“We realized our needs were quickly outgrowing the CRM we had originally chosen.”

“How could we switch systems without disrupting operations — like changing an airplane engine mid-flight?”

François Guy

Vice-President of Technology, La Presse

Quebec Journalism:

A Model Philanthropic Transformation at La Presse

Client

Founded in 1884, La Presse is North America’s oldest and most widely read French-language daily newspaper, reaching two to three million people each day. Its award-winning, rigorous, and diverse news coverage is published digitally on tablets, mobile devices, and the web.

Since 2018, La Presse has operated as a non-profit and is recognized as a registered journalism organization (RJO). Its mission is to provide high-quality, free, and accessible information to the public. Its operations are funded primarily through advertising, as well as the generosity of some 100,000 donors.

Situation

When La Presse launched its philanthropic program in 2019, it was starting from scratch, with no systems in place for managing or soliciting donations. After a competitive selection process, the outlet chose a CRM that met its needs at the time: just to build a basic donor database and issue tax receipts.

“We quickly realized the tool in place couldn’t support the growth we envisioned for our philanthropic efforts,” says François Guy, Vice-President of Technology at La Presse.

The organization identified Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud as a better long-term fit, but had serious concerns about the challenging migration ahead. “To me, it was a high-stakes, complex, strategic project and we needed absolute confidence that we had found the right partner,” recalls François Guy. La Presse turned to Una Buro, a team that came highly recommended by Salesforce.

Challenge

The objective was clear: to migrate from an outdated platform to a more scalable system that could keep pace with a growing donor base.

The migration involved hundreds of thousands of records, each featuring hundreds of data fields — and had to happen without disrupting daily operations.

To keep the project efficient, UnaBuro approached it with three clear priorities:

Integrate the new solution with La Presse’s internal platform.
Focus on essential features only.
Foster close collaboration to ensure delivery on an accelerated timeline

A project of this scale typically requires 18 months from analysis to deployment.

Solution

UnaBuro implemented and customized Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud to meet La Presse’s unique needs, including:

	Managing donations and issuing tax receipts.
	Integrating La Presse’s custom donor recognition tiers.
	Training the internal team.

François Guy dedicated his top team members to the project at every stage. Ongoing communication and quick decision-making helped ensure a record-fast deployment.

Results

“The Una Buro team showed deep expertise with the underlying data model and a proven track record in migrating systems like ours,” explains François Guy. “They had already encountered every potential problem and knew exactly how to solve each one. The launch was a huge relief — everything went exactly as planned.”

Project delivered 12 months ahead of the standard timeline

Thanks to close collaboration, the system was launched in just six months — compared to the 18 months typically required for a project of this scale.

Project delivered 12 months ahead of the standard timeline

Thanks to close collaboration, the system was launched in just six months — compared to the 18 months typically required for a project of this scale.

“The Una Buro team showed deep expertise with the underlying data model and a proven track record in migrating systems like ours,” explains François Guy. “They had already encountered every potential problem and knew exactly how to solve each one. The launch was a huge relief — everything went exactly as planned.”

Instant access
to key information

With the old database, a single search query could take over 30 seconds.

Daily meetings and ongoing communication helped build a strong rapport between the two teams. “We’re passionate about quality journalism, and they’re passionate about supporting nonprofits,” says François Guy. “I believe our shared values and complementary skills made the project a real success.”

While specifics can’t be disclosed, La Presse reports that donations continued to grow steadily throughout the year. Una Buro’s human-centred approach further earned the trust of the philanthropic team — especially among less tech-savvy individuals. The online donation experience is now smoother and more consistent, as well.

Following this team achievement, François Guy urges organizations to have greater faith in their collaborators. “There’s no point in hiring specialists only to take over the project yourself,” he says. “You end up missing out on the value of your investment.”

“Collaborating with the remarkable team at La Presse has reaffirmed that, no matter the technological challenges or complexities, success becomes inevitable when the right people come together.”

Julia Khon

President & Founder of Una Buro

303-3535 Saint-Charles

Kirkland, QC H9H 5B9

514-226-8451

hello@unaburo.com

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