Manhattan Neighborhood Network

Scaling a Public TV Network in Manhattan with Salesforce

About the Charity

Manhattan Neighborhood Network is a cornerstone of New York City’s media landscape. As a Public Access Organization, MNN provides residents with free access to high-quality studios and production tools to create their own content. With seven active channels and a mission to amplify diverse voices, MNN fosters creativity, connection, and innovation throughout the borough.

Updating Technology to Keep Up Pace

To keep pace with community demand and their commitment to exceptional service, MNN partnered with Passion Fruit Partners to overhaul their outdated legacy systems and replace them with a flexible, intuitive platform designed to empower users, staff, and donors alike.

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Pain Points

Siloed Systems and Missed Insights

MNN’s outdated platform was costly, difficult to update, and frustrating for users. It created barriers to access, inefficiencies for staff, and an overall experience that no longer met community expectations.

Fragmented Operations

MNN’s tools for booking, project management, and donor engagement operated in silos—causing repetitive manual data entry, errors, and inefficient reporting due to a lack of system integration.

Outdated Tech That Blocked Fundraising

MNN lacked insight into user and donor behavior, making reporting slow and fundraising less effective. Without real-time data, they struggled to demonstrate impact and personalise donor engagement.

“Before Salesforce, our systems were disconnected, clunky, and hard to manage. It made it difficult to serve our community or show our impact.”
– John Mernacaj
Chief Strategy Officer

The Challenges

MNN had the following pain points they worked with us on, which were;

01

Legacy Systems and User Frustration

  • MNN’s previous system was expensive to maintain, inflexible, and failed to meet modern UX expectations.
  • Even small updates caused disruptions, making the platform unsustainable.
  • Community members struggled with a clunky interface and limited access to important tools.

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02

Disconnected Systems and Manual Processes

  • Booking systems, project management, and donor engagement lived in separate systems.
  • Staff frequently re-entered data manually, leading to errors and inefficiency.
  • Lack of integration meant lost time and incomplete reporting.

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03

Limited Visibility for Fundraising and Impact

  • The system couldn’t provide key insights about users or donors.
  • MNN needed to understand user behavior to better tailor fundraising campaigns.
  • Manual reporting hindered the ability to show impact.

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04

Inconsistent Data Across Departments

  • Different teams were using separate tools and spreadsheets to manage similar data.
  • This made collaboration between departments slow and difficult.
  • Inconsistent information led to confusion and duplication of work.

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05

Inability to Scale Programs and Innovation

  • MNN’s old system couldn’t adapt to new programs or member expectations.
  • Adding features or tools required significant investment or caused system failures.
  • Growth and innovation were limited by outdated technology.

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The Solution

Passion Fruit Partners worked closely with the MNN team to deliver a fully tailored Salesforce platform that transformed operations and community experience.

01

Unified Member Portal

  • Enabled users to book studio spaces, editing slots, and resources all in one place.
  • Allowed members to see live airing schedules and manage content autonomously.
  • Created a seamless and user-friendly interface built from the member’s perspective.
  • Delivered clear scheduling for both members and staff.
  • Laid the foundation for transparent, data-driven donor and community reporting.

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02

End-to-End Automation

  • Integrated project management tools to connect uploads, episodes, and reservations automatically.
  • Streamlined studio scheduling and content delivery with minimal staff input.
  • Reduced admin overhead by linking key tasks across the production workflow.
  • Enabled upload and access to content from anywhere via global upload tools.
  • Built on Salesforce to allow future program expansion and feature additions.Reduced reliance on costly, rigid legacy tools.Supported innovation and sustainability without major redevelopment needs.

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03

Centralized Data Management

  • Combined user, donor, and content data into a single system.
  • Provided a real-time view of member activity and program usage.
  • Improved internal reporting and stakeholder visibility.

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Impact

100%
Centralization of Operations: All booking, project management, content uploads, member activity, and donor data are now managed in one platform—Salesforce.
100%
Fully Automated Scheduling & Content Linking What used to be done manually—linking projects to reservations, uploading content to episodes, and show scheduling—is now completely automated.
360
A full view: MNN went from manual, error-prone spreadsheets to instant dashboards, giving them real-time insights into community engagement, programming trends, and fundraising performance.

With their new Salesforce platform in place, MNN has transformed operations, empowered users, and unlocked new capacity—delivering measurable results across efficiency, engagement, transparency, fundraising, and long-term scalability.

01

Increased Efficiency and Cost Savings

  • Maintenance costs were reduced significantly.
  • Automated project links, content uploads, and scheduling reduced admin time.
  • Less manual work means staff spend more time supporting the community.

“The biggest benefit has been the various automations Passion Fruit Partners have enabled us to save time, through tools that automatically link Projects to Reservations, associate content uploads with Episodes, a show scheduling system that enables us to plan our programming far in advance, and much more.”

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02

Enhanced User Experience

  • Booking, uploading, and content creation is now all in one place.
  • A clean and intuitive interface makes it easy for community members to engage with the platform.
  • Users now have full autonomy to create, manage, and schedule content without staff assistance.
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This new platform has completely changed the way we serve our community. Members now have everything they need at their fingertips, from booking resources to creating projects.”

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03

Centralized Operations and Transparency

  • Staff can view all activities, bookings, and content in one place.
  • Donor data, content tracking, and member activity are all centralized, enabling better understanding of community impact.
  • The single system allows for better collaboration across departments.

“Having a centralised system has been a game-changer. We’re able to manage everything in one place and understand our users more deeply.”

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04

Improved Reporting and Fundraising

  • Dashboards provide real-time insight into user activity and programming trends.
  • MNN can generate reports that support impact storytelling and fundraising.
  • User segmentation allows for smarter, more targeted donor outreach.
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“We can now use data to show our value, not just internally, but to funders and stakeholders. That’s made a big difference in our fundraising.”

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05

Scalable and Future-Ready

  • The system is built to grow with MNN’s evolving needs.
  • New features and programs can be added without disrupting the existing platform.
  • Supports innovation and long-term sustainability.
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“It’s exactly what we needed. We now have a foundation we can build on as our organization continues to grow.”

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“Passion Fruit Partners made the experience—so much better. It’s exactly what we needed, and now we have the system to help us scale!"
– John Mernacaj
Chief Strategy Officer
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