Volunteers Get Help From On-demand CRM

Global non-profit organization coordinates worldwide volunteer programs with salesforce.com service

San Francisco — December 17, 2003 — Cross-Cultural Solutions, an international nonprofit organization that brings together people from different cultures for global awareness and positive social change, said it has implemented salesforce.com's Winter 2004 on-demand customer relationship management (CRM) service.

Cross-Cultural Solutions said it is using salesforce.com to provide its coordinators with a Web-based, centralized repository of all contacts, so that they can match volunteer interest and skill sets with placement opportunities.

In addition, Cross-Cultural Solutions said it is using the sforce 2.0 on-demand application server to integrate volunteer information in salesforce.com with its partners' marketing applications. Through the salesforce.com/foundation, salesforce.com said it offers free use of its on-demand service to nonprofit customers worldwide.

"The process of matching volunteers to meaningful experiences worldwide is challenging," said Steven Rosenthal, executive director, Cross-Cultural Solutions. "Salesforce.com allows Cross-Cultural Solutions' staff to work more efficiently in placing volunteers with the most suitable global organizations. With a more streamlined process, we can accomplish more with our volunteers and hope to have a greater impact on the global community."

Operating on a global level with offices in 12 countries, Cross-Cultural Solutions said it is using salesforce.com's Web-to-lead feature to integrate its Web site with salesforce.com, capturing information about volunteers and improving participant analysis and reporting.

Cross-Cultural Solutions said its program managers need only a browser to obtain relevant and real-time information. According to the nonprofit organization, this type of access is important in locations where financial, technological and logistical issues preclude grass-roots organizations from receiving invaluable services from the organization's volunteers.

"Like many of our customers, Cross-Cultural Solutions is a disparate organization that must consolidate information from multiple geographies and offices," said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of salesforce.com. "By coordinating the grassroots efforts of volunteers in local communities, Cross-Cultural Solutions demonstrates the value of salesforce.com's on demand model for global non-profits."

Since 1995, Cross-Cultural Solutions has brought thousands of participants to countries around the world including Brazil, Guatemala and India, among others. Volunteers sign up for two to 12-week sessions where they work side-by-side with the people in these countries, sharing perspectives and fostering cultural understanding. This past year, what the organization said was its banner year, 3,000 participants joined its programs — approximately 60 percent of the number of volunteers used by the Peace Corps.

Partnering with organizations such as the United Nations and CARE, Cross-Cultural Solutions said it aims to provide short-term volunteer experience for participants who cannot devote months or years at a time to a project.