Enhancing the effectiveness of congressional offices by building citizen trust
The Congressional Management Foundation uses Soapbox Engage to motivate individuals to become active and informed citizen-advocates
The mission of the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) is to strengthen Congress and build trust in its work with and for the American people. They advance this mission by communicating with members of Congress and staff to enhance their operations and interactions with constituents. Additionally, CMF works directly with citizen groups to educate them on how Congress works, giving constituents a stronger voice in policy outcomes.
When CMF was introduced to Soapbox Engage, they were looking for a platform that could fill several organizational needs. They ultimately found the solutions they needed with the Soapbox Engage Forms, Donations, and User Integration apps, which work seamlessly with one another as well as Salesforce.
“Soapbox Engage is an all-in-one platform for a nonprofit. We rely on it for nearly every outward-looking aspect of our work.”
Bradford Fitch, President and CEO, Congressional Management Foundation
Capturing Key Data with the Soapbox Engage Forms app
Using the Soapbox Engage Forms app, CMF staff can easily create an unlimited number of forms for just about any need they may come across— to better understand the needs of their community, encourage newsletter sign-ups, and more. Smooth Salesforce integration enables Soapbox Engage to automatically match form respondents with existing contacts or create new ones when none exist in Salesforce.
“The Soapbox Engage Forms are like MAGIC! I brag to other nonprofit leaders how data seamlessly moves from our website to our CRM (Salesforce).”
Bradford Fitch, President and CEO, Congressional Management Foundation
Most notably, CMF makes use of the Soapbox Engage Forms app and Portals app together to provide exclusive access to their subscriber-only research and training program.
Providing the skills to influence public policy with the Soapbox Engage Portals app
CMF strives to help millions of Americans contact Congress through grassroots advocacy. To help grassroots organizers at associations, nonprofits, and companies to educate their advocates, CMF created the Partnership for a More Perfect Union, a private, subscriber-only program focused on helping advocacy groups build better relationships with Congress.
Using the Soapbox Engage User Integration (Portals) add-on, CMF provides member-only access to exclusive resources, events, and training for the Partnership for a More Perfect Union. A simple login portal allows users to create an account, access resources, and pay dues. Membership dues are used to help to enhance communications, understanding, and relationships between citizens and Congress. In return, participating members have easy access to exclusive research and training on advocacy strategies.
“Nearly all nonprofits need a “members-only” section for high-end users. Soapbox Engage Integration is a great and simple way to provide limited access to high profile (or high donor) supporters.”
Bradford Fitch, President and CEO, Congressional Management Foundation
On the backend, the Soapbox Engage User Integration app does all the hard work for CMF staff, saving important user data directly to Salesforce, their CRM. The User Integration add-on pairs nicely with CMF’s use of the Soapbox Engage Donations app, as it allows users to view past/recurring payments and update payment information. It also enables CMF to pre-populate payment pages with contact information or restrict access to payment pages based on user login status.
Since 2014, Congressional Management Foundation has trained more than 98,000 citizens through presentations, webinars, and videos on effectively communicating with Congress. And since 2000, they have conducted more than 500 strategic planning projects with Members of Congress and their staffs. As CMF continues to enhance the effectiveness of Congress, Soapbox Engage is proud to support their work through tools that ease and strengthen the connections with their partners.