Case Study: Australian Cancer Research Foundation achieves increased cancer research funding and reduced IT costs with Salesforce for Nonprofits

ACRF Spends More Dollars on Cancer Research and Less on IT With Salesforce

The Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF), a leading not-for-profit established in 1984 that has funded $79 million in cancer research grants, experienced rapid growth that strained its legacy donor systems. Data silos, difficulty extracting reports and an inflexible pre-packaged NFP system left them without a 360° view of donors and limited their ability to customise processes and communications.

After comparing solutions, ACRF adopted Salesforce Sales Cloud—taking advantage of philanthropic licensing and staff training through Dreamforce and local user groups. The move centralized donor data, improved reporting and trend analysis, enabled tailored donor communications, and introduced custom KPI dashboards; staff even built a bespoke events app in a weekend. The result: stronger donor relationships, better program oversight, and reduced IT cost so more funds can go to research.

Australian Cancer Research Foundation

Deborah Warner

Database & Fundraising Coordinator