After serving 12 years in the army, Isaac Belden knew he wanted to continue serving others. Transitioning out of the military, he found himself struggling to find his purpose again. It was during his journey into entrepreneurship that he discovered a new mission: to help other veterans and military spouses navigate the challenges of starting and running their own businesses.
In early 2018, Isaac founded the Veteran Entrepreneur Alliance (VEA), an organization dedicated to providing free business education and support to veterans and their families. With Isaac’s vision and the help of corporate sponsors including Zions Bank and Perkins Coie, what began as a single event soon became an official nonprofit organization. The VEA now offers comprehensive programs ranging from business ideation and planning to marketing, financial literacy, and beyond.
The fast growth of the organization is a testament to the need for this important work. But managing that growth and scaling the VEA’s efforts came with increasing operational challenges.
Managing growth with limited resources
As VEA expanded, Isaac increasingly faced difficulties in managing day-to-day operations. “Operationally, it was kind of a disaster,” he said. The organization relied on spreadsheets, emails, and HubSpot to track interactions with members and donors.
While HubSpot offered a nonprofit solution, its focus on sales didn’t align with the VEA’s needs, and the manual workarounds became increasingly cumbersome. The lack of a streamlined system also made it difficult to demonstrate impact through data — which is crucial for securing grants and donations.
“It was a lot of really frustrating, long, drawn-out days of trying to cobble together everything we were doing to be able to show an impact,” Isaac explained. Without reliable data, proving the value of the VEA’s work to would-be donors and sponsors was an uphill battle.
Finding a long-term partner in Atrium
Isaac knew he needed a more robust system to manage the VEA’s growing operations and improve data reporting. Having heard about Salesforce for Nonprofits, he was intrigued (and a bit overwhelmed) by its capabilities. That’s when a connection and fellow veteran in his network introduced him to Atrium.
From the beginning, the Atrium team members on the project took a thoughtful and personalized approach to understanding the VEA’s unique needs. They worked closely with Isaac to map out the organization’s operational requirements and translate them into a customized Salesforce solution. “They were really good at kind of taking in what I was feeding them and saying, ‘So I think what we hear you saying is this…’ and suggesting potential solutions,” said Isaac.
The result was a dedicated and repeatable process that streamlined member onboarding, improved data capture, and allowed the VEA to effectively track and report on key metrics. All new member inquiries are now automatically fed into Salesforce, where Isaac can manage them through a structured pipeline.
“I have every single metric that I could possibly ever need,” Isaac shared, noting how this has simplified reporting and strengthened his ability to communicate VEA’s impact to donors and partners.
Driving growth and impact with data-driven insights
With Atrium’s help, the VEA has transformed its operational landscape. The new Salesforce system has enabled Isaac to efficiently manage and prioritize member engagements, track detailed metrics, and generate comprehensive reports that demonstrate the value of the VEA’s programs. This data-centric approach has significantly enhanced the organization’s capacity to secure funding and expand its services to help more veterans and their families.
“There’s power in data,” Isaac emphasized. “To grow my organization, I have to continue to figure out how to put more fuel in the tank. And the data is what gets us there.”
Building a brighter future for veteran entrepreneurs
As the VEA continues to grow, Atrium remains committed to supporting its mission. Looking ahead, we plan to build out more advanced features, such as automation and customized business tracks. Isaac also noted how Atrium’s CEO has taken a personal interest in his work, and appreciates the strong support from the entire leadership team. He considers Atrium one of the VEA’s top five most impactful partners to date.
“We do exceptionally meaningful work for many nonprofit customers through our Cultivate program at Atrium,” said Chris Heineken, our CEO. “I’m excited about the impact we have for organizations like the VEA, especially by solving problems using our strengths as a team of data experts. It gets to our greater ‘why’ at Atrium, a core part of our mission being to create change for local and global communities, of which veterans are an essential part.”
With a strong data foundation in place, Isaac is now better equipped to scale the VEA’s impact, helping more veterans and military spouses realize their entrepreneurial dreams.
“Good things are happening,” he said, reflecting on the journey so far. And with Atrium as a strategic partner, the VEA is well-positioned to continue making a difference in the lives of those who served.
