Back to Case Studies

Designing Impact Metrics Before They Were a Product Feature

Policy Think Tank Custom Impact Tracking

Before Salesforce had built-in impact tracking, this think tank needed to answer a deceptively simple question: how do we know we are actually making change in the world?

Results at a Glance

5,000+

Outputs Tracked / Year

< 60 sec

Reporting

Zero

Technical Debt

The Challenge

Salesforce had no built-in impact tracking and Nonprofit Cloud did not exist in its current form.

  • No system to track outputs, outcomes, and impact
  • Scrambling for anecdotes whenever funders asked for evidence
  • Program data disconnected from fundraising reporting

The Approach

  • Phase 1: Cross-department requirements gathering across Communications, Editorial, Policy Relations, Academic Relations, and Fundraising
  • Phase 2: Designed a custom Impact (Success Indicator) object with four record types and a structured taxonomy for outputs, outcomes, and impact
  • Phase 3: Built a junction object connecting Impact records to Contacts, enabling queryable cross-functional influence patterns
  • Phase 4: Aligned the system with fundraising reporting so outputs, outcomes, and impact are queryable for funder reports

Salesforce Objects & Tools

Impact (Success Indicator) object Outputs, outcomes & impact taxonomy Impact-to-Contact junction object Fundraising & funder alignment

Results

  • Turned scattered impact data into a fully queryable system, enabling cross-department reporting in under 60 seconds instead of days, used in 100% of funder proposals
  • Built a future-proof custom architecture four years before Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud Impact Management existed, still fully functional today with zero technical debt and supporting 5,000+ tracked outputs/outcomes annually

FAQ

Have a Salesforce system that needs this kind of work?

Let's talk about how I can bring the same clarity, stability, and structured thinking to your organization's Salesforce.

Book a Free Discovery Call See More Case Studies