Case Study: Smile Train achieves personalized supporter journeys and improved donor retention with Salesforce for Nonprofits

Smile Train - Customer Case Study

Smile Train is a global nonprofit that has enabled more than one million cleft surgeries since 1999, working in over 85 countries to give children the ability to eat, breathe, hear, speak, and thrive. Despite operating at scale, the organization faced a major challenge: moving away from one‑size‑fits‑all “batch & blast” communications to retain monthly donors, recapture lapsed supporters, and grow new supporters through personalized journeys at scale.

Using Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud (NPSP) and Marketing Cloud (including Advertising Studio), Smile Train mapped supporter personas and built automated, tenure‑based journeys and a three‑step social conversion funnel. The integrated solution personalizes touchpoints tied to join date, records actions in the CRM, and powers targeted ads and fundraising pages. The result: sharper engagement, early gains in donor retention, reduced data silos, greater operational efficiency, and the ability to deliver personalized supporter experiences at scale with a small team.

Smile Train

Kevin Scally

Senior Director of Marketing Infrastructure