Drupal 6.0 customization with extensive Salesforce Integration (CRM)

The Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network hired Message Agency to assess and redesign its static, outdated website in ways that would improve usability, integrate its various databases (including a Salesforce instance), adhere to federal guidelines for accessibility, provide an updated look-and-feel, and include other enhancements to improve the user experience. Part of this effort also included strategies for helping PLAN determine how the site’s functionality might be extended to further engage and support both member organizations and low-income Pennsylvanians in need of legal assistance.

Message Agency developed this site in Drupal with seamless integration between the website database and the organization’s Salesforce instance. Message Agency developed custom modules to pass information between the CRM and CMS, including all user data and contact information, donation and donor data, membership information, program profiles, and event registration. This project predated the current Drupal - Salesforce contributed module.

Key features of the site include:

• Passing authentication to Xerox’s proprietary Docushare application and to PAprobono.net, a custom web application build in ColdFusion.
• Allowing staff to register with their member organization online, tied directly to the membership list managed on Salesforce.
• Developing a regional legal help finder that allows users to click on a Pennsylvania county and browse a list of regional legal aid providers and their satellite offices.
• Enabling member staff to establish and manage work groups in a password-protected area and to manage group “subscriptions” from within their user profile.
• Developing a Brief and Information Bank that provides an indexed and searchable database of legal resources for pro bono attorneys and legal aid service providers, as well as enabling users to subscribe to certain collections and receive notifications when new items are added or uploaded.