We have big news for military veterans who want to launch careers in the Salesforce ecosystem. The Sercante team is working with a nonprofit organization that’s well known in the Salesforce world to revamp its entire sales and marketing technology stack while enabling the expansion of Pardot training programs.
Sercante is donating $140,000 in pro-bono company resources to Merivis, which is an organization that eases the transition to civilian life for military veterans and their families. Merivis provides resources for veterans and military spouses pursuing careers in cloud computing by coordinating learning cohorts that work to gain specialized skills and certifications.
The pro-bono donation from Sercante will revolutionize Merivis fundraising efforts by equipping the team with a robust marketing strategy that has digital-first experiences built in. Sercante is also donating Pardot training programs to Merivis members who want to gain specialized technology skills to help them launch their new careers.
The ultimate goal of the donation is to get Merivis ready for rapid growth so they can continue to change lives for military families while addressing global talent shortages that make it difficult for companies and organizations to fill technical job roles.
Donation expands Pardot training programs for Merivis
The donation to Merivis is expanding training programs for military veterans and their spouses who want to work in Pardot as they launch their civilian careers. While Merivis has offered Pardot training to members in the past, the donation will expand training and create a 40-student cohort that will focus on all things Pardot.
To design programming for the cohort, Sercante team members worked with the team at Merivis to combine existing Sercante Pardot training content with the Merivis method of training.
The Merivis Pardot training cohort program includes:
- Content from Salesforce Trailhead
- One-on-one coaching
- Virtual learning sessions
- Soft-skills work to gain professional development competencies
Merivis prepares for rapid growth
The $140,000 donation to Merivis also includes a significant amount of technical support hours from the Sercante team. Merivis will use the support hours to increase the impact of their efforts using Pardot and the Salesforce platform, which will enable Merivis to scale their marketing strategy as the organization continues to grow.
Since 2015, Merivis founders Hector Perez, Kate Perez, and Joe Castro, have worked to build the nonprofit organization to provide real-world training to military veteran families as they transition to civilian careers in technology. More than 500 military veterans and their spouses have completed the training programs.
Members of the Sercante team will apply their technical knowledge of Pardot and the Salesforce platform to configure and optimize CRM tools for Merivis. Optimizing the technology stack for the nonprofit is enabling Merivis to reach the right audience at the right time while saving time and money for the team.
“We’re a small team of people wearing many hats. Sercante is swooping in to optimize our marketing technology stack so we can increase our impact while using fewer resources. Ultimately, the donation will help us to grow as an organization and expand our transformational training programs to more individuals so they can gain in-demand skills to launch new technology careers,” said Kate Perez, co-founder and executive director of Merivis.
Get involved with Merivis
We highly recommend supporting Merivis however you can. Whether you’re a military veteran or someone who supports them or a member of the Salesforce community, there are a few ways to get involved with Merivis.
Donate to Merivis
Merivis relies on donations and volunteers to keep everything running smoothly. So, making any type of donation goes a long way. You can choose from several different donation levels depending on your level of commitment.
Learn more about making a donation to Merivis here.
Join a Merivis Cohort
Here’s how military veterans can get in on the action.
You can apply to join a Merivis training cohort if you are a current service member, veteran, or military spouse. If approved, you’ll get between two to five weeks of virtual training, which typically requires 5-10 hours of commitment per week.
The goal for each cohort is to work toward Salesforce certifications, like the Pardot specialist or Pardot consultant certification.
Visit this page to learn more about joining a Merivis training cohort.
Be a Volunteer Coach
Volunteering is a great way to give back while learning more about yourself and the community. Merivis has a few ways to participate in the program as a volunteer:
- Salesforce Coach and Content Lead – Mentor Merivis program members either in a group or individually.
- Volunteer Instructor – Certified Salesforce professionals who volunteer to lead training sessions are essential to the Merivis program.
- Resume and Mock Interviews – Veterans entering the workforce get help from volunteers to perfect their resume and practice interviewing skills.
Complete the form here to apply to volunteer for Merivis. You’ll bring more professionals into the Salesforce ecosystem while enabling military veterans to launch new careers — and probably meet incredible people while learning new skills along the way.
Tell us About Your Experience
Volunteering to teach others how to work in Pardot or other Salesforce clouds not only cements concepts in your mind, but it also provides a vital lifeline to people looking to break into the ecosystem.
Have you volunteered your Pardot skills for a nonprofit organization or Salesforce user group? Tell us about it in the comments below!