BrightHelm Turns One
As Told by Plucky & Hammie
🐓 Plucky:(setting down her mug) A year ago we signed our first client. Just the crew, a plan and a lot of nerve.
🐷 Hammie: And now — fifteen clients, twenty-seven projects, and 4,207 hours of nonprofit Salesforce work later — we're still here!! Let's walk the whole voyage. Month by month.
🐓 Plucky: Weigh anchor! Here's how it went.
September 2025 — The Beginning
Signed our first client: the Jewish Community Alliance of Jacksonville
🐓 Plucky: Every crew's got a first believer. Somebody signs on before there's any proof you're worth it. JCA did.
🐷 Hammie: They took a chance on a ship that had just left the harbor. That's not nothing, Plucky.
🐓 Plucky:(a beat) No. It's not.
October 2025 — Full Service, Full Speed
Took on full-service work for clients transitioning from Navigators
Hit the road for Midwest Dreamin' — our first appearance in the broader Salesforce nonprofit community
🐷 Hammie: Our FIRST time sailing with the wider fleet!! Midwest Dreamin'! I still get nervous just thinking about it!
🐷 Hammie: But we made it. And people actually knew who we were by the end.
November 2025 — Giving Back, Early
Sponsored Gather for Goodwill
Hayley volunteered at the Merivis 10-Year Gala
🐓 Plucky: Sponsored our first event before we'd "earned the right to," by most people's math. Didn't wait to grow into showing up.
🐓 Plucky: You either show up from jump or you don't mean it.
🐷 Hammie: This industry runs on people who show up for each other. That's the whole thing, really.
December 2025 — Closing the Year Strong
Joined the Agentforce Community Sprint
🐓 Plucky: Platform moves, you move with it. We joined the Agentforce Sprint and kept pace with where our clients' needs were headed next.
🐓 Plucky: Standing still is how ships get left at the dock.
January 2026 — Building the Crew
Shifted to full-time W2 team came aboard
Connected with peers at the Nonprofit Partner Summit
🐓 Plucky:(gruffly) What started as a scrappy, contractor-run operation became a real crew this month. Full-time. On the payroll. On the ship for good.
🐷 Hammie: WE HAVE A CREW, PLUCKY. An actual crew!!
🐓 Plucky:(not looking up) ...Yeah. We do.
🐷 Hammie:(who absolutely heard the pride in that) 🐷✨
February 2026 — Meet Hammie & Plucky
Introduced our mascots
🐷 Hammie: This is the month WE showed up!! Hi, it's us!!
🐓 Plucky: Even serious nonprofit consulting work deserves a little personality. (sips coffee) Don't make it weird.
🐷 Hammie: Too late.
March 2026 — Certified and Center Stage
Karen earned her Nonprofit Cloud Consultant certification
Sponsored Nonprofit Dreamin'
Hayley took the stage at World Tour DC
🐷 Hammie: Karen's Nonprofit Cloud Consultant cert, sponsoring Nonprofit Dreamin', AND Hayley on stage at World Tour DC — all in one month??
🐷 Hammie: March really said "hold my chocolate milk."
April 2026 — A Big Month
Earned Veteran-Owned, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, and Women-Owned Business certifications
Hayley spoke at both TDX and World Tour NYC
🐷 Hammie: Three certifications in ONE month?! Veteran-Owned, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, AND Women-Owned?!
🐓 Plucky: Paperwork catching up to the truth. That's not new — that's just finally official. (a beat) Still. Good month.
🐷 Hammie: And Hayley was on stage twice. TDX and World Tour NYC!
🐓 Plucky: Chart the course, then stand in front of the whole fleet and tell them how you did it. That's the job.
May 2026 — Community, On and Off the Clock
Trent represented BrightHelm at Informatica World
Hayley attended the HOH Military Spouse Employment Summit
🐓 Plucky: Trent flew the flag at Informatica World. Hayley showed up for the Military Spouse Employment Summit.
🐓 Plucky: Community work doesn't stop just because it's not billable.
June 2026 — New Crew Member (Sort Of)
Upgraded to Slack Enterprise and unlocked Unlimited Slackbot — meet Sparks ⚡️
🐷 Hammie: We got a new crew member this month! Well — sort of. Sparks doesn't have a snout OR feathers, but she's SO fast at finding things.
🐷 Hammie: Slack Enterprise, Unlimited Slackbot, and suddenly the whole ship runs a little smoother. Land ho for good tooling!
July 2026 — Investing in What's Next
Welcomed our first fellow through the ACHIEVEability TechUp program
Sponsored JAX Chamber's K9s for Warriors
Hayley closed out WITness Success with a fireside chat
🐷 Hammie: Our first fellowship!! Someone new to this whole ecosystem, getting a real shot!
🐓 Plucky: That's the mission working the way it's supposed to. We sponsored K9s for Warriors this month too — service dogs, paired with veterans, doing the work of getting somebody home all the way.
🐷 Hammie: And Hayley closed out WITness Success with a fireside chat!
🐓 Plucky: Busy month. Worth every hour of it.
August 2026 — Closing the Year Out
Sponsored Dreamin' in Color
🐷 Hammie: Sponsoring Dreamin' in Color — still building, still showing up, right to the last month!
🐷 Hammie: A pretty great way to close out a first year, if you ask me.
Year One - By the Numbers
🐓 Plucky: Fifteen clients. Twenty-seven projects. 4,207 hours. A 4.9 on the AppExchange.
🐷 Hammie: One year in the books!!
🐓 Plucky:(setting her mug down) And we're just getting started.
🐷 Hammie: Unsinkable, Plucky.
🐓 Plucky: Unsinkable.
One year down. The mission's the same — the crew, the reach, and the impact just keep growing.
Here’s to Year One – we’re just getting started. 🚀
