Free Wheelchair Mission

Transforming Lives Through Mobility Solutions

About the Charity

Free Wheelchair Mission is a faith-based nonprofit with a mission to provide mobility, dignity, and independence to individuals with disabilities in developing countries. Since its founding, the organization has distributed over 1.4 million wheelchairs across 95 countries at no cost to recipients. Motivated by a life-changing trip to India, its founder designed an innovative, affordable wheelchair, which has evolved over time. With a dedicated team of 37, Free Wheelchair Mission continues to meet the needs of over 80 million individuals worldwide requiring wheelchairs.

The Need For Change

Free Wheelchair Mission recognized the need for a scalable and efficient digital platform to manage its growing operations and enhance donor engagement. Although they had been using Salesforce since 2017, their in-house admin team faced increasing limitations as the organization grew. They selected Passion Fruit Partners to help them with this.

Pain Points

Manual Processes

Repetitive tasks like managing e-commerce orders and donor records consumed significant time and introduced inefficiencies of the team’s time.

Disconnected Systems

Salesforce and other platforms operated independently, leading to duplicated efforts and fragmented data.

Donor Engagement

The team wanted to be able to track the impact of donor contributions easily, but the team had limited reports to show the number of wheelchairs covered through donations.

"Our reliance on outdated systems made it difficult to scale our mission. We needed a solution that could bring everything together, streamline operations, and deepen our relationships with donors."
Mackenzie Cummins
Director of Operations, Free Wheelchair Mission

The Challenges

As a determined and passionate team, they wanted to remove the blocks in their path to be able to do more; key challenges included:

01

Manual Processes and Inefficiencies

  • Time-consuming tasks like managing e-commerce orders and donor records relied heavily on manual input.
  • Lack of automation increased administrative workload, limiting time for strategic activities.
  • Repetitive tasks caused delays and reduced the team’s capacity to focus on their mission.

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02

Disconnected Tools and Systems

  • E-commerce platforms were not integrated with Salesforce, leading to duplicated efforts and fragmented data.
  • Important donor insights were siloed, making it harder to manage relationships effectively.
  • Systems that didn’t communicate created inefficiencies and inconsistencies across workflows.

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03

Donor Engagement and Transparency

  • The team lacked tools to show the impact donors had made such as the number of wheelchairs funded by each donor.
  • Limited insights made it difficult to celebrate donor milestones and foster deeper relationships.
  • Limited reporting reduced the ability to showcase the tangible impact of donor contributions.

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04

Scalability and Resource Constraints

  • Existing systems struggled to scale as the organization’s demands grew.
  • The team wanted more sustainable solutions for the growth of their nonprofit.
  • The team wanted to be able to partner with Salesforce experts to show them how to scale using the tools.

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05

Operational Complexity

  • Managing in-person donations required manual coordination, which meant manual processes.
  • Logging and tracking communications with donors could have caused errors due to manual entry.
  • The team wanted smooth processes which reduced manual effort to streamline all donor admin so they could spend more time doing the important work.

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The Solution

Passion Fruit Partners brought their deep nonprofit expertise to support the team, listening to their ideas and bringing solutions to the team to enable them:

01

Donor Impact Tracking

  • Developed a custom Salesforce feature to track the number of wheelchairs funded per donor.
  • Enabled the organization to recognize donor milestones and showcase their contributions transparently.
  • Provided real-time insights into donor impact, reinforcing engagement and stewardship efforts.
  • Improved the tracking of transactions and donor activity in real time.

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02

Shopify Integration

  • Eliminated manual data entry by seamlessly integrating Shopify with Salesforce.
  • Automated order processing, reducing administrative workload and improving accuracy.
  • Allowed the team to track and manage e-commerce transactions directly within Salesforce.
  • Integrated Shopify, Zapier, and Make.com to automate custom eCard delivery.
  • Allowed donors to send personalized eCards at any time without requiring manual processing.
  • Ensured donor gifts were acknowledged instantly, enhancing their giving experience.
  • Automated key workflows, such as donor contributions and product fulfillment.
  • Integrated Shopify for credit card payments, enabling smooth tap or swipe transactions.
  • Tracked cash and check gifts with Salesforce to distinguish between donation sources.

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03

Aircall Integration

  • Enabled fundraisers to make calls and send texts directly from Salesforce.
  • Automatically logged all donor interactions, ensuring seamless communication tracking.
  • Reduced manual entry errors and improved donor relationship management.

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Impact

1,150
Seamlessly managed 1150 orders since Shopify integration, eliminating manual multi-step processes.
16,500
Number of calls made by development officers since Aircall integration, saving hours of manual logging.
2,000
Number of text messages sent or received since March 2024, all seamlessly logged into Salesforce.

The implementation of Salesforce has transformed Free Wheelchair Mission’s operations, enabling them to scale their impact while maintaining strong donor relationships. By automating processes, integrating key systems, and improving data accessibility, the organization has significantly increased efficiency, reduced administrative burdens, and enhanced donor engagement. With these innovations, Free Wheelchair Mission can now focus more on its mission of providing mobility and independence to those in need around the world.

01

Increased Efficiency and Time Savings

  • Automated processes, including donor tracking and e-commerce order management, significantly reducing administrative burdens.
  • Streamlined workflows, allowing the team to focus more on scaling impact.
  • Integrated tools like Shopify and Aircall eliminated manual data entry and saved hundreds of hours.

"Since integrating Shopify, we’ve processed over 1,150 orders seamlessly. This has saved us countless manual steps, reduced errors, and allowed us to focus on connecting with donors." – Mackenzie, Free Wheelchair Mission

02

Improved Donor Engagement and Transparency

  • Implemented donor impact tracking, allowing donors to see the number of wheelchairs funded by their contributions.
  • Enhanced communication tools, including text messaging and calls, to build stronger donor relationships.
  • Personalized donor journeys, celebrating milestones and encouraging ongoing support.

"The ability to transparently show donors the incredible impact they’ve made has strengthened relationships and helped us tell powerful stories of transformation." – Mackenzie, Free Wheelchair Mission

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03

Strengthened Reporting and Accountability

  • Introduced a centralized platform consolidating all data for better tracking and follow-ups.
  • Provided real-time insights into donations and operations, ensuring transparency.
  • Enabled data-driven decisions with accurate and actionable reporting tools.

"Generating reports used to be a nightmare. Now, we can track every adjustment, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks." – Mackenzie, Free Wheelchair Mission

04

Enhanced Operational Efficiency

  • Integrated systems streamlined donation processes, including in-person and online contributions.
  • Automated eCard programs and product management, saving significant time and ensuring smooth donor experiences.
  • Tools like the Opportunity Product object simplified tracking specific products linked to donations.

"Automating custom eCards has been a game-changer. Donors can now send personalized messages anytime, while our team saves time on manual processing." – Mackenzie, Free Wheelchair Mission

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05

Scalable and Flexible Systems

  • Designed systems to grow alongside the organization’s expanding global impact.
  • Empowered the team to manage and update offerings independently without external support.
  • Created scalable solutions that future-proof the organization’s operations and initiatives.

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"Passion Fruit Partners has been more than a partner—they’ve been a driving force behind our transformation. Their expertise and innovative solutions have helped us save time, scale our mission, and strengthen our donor relationships in ways we never thought possible."
Mackenzie Cummins
Director of Operations, Free Wheelchair Mission

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