Together We Bake requires a consultant for staff training and customized design for Salesforce. Salesforce is a software program that has the ability to support all aspects of our nonprofit and retail activities. A consultant is needed in order to customize the software so that we can effectively use its many capabilities for our unique needs. The consultant will also be responsible for migrating existing data from our current database (Sumac) to Salesforce. Effective utilization of Salesforce will create the infrastructure that our program needs to allow us to effectively manage all of our various constituencies.

Together We Bake is a comprehensive workforce training and personal development program for women in need of a second chance. We help women gain self-confidence, transferable workforce skills, and invaluable hands-on experience, which will allow them to find employment and move toward self-sufficiency. Our program is based on a small baking business that produces small batch, all natural homemade baked goods. These products are sold in local Whole Food stores, farmer markets and independently owned retail establishments.

TWB is based in Alexandria, Virginia but serves the Washington DC area. It is the only low barrier workforce training program in the region serving low-income women that are may be reentering the community from the corrections system, experiencing long term unemployment, chronic homelessness and/or assimilating to America as a recent immigrant.

Currently, TWB uses Salesforce for our grant pipeline. We would like to use Salesforce to track client, donor, funder, vendor and customer info. Salesforce is compatible with other software currently used by TWB (QuickBooks Online for accounting, MailChimp for email marketing, Woocommerce for online sales, and online fundraising platforms). We currently use Sumac for tracking client and donor info, but none of our existing software is compatible and the syncing process is very burdensome. The increased efficiency through using Salesforce would allow staff to focus more efforts on direct programmatic support for participants and graduates.

In preparation for this project, we have thoroughly researched Salesforce and many of its capabilities. We have talked to other Salesforce users regarding how it has helped their organization’s infrastructure. We have become familiar with Salesforce through inputting and tracking our funding pipeline in Salesforce. With this experience, we have realized that we truly need training and guidance. We have also realized that we are only using a small portion of what Salesforce has to offer. Through configuration and customization we will be able to truly use Salesforce to build our organization’s capacity.

We are committed to meeting with the volunteer as often as necessary to discuss our needs and create an implantation plan. We are also committed to training all staff and volunteers to use Salesforce. We know the learning curve will be steep for many, but we will provide all the support needed.