The Ronson Foundation

The Gerald and Gail Ronson Family Foundation

The Gerald and Gail Ronson Family Foundation, also known as The Ronson Foundation, is a private family foundation committed to supporting impactful initiatives that promote social mobility and equality of opportunity. With decades of philanthropy, the Foundation needed a system that could keep pace with its expanding operations and streamline complex grant management processes.

The Challenge: Outgrowing Spreadsheets

The Ronson Foundation was managing grants, payments, and reporting through complex, interlinked spreadsheets. As their data grew, the system became increasingly unmanageable, leading to inefficiencies and errors.

"Spreadsheets simply aren't meant to be a CRM.

I spent a massive chunk of my time just managing spreadsheets.

It was clear we needed a solution that could grow with us."

- Natie Shevel, CEO, Ronson Foundation Services.

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Pain Points

A reliance on spreadsheets, multiple tabs, huge amounts of data created multiple challenges, including:

Cumbersome and Error-Prone Processes
- Updating spreadsheets led to broken links and data inconsistencies, making reporting difficult.
- The team were using 50+ different spreadsheets, which meant they had to constantly save data and rename files, and it was unreliable as a system.
- Tracking payments, applications, and grant schedules required constant manual intervention.
Manually handling huge amounts of data
- Their CEO and team were managing over 500,000 data points across several decades, which became overwhelming.
- Information silos made it difficult to extract meaningful insights, easily access data driven reports and the team constantly had to use multiple files
- The team had to check their data was right constantly, to ensure they'd not made errors.
Inefficient Reporting
- Preparing trustee reports and audits was time-consuming and stressful.
- Reports were taking weeks to put together due to the number of spreadsheets that needed checking and cross referencing.
- The lack of a centralised system meant cross-referencing multiple spreadsheets.
- Trustees and senior leaders didn't have instant access to reports when they needed them, making decision making difficult.
Decision Making Limitations
- Their team needed a simple solution which could empower people to make better data driven decisions
- Saving time: Their team also wanted to save huge amounts of time to ensure that that they could be more efficient

The Solution: A Scalable Grant Management System

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A Centralised Grant Management System
- Our team consolidated spreadsheets into a single, structured CRM system.
- We Enabled seamless tracking of grants from application to disbursement.
Trustee Portal for Transparency
- We developed a real-time portal and dashboards for trustees to access key grant information anytime, anywhere, which only people with a secure login could use.
- The approval process was streamlined with clear audit trails.
Automated and Accurate Reporting
- Manual reporting was replaced with dynamic dashboards and automated report generation.
- We provided real-time data accuracy for trustee meetings and audits.
Online Tools for Grantees
- With tools like online applications and reporting, the Foundation has significantly reduced administrative burdens, allowing the team to focus on strategic and operational goals.
- Grantees can easily apply online which flow directly into Salesforce.

The Impact of working with Hyphen8

Historical records digitised and centralised.

Reduction in spreadsheet-related errors

Faster reporting for trustee meetings and audits.

The Impact

The team at Hyphen8 built a system on Salesforce to ensure that automation has significantly reduced administrative burdens, freeing up time for strategic initiatives.

Enhanced Efficiency Across Their Team
- Automation has significantly reduced administrative burdens, enabling the team to focus on strategic initiatives and expanding their impact.
- Streamlined workflows have drastically reduced time spent on manual data entry, freeing up resources for high-value activities.
- 50+ Spreadsheets combined into one Salesforce solution
Improved Governance and Compliance
- Clear audit trails ensure transparency, providing trustees with instant access to real-time data and eliminating reporting discrepancies.
- Strengthened compliance measures allow the Foundation to confidently meet regulatory requirements and funder expectations.
- 500,000 data points now all stored in one central system and the source of truth
Stress-Free Reporting
- Automated dashboards deliver real-time, accurate insights, removing the need for manual reporting and last-minute data checks.
- Natie and her team now have complete confidence in their reports, ensuring they can make informed decisions quickly and effectively.
Improved Grantee Experience
- The application process is now more efficient, reducing the administrative burden on grantees.
- A structured system ensures all relevant grant documents and interactions are easily accessible.
- Improved communication channels help facilitate smoother interactions between grantees and the Foundation.

Making an impact

"Our lives have completely changed!

The integrity of our data and confidence in our reporting is night and day compared to before.

I used to have a knot in my stomach every time I had to prepare a report-now, it's seamless."

- Natie Shevel, CEO, Ronson Foundation Services.

Data points on Salesforce making all reporting seamless.

Why Did You Choose Salesforce and Hyphen8?

"Hyphen8 stood out because of their thought leadership and deep understanding of our world.

I've implemented several CRMs in my career, and Hyphen8 was, by far, the best I've worked with.

They didn't just build a system-they guided us with honesty, wisdom and nuance, ensuring we achieved the best possible outcomes."

- Natie Shevel, CEO, Ronson Foundation Services.