“The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.”
M.K. Clinton
Zennify was founded on the premise of working to improve the word. We continue that tradition today through Zenn for Good, a philanthropic initiative that forges partnerships with local nonprofits. Our goal is to create long-lasting relationships with organizations that make our communities a better place.
In our latest Zenn for Good engagement, Zennify partnered with Sacramento-based Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue. Homeward Bound is an all-volunteer organization that rescues and heals displaced, abandoned, and homeless Golden Retrievers and Golden mixes—regardless of their age or health. Through a comprehensive adoption program, the 200+ volunteers at Homeward Bound work to secure safe, loving homes for these dogs. Homeward Bound also provides lifetime sanctuary for Goldens that can’t be adopted. Over the last 20 years, the organization has changed the lives of nearly 9,500 dogs.
Zennify connected with Homeward Bound through the local Salesforce Nonprofit User Group in Sacramento. The organization was already using Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) on Classic and was looking for a partner to help them upgrade to the Lightning user interface. To fulfill this need and help Homeward Bound make its Salesforce platform viable for years to come, Zennify stepped in as a pro-bono consultant on the project.
After assessing Homeward Bound’s Salesforce environment and conducting initial discovery sessions, Zennify concluded that a simple Lightning upgrade wouldn’t be sufficient to meet the organization’s requirements. Because Homeward Bound’s original Salesforce configuration hadn’t evolved to keep pace with its operations, volunteers had resorted to using spreadsheets, Post-it notes and text messages to track interactions, contacts, dog records and more. To address these issues—and make the platform a more valuable tool for Homeward Bound over time—Zennify needed to make some optimizations.
Over the 2019 holiday season, Zennify upgraded Homeward Bound’s Salesforce org from Classic to Lightning. The team simplified lengthy contact and dog records, putting the most relevant information, including dog photos, front and center. They also reconfigured report and dashboard permissions to point to key data, ensuring that the right people have easy access to accurate information. In addition, Zennify refined Homeward Bound’s lead management functionality to better reflect its operational processes for managing volunteer, foster and adoption applicants.
Because data quality had been an ongoing issue for Homeward Bound, Zennify set up rules to help volunteers identify and clean up duplicates in the system. A new standard global search bar in Lightning also lets volunteers quickly pinpoint the correct records to work with. Finally, new home page layouts, simplified task-tracking and mobile access have created a single source of truth, making it easier for volunteers to document their interactions with dogs, other volunteers and dog-seekers—in one place, in real-time.
Thanks to this new, streamlined Salesforce Lightning environment, Homeward Bound can maximize the time its volunteers devote to the organization’s true mission: finding forever homes for rescued dogs.
Zennify looks forward to continuing its Zenn for Good relationship with Homeward Bound—and bringing more Goldens home for good—in the years to come.
Click here to learn more and support Homeward Bound by volunteering or donating today.
Homeward Bound is currently seeking volunteers to fill a variety of on- and off-site positions, including:
- On-Site: Feeders, walkers, groomers, grounds and facilities maintenance, and administrative assistance
- Off-Site: Foster homes for dogs on their way to a forever home, and “taxi drivers” to pick up and deliver surrendered or shelter dogs across California and Oregon
- Other: Youth program mentors, administrative and marketing support, grant writers, fundraisers and event staff
