The Telling Room
A software evaluation and CRM rollout that gave Portland's Telling Room a 360-degree view of every student, parent, donor and volunteer.
The Telling Room in Portland, Maine, is dedicated to the idea that children and young adults are natural storytellers and that the power of creative expression can change communities and prepare youth for future success. Focused on young writers ages 6 to 18, the organization seeks to empower youth through writing, to build confidence, strengthen literacy skills, and provide real audiences for students. In 2015, the Telling Room was presented with a National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award by First Lady Michelle Obama.
As the Telling Room grew, its custom Salesforce Nonprofit CRM no longer met its needs. Staff needed a 360-degree view of every student, parent, donor and volunteer, plus a system that was easy to use, could scale, and could connect to peer-to-peer fundraising tools, email and the website.
We had worked alongside the Telling Room for years, supporting its email, file systems and custom Salesforce Nonprofit CRM, so we knew its tools well when it was time to choose what came next.
Listening first
We inventoried every system the organization used and interviewed each key stakeholder. The same priority surfaced again and again: a complete, 360-degree view of everyone the Telling Room touches, with strong donor management at its center. Staff also needed something easy to use, able to grow with them, and ready to connect to peer-to-peer fundraising, email and the website.
A recommendation they could trust
We built a shortlist, scored each option on a weighted scale for fit and scope, and presented three choices with a clear recommendation, which the Telling Room adopted. We then worked with the software company on the rollout and connected the new CRM to the organization's email and website. To make that integration possible, we also remediated TellingRoom.org for security and performance and maintained the site afterward.
- A software analysis and roadmap built from interviews with every key stakeholder.
- A weighted evaluation of three CRM options and a recommendation the Telling Room chose.
- A rollout, alongside the vendor, integrated with email and the website so staff could see every relationship in one place and fundraise more strategically.
- A full security and performance remediation of TellingRoom.org, plus site maintenance.
By careful listening and detailed analysis, we were able to steer a growing organization toward a modern nonprofit CRM and donor management system that will revolutionize their organization and the way they raise money, ultimately allowing them to do more of the impactful work they do.
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