Salesforce.org Salutes Nonprofits that Serve Veterans and Military Families

In honor of Memorial Day, Salesforce.org is humbled by the amazing nonprofit organizations that work with the military community. Here are just a few that are leveraging Salesforce technology to serve those who continue to give so much for our country.

USO Transition Services

Mission: USO Transition Services is dedicated to providing access to resources and peer assistance for service members, veterans and military families.

As active duty members of the military and their families transition back into civilian life, the USO Transition Services has their back through the whole process. Using the Nonprofit Success Pack and a custom app USO staff built using Heroku, Case Managers, or “Scouts,” can track the transition progress and collaborate directly within the app to help the service members they work with. This enables the Scouts to address the unique needs of each family and usher them through what can be a challenging time in life. “Follow-up and follow through are what we do,” explains Kylee Durant, Active Duty Army Spouse, Vice President, Transition Technology & Innovation Programs, and Salesforce MVP. “Since implementing the Nonprofit Success Pack, the time in which a client submits an intake form to a Scout meeting with the individual for the first time has been reduced from an average of 48 hours to 2 hours due to the power of workflow automation and case assignment rules.”

Learn more about USO Transition Services and how Salesforce helps them to reach their constituents in innovative ways.

Disabled American Veterans

Mission: Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is dedicated to a single purpose: empowering veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity. We accomplish this by ensuring that veterans and their families can access the full range of benefits available to them; fighting for the interests of America’s injured heroes on Capitol Hill; and educating the public about the great sacrifices and needs of veterans transitioning back to civilian life.

DAV was founded in 1920 in response to World War I and the struggles returning service members experienced reintegrating with the civilian world and establishing necessary healthcare. They continue that mission today, but in this uniquely technological environment, DAV is positioned to help more veterans through virtual means. That is where Salesforce comes in; the technology helps DAV reach veterans through online platforms, reduce the number of phone calls and emails the limited number of National Service Officers need to make, and firmly establish themselves as the information leader for the nation’s disabled veterans.

Learn more about the mission of DAV as they “Keep the Promise” made to the service members who have sacrificed so much for our nation.

GallantFew

Mission: To facilitate a peaceful, successful transition from military service to a civilian life filled with hope and purpose.

The transition from military life to civilian life can be rough—particularly when trying to do it alone. Recognizing this struggle, the staff and volunteers of GallantFew, a non-profit organization focused on veterans, make every effort to ensure newly transitioned veterans get the help they need.

Through a variety of programs and events, the staff and volunteers of GallantFew work hard to surround newly transitioned veterans with those who can help—creating communities devoted to specific geographic regions, career aspirations and branches like Darby Project for Army Rangers, Raider Project for Marine Corp Raiders and Wings Level for our Air Force veterans. The Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack has been imperative to their growth and enables GallantFew to locate mentors (“Guides”) who are positioned in the best way to help new veterans (“Future Guides”) cope with the challenges of civilian life. Thousands of Guides and Future Guides spread across the United States and Europe, maintain meaningful relationships through these communities that contribute to their ability to take positive steps in their lives.

“We work really hard to help veterans find jobs, keep jobs, and build relationships,” says Karl Monger, Executive Director of GallantFew. “The quicker we can engage them after active duty, and the closer we can make a match between a Future Guide and a Guide, the easier their transition will be.” Learn more about GallantFew and their impact on the veteran community.

Team Rubicon

PHOTO CREDIT: Jonathen Davis – Team Rubicon

Mission: Team Rubicon unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams.

When a natural disaster strikes skilled volunteers are needed to provide first-aid, assess the damage, and support communities that have been thrown into chaos – all skills that U.S. military veterans have. Team Rubicon identified this opportunity and sends teams of veterans into disaster areas to assist the first responders on the ground. This not only provides an invaluable service to the communities in need, but to the vets themselves. Disaster response work gives veterans the opportunity to put their expertise to work, connect with other veterans, and recreate the atmosphere of collaboration and team work that existed during their active duty.

Team Rubicon relies on fundraising to support these impressive efforts, including peer-to-peer fundraising. Using Salesforce’s marketing automation tool, Pardot, Team Rubicon is able to identify top prospects and donors using lead scoring. When someone becomes a donor, they receive a branded, personalized email series welcoming them to the Team Rubicon community. For their peer-to-peer efforts, when a volunteer sets up a fundraising page, friends and family receive live updates on how close the fundraiser is to meeting their goal. At a recent event, Team Rubicon saw a 50% increase in the dollars raised per fundraising page and a 100% transaction rate using Pardot along with third party applications Classy and Twilio.

Learn more about Team Rubicon‘s unique approach to disaster relief and veteran empowerment, and how Salesforce supports their operation.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Mission: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) is the leading post-9/11 veteran empowerment organization (VEO) with the most diverse and rapidly growing membership in America. We don’t just support veterans, we empower them!

Veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan can face deep isolation, often times because they are the only person from their town who served. IAVA knows that community is key to helping veterans successfully transition back to civilian life—and online tools are the fastest way for them to make social connections when they return home. Through its virtual veterans hall, myIAVA built off of the Salesforce Community Cloud, IAVA is able to connect its members to partners in their communities. These connections can range from free concert tickets to job opportunities and even marriages. “Connecting vets with one another to rebuild a sense of community and security can literally make the difference between life and death” says Paul Rieckhoff, IAVA’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer.

Learn more about IAVA and how they multiplied their reach using Salesforce.

Blue Star Families

Mission: We strengthen military families every day. Through career development, caregiving, and our leading research on military family life, we’re striving to better understand and provide solutions to the challenges facing today’s military families.

In April of 2009, a group of military spouses got together in the hopes of making a difference in the lives of military families. They knew the issues surrounding military families and saw a need for a platform where military family members could join forces with the general public and their communities to address the challenges of military life. Since then, Blue Star Families (BSF) has grown from a few military spouses around a kitchen table to more than 150,000 members and over 35 communities and chapters around the globe. Our programs and services reach more than 1.5 million military families every year.

Salesforce has been essential to BSF’s growth and enables staff and volunteers all over the world to collaborate in one centralized digital community. Blue Star Families harnesses the power of the Sales, Community and Marketing Clouds to engage volunteers, program participants and members every day. Blue Star Families’ Founder and CEO, Kathy Roth-Douquet says, “Military families have traditionally been isolated. The internet, Facebook, and Skype started to change that, but those tools only allow you to go so far. With Community Cloud, we’re taking control of our community. Our small staff is forming relationships with hundreds of thousands of people. It doesn’t just make our work easier. It makes it possible.”

Learn more about Blue Star Families and how they leverage Community Cloud to make an impact.

If you’d like to learn more about organizations working to provide support and training to active military members and veterans, please visit Vetforce — the Salesforce job training and career accelerator program for military service members, veterans, and spouses. Through our online community, we connect virtual learners to free training, classes, and career opportunities within the Salesforce ecosystem.