implementing Salesforce for Nonprofits to consolidate operations
The Thorn Tree Project, a nonprofit empowering Samburu children in Kenya through education, faced growing challenges in managing its global operations with manual and fragmented processes. Data silos, inefficient workflows, and lack of transparency across continents were limiting the organization’s ability to scale its mission.
Introduction
To address this, Hanne Refslund led a full digital transformation, implementing Salesforce for Nonprofits to consolidate operations, secure sensitive data, and enhance collaboration between teams in Kenya, Europe, and the U.S.
By aligning TTP’s stakeholders around a clear vision, securing top technical expertise, and delivering hands-on change management, Hanne ensured the successful rollout and adoption of a future-proof CRM system.
The result: streamlined global operations, improved donor and student engagement, and a scalable digital foundation that will help The Thorn Tree Project expand its life-changing impact on Samburu youth.
The Challenge
The Thorn Tree Project is a nonprofit organization headquartered in New York City, dedicated to expanding educational opportunities for children from the Samburu community in Northern Kenya. The organization’s small but committed team is distributed across three continents, with board members and fundraisers in the U.S. and Europe, and a local operational team based in Kenya.
For many years, The Thorn Tree Project operated with a mix of manual and basic digital processes. Stakeholder information—covering donors, students, schools, and local dignitaries—was noted in notebooks, photocopies filling tens of binders, and scattered spreadsheets. Despite using Google Workspace and basic accounting tools, the operational model relied heavily on face-to-face meetings, emails, and WhatsApp messages.
By 2023, the limitations of this approach were undeniable. Data was dispersed across multiple large spreadsheets, making it difficult to extract insights from a growing volume of siloed information. Cross-continental communication and reporting tasks between the Kenya-based and U.S.-based teams were time-consuming and prone to errors and delays. In addition, the executive board lacked easy access to real-time donor and student engagement data or a documented and trackable approval process.
A modern, centralized platform was urgently needed to secure data, streamline operations, and enhance collaboration across geographies.
The Catalyst for Change
Recognizing the urgency to modernize its operations, The Thorn Tree Project’s board—led by Maja Serdarevic, Treasurer and Executive Sponsor for the digital transformation—committed to addressing these challenges. The project gained immediate traction when Hanne Refslund, then working at Salesforce, proposed a solution tailored to the nonprofit’s needs that would be delivered at no cost and without burdening The Thorn Tree Project’s limited resources.
Salesforce for Nonprofits was selected as the ideal platform, offering both scalability and ease of use, as well as 10 free user licenses. Hanne was able to mobilize two experienced Salesforce colleagues to help implement the system, ensuring that The Thorn Tree Project’s funds could remain focused on its core mission: educating the Samburu people.
The Solution
The program kicked off with a clear objective: to implement a future-proof and intuitive Stakeholder Relationship Management (CRM) system using Salesforce for Nonprofits Cloud. The system would consolidate The Thorn Tree Project’s global operations into a single platform—accessible on both desktop and mobile devices—and deliver all the functionality required to support day-to-day processes across all teams.
Another key priority was user experience. The system was designed to be simple, intuitive, and easy to learn, particularly for users who had limited or no prior exposure to enterprise applications.
The project encompassed a full analysis of The Thorn Tree Project’s mission, priorities, and constraints, followed by solution architecture, configuration, thorough change management, end-user training, and ongoing support.
The result is a scalable CRM platform that has been fully adopted by both the Kenya-based team and the international board, enabling The Thorn Tree Project to manage operations, communications, and reporting more efficiently and transparently.
Key Success Factors
Several key factors contributed to the success of The Thorn Tree Project’s digital transformation and ensured long-term adoption across its global teams:
- Early and active engagement from key stakeholders across The Thorn Tree Project’s U.S., European, and Kenyan teams, securing buy-in from the outset.
- A comprehensive discovery phase, including detailed business process mapping and operational analysis, conducted before system design and implementation.
- Clear and ongoing alignment around a shared data governance framework and process model.
- Empowering future users to take ownership of the data migration process, actively involving them in the cleaning and preparation of critical stakeholder data.
- Strong project ownership, providing continuous direction and acting as a bridge between The Thorn Tree Project’s teams and the volunteer Salesforce technical consultants.
- Delivery of tailored training programs—both onsite and remote—adapted to the needs and technical readiness of users in Kenya, New York, and Brussels.
- A structured and effective change management approach, including targeted communications, stakeholder workshops, and adoption dashboards to monitor progress and KPIs.
- Dedicated post-launch support to embed new ways of working and ensure continued confidence in the system.
- Sustaining momentum through a living system roadmap, delivering incremental improvements and new features within a simple yet effective agile delivery framework.
The Results
The Thorn Tree Project now operates with a secure, centralized CRM system that empowers the organization at every level:
- Operational processes, including stakeholder management, fund requests, and scholarship student interaction tracking, are now streamlined and automated.
- Sensitive stakeholder data is consolidated and protected within a single source of truth.
- The board and local teams benefit from real-time visibility into donor engagement, school support programs, and individual student outcomes.
- Cross-continental collaboration is now faster, clearer, and fully auditable, reducing operational risks.
This transformation enables The Thorn Tree Project to scale its mission and continue making a lasting impact on the Samburu community’s access to education.
" Hanne brought much more than leadership and technical expertise to this project. She helped us define the true objectives—our ‘North Star’—and ensured that all teams remained aligned from start to finish. She created excitement and engagement across continents, from Kenya to Europe and the U.S., while guiding us through every step of change management. By securing top technical resources and working closely with both our internal teams and external consultants, Hanne ensured we not only met but exceeded our original goals. This project has been a milestone for The Thorn Tree Project, and Hanne played an essential role in making it happen.
About The Thorn Tree Project
The Thorn Tree Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the education of children from the Samburu community, a semi-nomadic people living in Northern Kenya. Since its founding, The Thorn Tree Project has worked hand-in-hand with local communities to provide access to quality education, from preschool through to higher education.
With a deep understanding of the unique cultural and economic challenges faced by the Samburu people, The Thorn Tree Project funds and manages programs such as nomadic preschools, support for public elementary and junior high schools, and scholarship initiatives for talented students pursuing college and university degrees.
The organization’s efforts are made possible through a global network of passionate donors, volunteers, and partners based in Kenya, Europe, and the United States. By focusing on long-term, sustainable educational opportunities, The Thorn Tree Project empowers Samburu youth to create brighter futures for themselves, their families, and their communities.
Learn more at thorntreeproject.org.
