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Cross-Cultural Solutions Coordinates Worldwide Volunteer Programs with the Help of Salesforce.com On Demand CRM
Global non-profit uses donated salesforce.com service to streamline volunteer placement
December 17, 2003
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – December 17, 2003 – Salesforce.com, the world leader in delivering on demand applications, today announced that Cross-Cultural Solutions, an international nonprofit organization that brings together people from different cultures for global awareness and positive social change, has implemented salesforce.com's Winter '04 on demand customer relationship management (CRM) service. Cross-Cultural Solutions is usingsalesforce.com to provide its coordinators with a Web-based, centralized repository of all contacts, so that they can easily and efficiently match volunteer interest and skill sets with placement opportunities. In addition, Cross-Cultural Solutions is using the sforce 2.0 on demand application server, to easily and cost-effectively integrate volunteer information in salesforce.com with its partners’ marketing applications. Through the salesforce.com/foundation,salesforce.com 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 C. 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.”
Cross-Cultural Solutions is using salesforce.com's Web-to-lead feature to integrate their Web site with salesforce.com, automatically capturing information about volunteers and dramatically improving participant analysis and reporting. Operating on a global level with offices in 12 countries, the organization leverages the completely Web-based solution -- program managers need only a browser to obtain comprehensive, relevant and real-time information. This type of simple access is important in locations where financial, technology and logistical issues preclude grass-roots organizations from receiving invaluable services from Cross-Cultural Solutions 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, the organization's banner year, 3000 participants joined its programs - approximately 60% of the number of volunteers used by the Peace Corps. Partnering with organizations such as the United Nations and CARE, Cross-Cultural Solutions wants to provide the shorter term volunteer experience for participants who cannot devote months or years at a time to a project and salesforce.com is helping ensure this experience is a successful one. For more information, please visit www.crossculturalsolutions.org
Through the salesforce.com/foundation, salesforce.com offers free use of its on demand service to more than 100 nonprofit customers worldwide. Nonprofits interested in finding out more about this program should visit www.salesforce.com and sign up for the Free Trial, following the steps for nonprofits, or please call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.
About salesforce.com
Salesforce.com is the world's leader in delivering on demand applications. It offers the award-winning salesforce.com family of on demand solutions for integrated sales force automation, customer service and support, marketing automation, document, file and contract management, and analytics to help companies meet the complex challenges of global customer communication. It has also introduced sforce 2.0, the salesforce.com on demand application server that will change how applications are built as significantly as salesforce.com changed how applications are delivered. Sforce 2.0 allows developers to rapidly create, build and deploy new on demand applications that are hosted by salesforce.com. Salesforce.com has received considerable recognition in the industry, including Editors' Choice and two Five-Star ratings from PC Magazine, two Deploy Awards from InfoWorld, Investor's Choice Award from Enterprise Outlook, Editors' Choice from TMC Labs, Top 10 CRM Implementation from Aberdeen Group, InfoWorld's 2001 CRM Technology of the Year, Forbes Magazine's "Best of the Web" and a Webby Business Award. The company has more than 8,400 customers and 120,000 subscribers running its services in 11 languages. Founded in 1999, salesforce.com is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia.
About salesforce.com/foundation
Salesforce.com/foundation is the leader in integrating philanthropy and business. Through its model of donating 1% of profits to the community annually, 1% of salesforce.com equity to its programs and 1% of employee working hours to community service, the Foundation is building a new model for corporations to better serve the communities in which they operate. The Foundation also strives to better the lives of youth by providing relevant access to technology for youth in underserved communities both domestically and abroad. The Foundation works with other corporations, youth development agencies, and NGOs to create a society in which children, regardless of socio-economic background, ethnicity or learning level, have access to technology and understand how to use it to enhance their lives. Since July 2000, the Foundation has opened 43 Community Technology Centers across the globe serving nearly 50,000 youth and other community members; has provided close to 8,000 hours of service to the community through salesforce.com's 400 employee volunteers; and offers the salesforce.com award winning online customer relationship management application to more than 100 qualified nonprofits globally saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. More information is available at www.salesforce.com/foundation.




