The 9/11 Memorial Modernizes Its Fundraising with Arkus
For the National September 11th Memorial & Museum, their mission is as profound as the memories it preserves. As the nation’s leading institution dedicated to honoring those lost in the 2001 and 1993 attacks, the 9/11 Memorial connects the past to the present through education, reflection, and remembrance. However, as the organization grew, they faced a challenge that many nonprofits encounter: outdated systems that couldn’t keep up with their expanding needs.
Managing fundraising and marketing operations through disparate tools like Raiser’s Edge and iContact had become a significant roadblock. Data silos and inefficiencies made it difficult to scale operations, optimize donor engagement, and ensure seamless processes. The team recognized that it needed a transformational solution to streamline operations and set the foundation for future growth. That’s where Arkus came in.
Starting the Journey
From the start, Arkus and the 9/11 Memorial envisioned a streamlined, modern fundraising and marketing platform that would centralize data, automate workflows, and enable data-driven decision-making. The solution would center around Salesforce’s Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) and Marketing Cloud, empowering the organization to improve donor engagement and optimize internal processes.
The project kicked off with a significant task: migrating over 1.5 million records from Raiser’s Edge and iContact into Salesforce. This included not only donor data but also gifts, memberships, activities, and attributes. With meticulous care, Arkus ensured every piece of information transitioned smoothly into the new platform.
But data migration was just the beginning. The team also worked to configure Salesforce for donor and membership management, adding General Accounting Units (GAUs) to simplify fund allocation and create custom dashboards for actionable insights.
Building Connections and Enhancing Capabilities
Integration was critical to the project’s success. Arkus developed custom solutions to ensure seamless data flow between Salesforce, Drupal Gateway, and Galaxy Ticketing. These connections allowed real-time updates for donor and membership information, simplifying operations and reducing manual work.
Simultaneously, the Marketing Cloud implementation took shape. With its integration to Salesforce, Marketing Cloud enabled the 9/11 Memorial to launch automated audience segmentation and create a dynamic email campaign infrastructure. A form handler was set up to capture newsletter sign-ups directly from the website, enhancing their digital presence.
Empowering the Team
A critical component of the project was ensuring that the 9/11 Memorial staff could fully adopt and sustain the new systems. Arkus conducted role-specific, in-person training sessions, equipping team members with the skills to manage both Salesforce and Marketing Cloud independently.
From navigating dashboards to personalizing email campaigns, the staff gained confidence in leveraging their new tools. They were no longer just users of the platform—they were empowered stewards of their fundraising and marketing operations.
The Transformation
As the first phase of the project wrapped up, the results spoke volumes. The 9/11 Memorial now operates on a unified platform that eliminated data silos and introduced efficiencies across the board. Custom dashboards gave the team insights to guide donor strategies, while automation simplified workflows, freeing up time for more strategic efforts.
Before implementing Salesforce, the team spent approximately 15 to 20 hours per week on processes such as data entry, reporting, and approvals. Since implementing Salesforce, this time has been reduced to about 10 hours per week.
Automated workflows, such as approvals, lead assignments, and case escalations, have led to a measurable improvement in turnaround time, with an estimated 20% reduction across the board.
Salesforce automation and workflows have cut manual tasks for 9/11 staff by about 60%, freeing up valuable time and reducing costs.
Beth Richter, Salesforce Lead at 9/11 Memorial Museum, was pleased her team turned to Arkus when they faced this difficult data migration. Here's what she had to say about their experience:
“Partnering with Arkus made our data migration incredibly easy. Arkus is a company filled with intelligent people who understand the complexities of a full system rebuild. Their expertise allowed my team to focus on how we wanted the platform to better serve our work, not be bogged down about an overly technical set up process. I would highly recommend working with Arkus if you are considering Salesforce!”
Looking Forward
While the first phase delivered substantial improvements, the journey is far from over. The groundwork laid by Arkus has positioned the 9/11 Memorial to explore even more possibilities in the future. From SMS messaging to advanced audience segmentation and personalized donor journeys, the organization is poised to take its outreach and impact to the next level.
Arkus is honored to continue supporting the 9/11 Memorial’s mission. Together, they’re not just modernizing technology—they’re ensuring the stories of resilience, sacrifice, and unity are preserved and shared for generations to come.
Interested in having support with automations and technical processes so you can focus on you serving your mission? Reach out to us through our Contact Form to chat. Arkus is here to help.
