us through where it's housed, what does that actually mean? Is it going to go into the contact record in Salesforce?
We don't want to upload it anywhere outside of Salesforce. To protect it." Bolt Today ensured that all sensitive data was securely stored within Salesforce, adhering to stringent data security requirements.
- Error Handling and Feedback Loop: If a parent uploaded the wrong document or didn't complete the form correctly, the system allowed the form to be sent back to the parent for correction seamlessly.
"Bolt today built out like where we can send it back to a parent and it's pretty seamless," Brittany noted.
- Process Visibility: Bolt Today built custom coding on Salesforce to track the status of the DHS form filling process.
Brittany mentioned, "There was some coding built on the Salesforce side where we can see the form is out for signature etc. It was very helpful. Bolt was able to at least build out like a flow where we can see exactly where a parent is and guide them accordingly."
- Controlled Access: To maintain data security, Bolt Today helped create a system where signed DHS forms were not sent to all club staff. Instead, they created a counter signature email system where signed forms were stored temporarily before being purged, ensuring only essential personnel had access.
"We made a counter signature email... where all the signed forms are just dumped and we purge it," Brittany explained.
Consolidating fragmented data into a unified Salesforce platform, ensuring real-time visibility and access for all stakeholders.
Brittany noted, "Data in Salesforce gives that level of visibility and access immediately."
Replacing manual workflows with automated processes to enhance efficiency and accuracy. This significantly reduced the administrative burden and allowed the staff to focus more on their core mission of serving the youth.
Developing an online registration system to streamline member enrollment and management.
Brittany shared, "We desperately needed online registration... We were papering it."
This system allowed for faster and more efficient handling of registrations, making it easier for families to enroll their children.
Providing custom integrations to meet specific needs, such as tracking mentoring programs and case management for mental health services.
With the digitization of DHS forms and integration into Salesforce, BGCMA no longer needed to physically store paper forms for years.
Brittany explained, "Now, if the Department of Human Services or an external auditor needs information, we can quickly pull up that information that's attached to a family's contact records in Salesforce."
This solution drastically reduced the need for physical storage space and made the audit process more efficient.
Unique Features and Functionalities Offered to the Client
The implementation of Salesforce by Bolt Today provided the Boys and Girls Club with several unique features and functionalities, addressing their specific needs and challenges. Brittany Dunn's insights highlighted four key areas:
- Ensuring that parents knew which sections needed to be completed was critical. This visual cue improved form completion rates and reduced back-and-forth communication.
- Integrated Adobe Sign enabled secure and efficient digital signing, eliminating the need for manual signatures.
- The solution accommodated up to 15 rows for household composition and income, allowing two entries per row in the digital form to maximize space usage.
A significant concern was the handling of sensitive information, particularly social security numbers for children enrolling in the programs.
Brittany noted, "A big part of DHS is collecting the social security number for the child enrolling, which is very sensitive information. Bolt did a good job walking us through where it's housed. What does that mean? Is it going to go into the contact record in Salesforce? We don't want to upload it anywhere outside of Salesforce."
Bolt Today's team ensured that the data was securely housed within Salesforce, meeting all data security requirements.
The need for an efficient way to manage incorrectly submitted documents was addressed.
Brittany explained, "If a parent uploaded the wrong document or didn't completely fill it out, Bolt Today built out a system where we can send it back to the parent, and it's pretty seamless."
This functionality streamlined the document correction process, enhancing user experience and reducing administrative burden.
Keeping track of the form-filling process was made easier with custom-built features.
Brittany highlighted, "Bolt Today was able to build so that we can see where the user is in the DHS form filling process. There was some coding built on the Salesforce side where we can see if the form is out for signature or other stages."
This real-time visibility allowed staff to guide parents through the process more effectively.
Ensuring that sensitive documents were only accessible to authorized personnel was crucial.
Brittany mentioned, "We didn't want all of our club staff to get the signed copy of any DHS form filled in by the user because it has social security numbers. So, Bolt Today helped us think through this too. We made a counter-signature email that's generic, where all the signed forms are just dumped, and we purge it because we don't need them there. We only want the signed DHS forms on the contact record in Salesforce."
This approach safeguarded sensitive information while maintaining necessary records within Salesforce.
These features collectively enhanced the Boys and Girls Club's operational efficiency, data security, and user experience, demonstrating the tailored solutions provided by Bolt Today.
Measurable Outcomes
Implementing Salesforce at Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta (BGCMA) led to significant measurable outcomes across various facets of their operations
Prior to Salesforce, parents faced cumbersome registration processes that involved extensive paperwork.
Brittany noted, "Prior to Salesforce and prior to an online system, we were papering everything."
With Salesforce, the transition to an online registration system streamlined the entire process. Parents could now complete registrations from home, including sensitive Department of Human Services (DHS) requirements, improving convenience and accessibility.
Managing audits was a labor-intensive process due to manual data entry and storage requirements for paper records.
Brittany highlighted, "This bunches of papers, with all the security numbers and client information had to be kept for 7 years for audit purposes."
Salesforce centralized data management allowed for quick retrieval of information attached to family contact records during audits. This not only reduced physical storage needs but also ensured compliance with auditing requirements efficiently.
The shift to Salesforce automated previously manual workflows, significantly reducing the workload of membership clerks.
Brittany explained, "Our membership clerks had to put all that data manually in by hand."
By eliminating manual data entry and paperwork, staff members were able to redirect their time towards more strategic organizational goals and provide higher levels of customer service. This efficiency gains enabled staff to focus more on supporting youth programs and community engagement initiatives, enhancing overall operational effectiveness.
These measurable outcomes demonstrate how Salesforce not only modernized membership management at BGCMA but also improved organizational agility, compliance, and service delivery, ultimately advancing their mission to support and empower young people across Metro Atlanta.
Lessons Learned and Advice
Reflecting on the implementation process, Brittany Dunn emphasized the importance of meticulous planning and inclusive decision-making:
"You need to take the time to figure out where you're actually going. Bring additional people to the table because you don't know what type of impact it may have on different departments. You can't make big decisions in silos."
Her advice underscores the need for strategic foresight and collaborative effort across departments. By involving diverse stakeholders from the outset, organizations can align technology solutions more closely with operational needs and ensure smoother transitions. This approach not only enhances system adoption but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement, where feedback loops contribute to ongoing refinement and optimization of processes. Brittany's insights highlight the transformative power of inclusive planning and collaborative decision-making in achieving organizational goals effectively.
Conclusion
By partnering with Bolt Today, BGCMA successfully transformed its operations, achieving enhanced data visibility, streamlined processes through automation, and improved member engagement with an efficient online registration system. Specifically, the collaboration addressed critical challenges in DHS form management by implementing a digital form filling system, integrating digital signing through Adobe, etc., These enhancements significantly reduced administrative burdens and improved the accuracy and efficiency of data collection.
This collaboration empowered BGCMA to focus more on its mission of developing young people by leveraging Salesforce to centralize data, customize integrations, and pave the way for future growth in donor management and case management. Brittany Dunn's insight underscores the importance of collaborative decision-making and stakeholder involvement, ensuring that the solutions implemented truly met the organization's multifaceted needs.
