Scaling Community Garden Programs and Payment Automation with Salesforce
Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) is a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating community through urban gardening. With over 200 gardens and food forests across the Denver metro area, DUG empowers residents to grow food, build connections, and strengthen neighborhoods. As their impact expanded, so did the need for streamlined operations to manage applications, payments, programs, and donor engagement. DUG turned to Prolocity as a trusted Salesforce partner, both before and during this engagement, to help scale and optimize its systems.
The Challenge
Before this phase of the engagement, DUG had already implemented Salesforce but needed deeper support to structure the platform for growth. With increasing demand for garden management, program management, and a central source for payment processing, the team faced inefficiencies in their data management causing confusion and reduced support for their high-volume programs. DUG faced several key challenges:
- A fragmented plot application process and inefficient payment workflows
- Manual processes for managing the Grow a Garden program
- Duplicate data and inconsistent structure across program records
- Limited reporting capabilities for program tracking and outcomes
- Difficulty navigating and customizing Salesforce without administrative support
- Inconsistent integration with tools like Classy, Mailchimp, and Jotform
- The need for more scalable automation and Experience Cloud portals
The Solution
Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud
Experience Cloud
FormAssembly
Chargent
Prolocity collaborated closely with DUG’s internal Salesforce admin and team leads to deliver a robust solution that supports the organization’s expanding needs. The project focused on restructuring the system for scalability, improving constituent engagement, and streamlining program and donation management.
Key components of the solution included:
- Grow a Garden Automation: Fully rebuilt the Grow a Garden program workflow, enabling automated processes from application submission to payment tracking, with role-based access for staff and community members.
- Experience Cloud Rollout: Designed a self-service portal where garden leaders can manage registrations, submit information, track garden information, and file cases (WIP) with DUG.
- FormAssembly + Chargent: Integrated forms and payments to resolve long-standing issues with a variety of processors and credit card errors; introduced automation to reduce manual processing in Salesforce.
- Chargent Automation: Created robust automations supporting Chargent within Salesforce to allow for greater controls of refunds, split payments, and general constituent tracking.
- Data Cleanup & Flow Optimization: Rebuilt flows, removed technical debt, and documented system logic to ensure long-term maintainability.
- Reporting & Dashboards: Created custom reports and trained internal staff to use Salesforce data for strategic planning and performance tracking.
- Ongoing Admin Support & Strategic Advising: Delivered open office hours, user training, and regular strategic check-ins to ensure adoption and alignment with DUG’s mission.
The Impact
Process Clarity
Empowered Community
Garden Program Management
Sharable Impact Stories
With a modernized Salesforce foundation, DUG now operates with greater clarity, efficiency, and control over its data and processes. The Experience Cloud sites empower community members and internal team members to take direct action, reducing staff workload and creating a welcoming interface for end users. Automations replaced manual steps in both garden program management and payment collection, significantly reducing the risk of error and freeing up internal capacity.
The team has better tools to evaluate program performance and share impact stories with funders and stakeholders. With Prolocity's continued partnership, before, during, and after this project, DUG has been equipped with a scalable Salesforce ecosystem that evolves with its mission, allowing the organization to focus more deeply on cultivating thriving gardens and communities across Denver.
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