We are a mission-driven consulting firm. We are excited about working with organizations that want to change the world and their communities. We are a Salesforce.org partner and a certified B-Corporation, a formal seal of approval of our desire to run a business focused on doing good in the world.
We have technology and process chops, but we know that people and mission are what matter. Every person on our staff has worked at a nonprofit organization. Every consultant on our team is Salesforce certified (and some with as many as 10 certifications).
We value helping our clients take ownership of their system. We instill this ownership in many ways, from building the right project team to requiring a staff database administrator to our inclusive agile approach. At the end of a project our goal is that organizations feel that it is their system, not a system built for them by “some consultant.”
We take a lean approach to the solutions we build. We use our knowledge of what works (and what doesn’t) to build the most straightforward and cost-effective solution to meet a client’s needs. We use Salesforce AppExchange products whenever they are the best way to achieve project goals. We guide a client’s investment to complicated solutions only in the limited areas where it can truly pay off. This lean approach helps provide our clients with solutions that are more easily maintained over the long-term.
Our clients work directly with our consultant(s) doing the implementation work. This ensures there is never a doubt about who’s responsible for the work being done. This also allows our project team to always keep the project priorities top of mind, because they’re constantly working with the client.
We bring the skills and experience of our entire team to each project. Behind the scenes we have formal checkpoints where other consultants with complementary expertise validate the implementation and provide input. We also do “just in time” problem solving as part of our daily standup. This allows the team to smoothly move over project hurdles.
We care deeply about the Salesforce nonprofit community and we invest in it. We are active in the Salesforce Foundation’s Power of Us Hub through answering community questions and authoring knowledge base articles. We also support ongoing enhancements to the open source Nonprofit Starter Pack by hosting and participating in developer sprints. We contribute code and bug fixes to both the Nonprofit Starter Pack and Volunteers for Salesforce. We help write new Salesforce Trailhead modules. As a result of this community commitment, four of our team members have been named Salesforce MVPs.
We know our stuff, but we also know when to bring in outside specialists. While our team does the vast majority of project work, we make limited use of contractors for tasks that require specialized skill sets. Examples include advanced user experience (UX) design or in-depth knowledge of database systems other than Salesforce.
We help clients utilize the most cost-effective licenses for their needs. Salesforce license decisions can be confusing. Making the incorrect choice can lead to unneeded annual recurring expenses. We have a deep understanding of Salesforce license types and costs. We use this knowledge to design client solutions that give users access to the information and tools they need, at the appropriate license level.
The inspiration for the name Bigger Boat Consulting comes from a scene in the 1975 movie Jaws where Roy Schneider’s character first sees the shark and utters “You’re going to need a bigger boat.” The bottom line was they needed a better tool to achieve their mission. This is exactly what organizations are looking for when they come to us. They recognize their existing collection of outdated databases is holding them back. To most effectively meet their mission, they need a better system for managing their data. If you are interested in the Jaws scene, here it is.
Meet the team or contact us to learn more about how we help organizations more effectively manage their data.
Their keen understanding nonprofit organizations and their depth of knowledge has been key in our project’s success. From process to implementation, we have been impressed by their expertise. At every step of the way, their number one commitment was ensuring the project was a success for us.
– Rick Jacobus, Capital Impact Partners
Not only did they create a tool custom tailored to our needs, but they taught me all I needed to know to successfully monitor and manage it as well. Their time management through the development phase was fantastic and my questions were always graciously answered. The whole team was incredibly responsive.
– John Loyd, ECOSS – Environmental Coalition of South Seattle
The project team was highly engaged and very experienced with coming up with Salesforce solutions to solve our project needs. The project was not the typical CRM solution, it was complex and unique for a non-profit and Bigger Boat was able master the business requirements and deliver a project that provided us the ability to operationalize our emerging program.
– Jennifer Alden Sanchez, The Nature Conservancy
They really work to understand clients’ needs and define the work needed to meet those needs. The amount of agility and collaboration at Bigger Boat brings obvious benefits to clients. Your lead is part of a team that talks, so even if someone isn’t not working on the same project, as a client, we have access to a whole team of knowledgeable people.
– Elizabeth Haney, Cornerstone Partnership
We came to Bigger Boat with a pretty formidable project. They tackled the process head-on and found a solution that was beneficial to our staff, the schools that we serve, and the parters to whom we report. They coordinated the needs of all of our audiences to create a user-friendly Salesforce solution.
– Leigh Michael, Washington Green Schools
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