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With too many Salesforce needs and not enough people to help with the work, Antonella Ortiz Colosi at the International Refugee Assistance Project knew they needed a partner they could depend on for consistency and quality.
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) is a global non-profit organization that works to support displaced people seeking help and safety. They work with several organizations and have a large network of partners to provide legal services to refugees and advocate for systematic changes that can benefit refugee populations.
Their complex network of stakeholders and partners that spans dozens of countries means IRAP’s needs are also complex. They rely heavily on Salesforce to track donors, manage programs, and report on impact. Clean data, effective collaboration, and streamlined processes are all critical, but limited budget and resources meant that staffing more experts internally was unviable. This is when they opted to adopt a fractional support model and began looking for a Salesforce partner.
Finding a partner they could trust was a must. “I needed somebody that I felt was knowledgeable, dependable, consistent, and that could deliver the quality of work,” Ortiz Colosi told us.
Non-profits represent a unique industry, and each non-profit organization has unique needs and specific goals. It isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” situation. Unfortunately, not all consultancies appreciate this fact. After four unsuccessful attempts at finding a fit, they finally found Summit One.
Ortiz Colosi shared how engaging with Summit One was a different experience right from the beginning due to Summit One’s dedication to understanding their organization beyond just checking the box to get work done. “A lot of external contractors just don't have that buy-in or that desire to truly understand each of their clients’ systems […] and what they need,” she explained.
Rather than needing to re-explain their organization for every new project, Ortiz Colosi says she felt like Summit One could “dive right in into what was needed” and quickly get to the important discussions. The benefit of a trusted partner that is bought into your organization is that they know our processes, your systems, and your unique needs. Also, they genuinely care about what you do and want to help you succeed. This kind of relationship allows for more meaningful discussions and dedication.
“The working relationship we have had with SummitOne 100% feels like a partnership. More so than any other relationship I've had with a consultant.”
This partnership has led to over 2 years of successful collaboration, letting IRAP focus on the work that matters.
Ortiz Colosi told us how Summit One has been able to deliver projects that address IRAP’s needs in a more holistic way. Rather than one-off automations and small deliverables, Summit One has partnered with her to design and deliver more complete processes and work towards a strategic vision.
For one project,Summit One helped deliver a robust record merge and archival process. IRAP was struggling with the number of record archival requests coming from their teams. Originally, the archival process was manual and restricted to specific administrators to comply with their data retention and governance policies. IRAP sought to find a solution that would take pressure off of their data stewards by reducing ticket volume by 30% without compromising their policies.
Summit One delivered a sophisticated solution that combined an intuitive archival request system powered by Salesforce's robust approval processes and automation technologies. This process made requests cleaner and helped data stewards by automating the archival or merging of the losing records if the request is approved. Enhancements to access settings in the system also ensured data stewards could still audit the archived data while keeping it hidden from other end users.
IRAP has already seen more than a 30% reduction in ticket volume, surpassing their original goal and they anticipate further reduction as this archival process is implemented in other areas of Salesforce. This is one of the many ways Summit One has helped IRAP introduce process efficiencies and freed up teams to do more good.
“Truly, throughout the years, it just has grown both in the level of trust and complexity of the work that we've been able to trust Summit one with….and that partnership that we built allows me to then spend less time on details and spend more time on higher level strategic thinking.”
This partnership has also helped Ortiz Colosi and her team free up capacity, which allowed them to onboard more teams to Salesforce and further improve collaboration and consolidate processes. Now, IRAP is able to perform their fundraising activities in Salesforce which has allowed them to secure more money which, in turn, has meant more refugees have been able to benefit from the work IRAP does across the globe.
Helping make a difference is why, at Summit One, we are thankful for the opportunity to work with non-profit organizations like IRAP.
When asked what other organizations should know about working with Summit One, Ortiz Colosi shared that Summit One “is not just knowledgeable....but [they] have that sort of natural ability to understand and analyze a problem and work through solutions”. This talent, coupled with their strong partnership, allows for “a level of independence that is hard to find,” making projects go more quickly and needs being addressed more holistically.
“I would absolutely, without a doubt, recommend [Summit One] to any organization, anybody else that is looking for reliability, consistency, and a level of trust that is hard to find anywhere else.”
Since their founding in 2008, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) has provided assistance to over 42,000 in more than 100 countries and indirectly helped hundreds of thousands more through their resources and policy advocacy efforts. They work with a global network of over 6,400 pro bono attorneys and student volunteers to advocate for refugees’ rights and over 90% of their cases result in a positive outcome.
We are grateful to work alongside organizations like IRAP that make positive impacts and drive positive change. Learn more about our work with non-profits and, if you’re ready to take the first steps with one of our free Salesforce Health Checks, learn how to get started here →
