Impact Funding Partners
Transforming Grant Management, and Scaling Impact Through Salesforce
About Impact Funding Partners
Impact Funding Partners is a Scotland-based charity focused on improving social, economic, and environmental outcomes across communities. Managing grant funding on behalf of the public and private sector, the organisation distributes vital funding to charities while also providing training and capacity-building support to strengthen the wider sector.
The Challenge: Scaling Impact with a More Connected, Intelligent Platform to Support Grant Management Across Scotland
Impact Funding Partners plays a critical role in supporting organisations across Scotland through funding and capacity-building. As demand for funding programmes grew, so did the complexity of managing applications, reporting, and delivery.
Working alongside Hyphen8, the organisation began to reimagine how grant management could be more connected, efficient, and scalable.
"We were heavily relying on Excel… applications came in by email."
Diane Wilson, Head of Operations and Development, Impact Funding Partners
Pain Points
The charity wanted a solution to enable them to make the most from their team's time, and to allow them to scale their impact. They decided to partner with Hyphen8 after hearing about their work with Salesforce from other charities and foundations across the UK.
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Diane Wilson, Head of Operations and Development, Impact Funding Partners
- As the organisation grew, the team wanted to build a more scalable and structured approach to managing grants and programmes.
- With Hyphen8’s support, there was an opportunity to move beyond manual processes and create a system that could better support long-term impact.
- As the organisation grew, the team wanted to build a more scalable and structured approach to managing grants and programmes.
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Moving from email-based processes to a more connected way of working
- Applications were submitted across multiple emails, often with attachments sent separately, making them time-consuming to track and manage.
- The team wanted a more efficient way to capture, organise, and review applications in one place.
- “We never knew how many applications we had… it took a few days to sift through that.” – Diane Wilson
- Applications were submitted across multiple emails, often with attachments sent separately, making them time-consuming to track and manage.
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Creating greater visibility across applications and pipelines
- Without a central system, it was difficult to track applications in real time or understand what was coming through.
- There was a clear opportunity to create more visibility and enable better planning across funding programmes.
- Without a central system, it was difficult to track applications in real time or understand what was coming through.
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Reducing manual administration and improving accuracy
- Key processes such as payment schedules and reporting timelines were managed manually through spreadsheets and calendars.
- The team wanted to reduce manual effort and create a more reliable, consistent way of managing these processes.
- Key processes such as payment schedules and reporting timelines were managed manually through spreadsheets and calendars.
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Supporting teams to manage multiple funds at scale
- Managing multiple grant programmes with varying requirements required significant coordination and administrative effort.
- A more structured system was needed to support this complexity while maintaining consistency across funds.
- Managing multiple grant programmes with varying requirements required significant coordination and administrative effort.
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Creating a more consistent approach to reporting and impact data
- Reporting and monitoring data was submitted through Word documents, requiring time to review, analyse, and consolidate.
- There was an opportunity to standardise how data was collected and improve how impact was tracked and reported.
- Reporting and monitoring data was submitted through Word documents, requiring time to review, analyse, and consolidate.
The Solution
Hyphen8 worked closely with Impact Funding Partners to design and implement a tailored Salesforce platform, combining technical expertise with a deep understanding of grant-making organisations.
"They were absolutely fantastic… so helpful, so patient, and really good at understanding what we were looking for." – Diane Wilson
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End-to-end grant management platform
- Hyphen8 built a centralised Salesforce system to manage applications, grants, payments, and reporting in one place.
- Their experience with grant-making organisations ensured the system reflected how the team works from day one.
- Hyphen8 built a centralised Salesforce system to manage applications, grants, payments, and reporting in one place.
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Integrated application and reporting processes
- Hyphen8 implemented FormAssembly to capture applications and monitoring data directly into Salesforce.
- This created a consistent and structured approach to managing both applications and impact reporting.
- Hyphen8 transformed how applications are received and tracked, giving teams immediate visibility into volumes and pipeline.
“Now we can see immediately how many have come in.” – Diane Wilson
- Hyphen8 implemented FormAssembly to capture applications and monitoring data directly into Salesforce.
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Automation of payments and reporting schedules
- Hyphen8 designed workflows to automatically generate payment schedules and reporting timelines.
- Reduced manual admin and ensured consistency across all grants.
“It just splits it and sets up all the dates for us.” – Diane Wilson
- Hyphen8 designed workflows to automatically generate payment schedules and reporting timelines.
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Email integration and communication tracking
- Hyphen8 integrated Outlook with Salesforce, allowing emails to be linked directly to grant records.
- This significantly reduced time spent tracking communications and improved visibility across teams.
- Hyphen8 integrated Outlook with Salesforce, allowing emails to be linked directly to grant records.
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Risk management and decision support
- Hyphen8 developed a risk framework to flag organisations and applications as red, amber, or green.
- Enabled faster and more informed decision-making across funding programmes.
Ongoing support and continuous improvement
- Hyphen8 has continued to support the organisation beyond implementation, helping refine and evolve the system over time.
“They’ve always been really responsive… there’s never been a problem.”
- Hyphen8 developed a risk framework to flag organisations and applications as red, amber, or green.
The Impact of working with Hyphen8
The Impact
With Salesforce embedded across the organisation, Impact Funding Partners has transformed how it manages grants. With Hyphen8 as a partner, teams now have the visibility, structure, and efficiency needed to manage complex funding programmes and support organisations more effectively.
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Significant time savings and operational efficiency
- With Hyphen8’s support, manual administration across applications, reporting, and payments has been significantly reduced.
“It’s got to be at least a 30 to 40% time saving, it's brilliant!” – Diane Wilson
- With Hyphen8’s support, manual administration across applications, reporting, and payments has been significantly reduced.
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Improved visibility and control across applications
- Thanks to the system designed by Hyphen8, teams can now see applications in real time, enabling better planning and faster decision-making.
- Removed the need to manually track and consolidate submissions.
- Thanks to the system designed by Hyphen8, teams can now see applications in real time, enabling better planning and faster decision-making.
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Streamlined and scalable grant management
- Hyphen8 has enabled the organisation to manage multiple complex funds within one structured system.
- Improving consistency while reducing operational complexity.
- Automation introduced by Hyphen8 has reduced reliance on manual tracking and minimised the risk of human error.
- Providing greater confidence in processes and data.
- Hyphen8 has enabled the organisation to manage multiple complex funds within one structured system.
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Enhanced reporting and impact tracking
- Hyphen8’s approach to structuring data has made it easier to collect, analyse, and report on impact across all funds.
- Supporting stronger reporting and improved insight.
With Hyphen8’s ongoing support, the organisation is continuing to explore further automation and innovation, including AI.
Creating a platform that will evolve alongside the organisation’s future ambitions.
- Hyphen8’s approach to structuring data has made it easier to collect, analyse, and report on impact across all funds.
Making an impact
"It just changed so much." – Diane Wilson
Making a difference across their team
"With Hyphen8’s support, Impact Funding Partners has moved from manual, time-intensive processes to a connected and scalable platform.
Their expertise has enabled the organisation to operate more efficiently, improve visibility, and continue delivering funding across Scotland with greater confidence."
Why Did You Choose Salesforce and Hyphen8?
Impact Funding Partners chose Salesforce to create a centralised, scalable system capable of managing complex grant programmes. Hyphen8 stood out for their deep understanding of the nonprofit and grant-making sector, alongside their collaborative and supportive approach.
"They were absolutely fantastic… so helpful, so patient, and really good at understanding what we were looking for." – Diane Wilson
"They’ve always been really responsive… there’s never been a problem in getting support, they are like an extension of our team and so lovely to work with."
With a long-term partnership in place, Hyphen8 continues to support Impact Funding Partners as they evolve their system and unlock new efficiencies.
