Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) builds stronger fundraising with Salesforce
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international humanitarian organization whose mission is to save lives and alleviate suffering – with the patient always coming first. The organization operates in more than 75 countries and has around 67,000 aid workers.
When MSF launched its fundraising operations in Finland in 2018, the need arose for a system that would support donor relationship management, enhance decision-making, and facilitate the practical implementation of fundraising activities. The solution chosen was Salesforce, with Ceili Oy as the partner. In seven years, the number of donors has grown to over 100,000 and annual donations have reached nearly 7 million euros, enabling the organization to alleviate suffering and provide help where the need is greatest.
"Salesforce scales with our growth and brings opportunities for continuous development, independence, and cost efficiency. Ceili’s commitment to the customer relationship and strong integration expertise convinced us."
Salesforce as an Enabler of Growth
MSF’s fundraising relies heavily on individual and monthly donors. To support this strategy, a system was needed that not only met current needs but could also grow alongside the organization. Salesforce offered exactly that: scalability, flexibility, and the ability to bring together different fundraising methods and channels into one system.
One of the key objectives was data centralization. When all information is in one place, it is easily accessible and usable. With a single system, decision-making is also based on facts rather than guesswork.
The entire Donor Relationship Lifecycle on one platform
With Salesforce, MSF manages donor relationships and other stakeholders in a comprehensive way. The system covers, among other things:
- Contact and payment information
- Donation transactions and marketing consents
- Donor communications and campaign results
- Segmentation data and donor journeys
- Donor services
All this information supports both fundraising and communications – and above all, helps the fundraising team serve their donors better.
Collaboration with Ceili was agile and goal-oriented, and continued even after the implementation project
The Salesforce implementation between MSF and Ceili went smoothly. From the very beginning of the project, emphasis was placed on open communication, clear prioritization, and strong commitment to shared goals.
"Ceili’s implementation approach was agile, and the project team was committed. The project progressed on schedule and within budget – we are very satisfied with the collaboration."
"Ceili is a flexible and proactive partner. After the implementation project, the most recent joint projects have been invoicing automation, implementing Ceili GoPDF, and updating the contact segmentation model."
"Nonprofit projects are special to us – they offer an opportunity to make a meaningful impact. Working with MSF has been inspiring and rewarding."
Tips for those considering a CRM system
Based on the experience of Médecins Sans Frontières Finland, the keys to a successful Salesforce implementation are:
- Careful planning and requirements definition
- Clear internal resourcing and division of responsibilities
- Documentation and prioritization
- Patience – not everything can be foreseen, but risks can be minimized
- Investment in training and continuous development based on data
MSF demonstrates that when technology is harnessed for the right purposes, its impact can be immense. With Salesforce, meaningful work can be carried out more efficiently, transparently, and effectively.
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