Nonprofit

Grounded Solutions Network Leverages FormAssembly for Affordable Housing Initiatives

Larry Rose

Technology Solutions Specialist

Case Study Snapshot

Larry Rose serves as Technology Solutions Specialist for Grounded Solutions Network and manages the organization’s internal business solutions. A national nonprofit membership organization, Grounded Solutions leverages FormAssembly’s intuitive web form capabilities to power membership application processes and to streamline data collection efforts with government officials and associated audiences nationwide.

About

Grounded Solutions Network is a national industry leader for shared-equity housing information, access, administration, authority and expertise.
Supports shared equity housing programs with capacity-building resources, inclusive housing policy development, strategic planning, peer learning, technical assistance, training, and programmatic support.
Provides tools such as the HomeKeeper Salesforce app to assist in the program management of shared equity housing and the HomeKeeper National Data Hub to demonstrate the impact of these programs and services.

The numbers

120

Data points collected for each government program surveyed

1100

Estimated number of government programs

500

Responses from government offices (to date)

130

Estimated hours saved using Prefill for all jurisdictions

The Need

Complex internal data needs, combined with progressive external projects, required an advanced fix.

Grounded Solutions Network needed a way to collect internal administrative data for things like scholarship paperwork and various feedback

The team at Grounded Solutions Network needed a way to collect internal administrative data for things like scholarship paperwork and various feedback from staff. Additionally, a massive annual membership drive that includes a comprehensive member survey mandated the need for real-time data that would automatically sync to Salesforce. These needs aligned perfectly with FormAssembly’s ability to offer adaptive web form solutions that integrate with Salesforce.

The Solution

A multi-use web form platform that can tackle a variety of projects and processes.

Real-time data – that’s the big value add. Somebody submits a form and within seconds, that information is in Salesforce, and our dashboards are updated. . .

FormAssembly offers the staff at Grounded Solutions Network a form building tool that can tackle projects that come up on a yearly basis that contribute to the overall growth of the organization. Not only does the team benefit from time savings, but real-time data plays a key role in success. Key intangible benefits include higher response rates, more accurate and reliable data, and improved conversion rate using the Prefill Connector.

“Real-time data – that’s the big value add. Somebody submits a form and within seconds, that information is in Salesforce, and our dashboards are updated…” Rose shared.

Prefill Connector

FormAssembly’s Prefill Connector is the feature that powers the network’s membership application. Prefilling information provides a simplified process for existing network members, who simply need to confirm that the information is correct for the new calendar year.

HTTPS Connector

The team at Grounded Solutions Network also uses FormAssembly’s HTTPS Connector to integrate with MailChimp for streamlined newsletter and email signups.

Authorize.Net

Since membership requires an annual fee, the organization’s web forms include the Authorize.net Connector for secure, fast payment processing.

Use Cases

Membership Application

FormAssembly web forms help power an annual membership drive for new and existing network members.

Grounded Solutions Network’s primary use case is their membership application, which is promoted yearly as part of an annual drive and also available year-round for new members on the website. Not only does the team take advantage of prefilled information and secure payment connectors, but membership forms also include several layers of conditional logic. These conditional questions allow for specificity about when a question should pop up for certain applicants.

Government Survey Dashboard

Intuitive web forms created in a dashboard format allow respondents to work through key steps in the data collection process.

The newest, and most advanced, FormAssembly use case at Grounded Solutions Network involves the use of a dashboard form system designed to distribute surveys to government entities nationwide. The surveys focus on gathering more information about each governing body’s inclusionary housing policies and programs. However, because each locale could have anywhere from 1 to 10 programs to report on, the team at Grounded Solutions needed to devise a process that could gather up to 120 data points per program without being a burden.

“We needed to design a form that was really nimble and able to work in several different scenarios,” Rose said.

By using the dashboard method, the team at Grounded Solutions was able to avoid creating forms that would have been 30-40 questions in length. The dashboard process is a complex step-by-step system that is made up of three forms. Form 1 is a dashboard that shows their progress in the survey. Form 2 collects contact and basic program data. Form 3 collects in-depth program data. The respondent moves through a specific workflow based on their responses in each form. The process starts with identification of an account record in Salesforce and is followed by pre-filling key data (particularly that which is publicly available).

This survey structure easily accounts for prefilled and new jurisdictions with anywhere between 0 and 10 programs. Throughout the process, respondents can check in on status and get an overview of what steps are left. Data syncs to Salesforce following the submission of each step, which triggers a redirect to the next step.

After a round of beta testing, the response received from test users was extremely positive for Grounded Solutions. One user shared that the new solution was “quick, simple and straightforward. The efforts made to improve the survey/data entry are much appreciated from a user’s perspective!”

For more information about how dashboard forms can assist with workflow, head to the FormAssembly blog for another use case illustration!

What’s Next?

As Larry and the team at Grounded Solutions Network look toward the future, they trust that the dashboard format will continue to play a prominent role. Having figured it out for one specific case, there’s promise that it can be applied in other scenarios as well.

Additionally, Larry hopes to use FormAssembly to publicly display Salesforce data through a form submission for members without Salesforce credentials. This initiative will make it easier to allow network members access the data they need, without compromising security.