In 2023, Salesforce expanded its nonprofit solution portfolio with the launch of Nonprofit Cloud. It helps nonprofits strengthen their programs, learn and grow using data, and provide personalized experiences. The introduction of Nonprofit Cloud aligns Salesforce’s nonprofit offering with other Salesforce products, allowing nonprofits to take advantage of this top solution’s features and billions of dollars of research and development.
If you are a current NPSP user, you may have questions about the solution’s future and how Nonprofit Cloud fits into your operations. Our team of experts is here to answer your questions, implement new technology, and optimize your Salesforce instance to meet your specific needs.
To help your nonprofit understand this change and its implications for your organization, we’ll review a few key considerations and the details of Nonprofit Cloud.
What Is Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud?
Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud (NPC) is a comprehensive solution built on the Salesforce platform designed for nonprofits. It provides customizable applications for case and program management, fundraising and donor management, grantmaking, and more. This launch was part of Salesforce’s efforts to align its nonprofit technology with the comprehensive products developed for other industries.
What Is the Difference Between Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud and NPSP?
NPC is a separate solution from NPSP that expands on existing Salesforce nonprofit technology. While both options offer similar features and functionalities, NPC provides access to more Salesforce technology, greater flexibility, and nonprofit-specific features that enhance user experiences and maximize efficiency.
Pricing will vary significantly depending on organizational needs, complexity, and other factors. Consult a professional technology consultant to obtain a more accurate estimate of pricing for your organization. Additionally, both solutions are eligible for use through the Power of Us program.
What Are the Key Benefits of Using Nonprofit Cloud?
Nonprofit Cloud is a comprehensive nonprofit CRM that offers various benefits, including:
- Nonprofit-specific design. Salesforce created Nonprofit Cloud with nonprofit-specific tasks and workflows in mind, meaning it doesn’t require customization or workarounds to work for your organization. This simplifies both implementation and long-term usage.
- Access to other Salesforce products. Nonprofit Cloud integrates seamlessly with other tools in the Salesforce ecosystem, enhancing scalability. For example, tools housed in Marketing Cloud can help you personalize communications to engage and retain more donors.
- Consistent updates from Salesforce. Salesforce offers Spring, Summer, and Winter release updates each year. These releases are broad and aim to enhance your solution’s performance, whether that involves strengthening security, introducing new features, or resolving bugs.
- Flexibility and customization options. While customization isn’t required to ensure Nonprofit Cloud can manage nonprofit-specific data and activities, users can tailor the solution to their needs. Customize reports and dashboards, add custom objects, set up automations, and more.
Salesforce is a well-established software provider with thousands of influential users across the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, providing it with the resources necessary to make substantial, strategic investments. Because the system is cloud-based, all users can benefit from its high standards and ongoing investment in the platform.
Considerations for Choosing Your Salesforce for Nonprofits Solution
Salesforce NPSP is a stable and extensible platform for a community of over 40,000 organizations. If your nonprofit currently uses NPSP, rest assured that:
- NPC does not indicate end-of-life or support from Salesforce.
- NPSP licenses will still be available to new and existing customers.
- Organizations currently using NPSP can move to NPC, but are not required to.
NPC will receive significant investment from Salesforce. This shift in focus will transform NPC into a strategic asset for nonprofits, enabling them to leverage beneficial features beyond just Nonprofit Cloud. For example, organizations can seamlessly leverage the tools included in other industry clouds, like Financial Service Cloud, Health Cloud, and others.
NPC adds more functionality and flexibility to Salesforce’s already well-resourced product portfolio. If your organization plans to switch to NPC, please note that moving to NPC is a reimplementation rather than an upgrade. Contact the Fíonta team to strategically navigate the implementation process, safely migrate data, and customize NPC to your unique needs.
What Does Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud Do?
Nonprofit Cloud will see the expansion of new tools and functionalities via release updates like any other Salesforce solution, but its core capabilities include:
- Fundraising and donor management: Manage both broad, annual fundraisers and individual major donors and prospects with this module. Staff can record various gift types, including recurring gifts and pledged donations. Build out detailed donor profiles for seamless, personalized communications.
- Program and case management: Maintain detailed records about your organization’s programs and service delivery. Plan programming, track impact, and allow caseworkers to create comprehensive participant profiles.
- Impact and outcome management: Track progress toward your goals and measure your nonprofit’s impact. Adjust your approach as needed, and collect feedback from program participants with an integrated assessment tool.
- Grantmaking and fund management: Foundations can find all of the tools needed to oversee grant applications, disburse funds, track grantees’ impact and progress, and drive efficient processes for staff and applicants.
- AI tools: Nonprofit Cloud integrates with the Einstein 1 platform to provide various AI-powered tools and functions. For example, leverage the tool to produce predictive insights about donor behaviors, such as the likelihood a supporter will upgrade or become a recurring donor. Salesforce also offers Agentforce, an AI solution powered by autonomous AI agents that can respond to donors’ questions, manage volunteers, organize data, and more.
Because NPC is built directly on the Salesforce platform, it provides the option to use other Salesforce tools. For example, nonprofits can leverage more than 40 industry Common Components.
Highlights of the 40+ Common Components
Salesforce Common Components are products available outside of just one Industry Cloud or across multiple Clouds outside of Industries. Using NPC, organizations can access Common Components such as:
- Actionable Relationship Center (ARC): This tool enhances the NPSP Relationship Viewer user interface by allowing you to customize related objects and records, display them graphically, and take action directly from the Lightning Record Page. A prebuilt user interface does not limit you and can leverage ARC for use cases outside the traditional relationship map.
- Life events and milestone tracking: These features allow users to capture and visualize supporters’ entire journeys with your organization. Moving forward, program and case management, tracking life events, interactions with case workers, attendance, and benefits will be combined into a single, easy-to-digest visualization.
- Omnistudio: NPC OmniStudio is available for nonprofits. OmniStudio’s digital engagement suite simplifies and accelerates digital transformation, making your Salesforce solution agile and flexible. With OmniStudio’s drag-and-drop configuration capabilities, nonprofits can create prebuilt, guided experiences using clicks rather than custom code. Think of OmniStudio as a sibling to Salesforce Flow. When paired with the Action Launcher, another standard industry solution, end-users can leverage OmniStudio and Flow to interact with Salesforce data and take multiple actions from a single location.
Now a Salesforce Industry Cloud
Salesforce services various industries through industry-specific Clouds, including Financial Services Cloud, Health Cloud, Manufacturing Cloud, and Education Cloud.
These Clouds are built on a common core Industry Data Model, meaning NPC can now utilize pre-built objects and components from other industry clouds. Organizations using NPC will have access to all tools and resources from Salesforce Industry Clouds. At the same time, Salesforce is focused on innovating the data model and making it available for all industries.
What Should Nonprofit Success Pack Users Do?
NPSP and Education Data Architecture (EDA) have been managed packages. Managed packages, such as apps, are installed on top of the Salesforce platform. This architecture enables nonprofits using NPSP, Project Management Module, Outbound Funds, and Grants Management to leverage new Salesforce releases. However, these solutions are not core products.
NPC is a core product built within the Salesforce platform, which means it provides access to the features and functionality of both Sales (Leads/Opportunities/Campaigns +) and Service (Cases +). It has a standard Industry Data Model, including Person Accounts, Interaction Summaries, and the Party Relationship Model.
Additionally, current and future NPC customers will be able to access new tools and features they haven’t been able to use previously. For example, components of common software used across industries are fully integrated and built into the platform for ease of use.
While NPC is the more robust option, each nonprofit has unique needs and circumstances. Work with Fíonta’s Salesforce consultants to determine your organization’s next steps and receive assistance with implementing and optimizing your technology.
Next Steps for Moving Forward with Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud
If your nonprofit is using Salesforce for the first time, this new offering will allow it to take its engagement and mission to the next level. NPC provides the best Salesforce offers, future innovations, and features.
For existing Salesforce customers, Fíonta will continue to be your trusted partner to determine the best path forward for your organization.
To get your questions about Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud answered, contact our experts at Fíonta.