Should Nonprofits Adopt Salesforce?
Nonprofits often face a perfect storm of challenges—juggling donor relationships, engaging volunteers, tracking program outcomes, and scaling operations—all while operating on shoestring budgets and limited resources.
To overcome these obstacles and achieve greater impact, Nonprofit organizations must embrace advanced CRM solutions that streamline operations, foster engagement, and drive efficiency. One such tool is Salesforce, a platform that promises to transform how Nonprofits work.
Salesforce for nonprofits has changed how NPOs/NGOs manage donors and volunteers ( and raise funds). Read the blog to discover the prospects of using Salesforce and whether it would be a fit for your organization.
Challenges You Might Be Going Through As A Nonprofit
As a Nonprofit organization, you might be facing one or more of these hurdles:
Fragmented Data Management: Donor, volunteer, and program data is often scattered across spreadsheets, emails, and manual records, causing inefficiencies and missed opportunities.
Limited Engagement Tools: Building strong relationships with donors and beneficiaries requires personalized engagement. Without the right tools, securing recurring donations or fostering trust can seem an uphill task.
Time-Consuming Manual Processes: Administrative tasks like data entry and reporting consume valuable time that could be redirected towards mission-driven activities, leaving less room for innovation and outreach.
Difficulty in Measuring Impact: Funders and stakeholders want to know the impact and real-time updates on their participatory missions. However, without centralized data and analytics, tracking progress and showcasing impact can be challenging for you.
Budget Constraints: Most Nonprofits operate on tight budgets, making it difficult to invest in technology that delivers measurable value without straining finances. But what if there are free and affordable options out there ( exactly what Salesforce offers!)?
Lack of Personalized CX: Customer experiences are key to getting loyal donors and volunteers. However, with old legacy platforms, taping customer behavior and sharing tailored messages that strike their emotions is highly unlikely.
Key Salesforce Features That Can Help Your Nonprofit
Fundraising
Salesforce makes it easy to organize and track fundraising efforts, helping nonprofits see how their events are performing and if they're meeting their goals.
It includes tools for online fundraising, peer-to-peer campaigns, and even matching gift donations.
Case Management
With Salesforce, you can manage client care effectively. It syncs data in real-time, so you always know where a client is in their journey and can balance caseloads while providing personalized support.
Marketing and Engagement
Salesforce helps nonprofits raise awareness and improve communication with their supporters.
You can use tools for personalized emails, social media posts, and templates designed for volunteers, donors, and subscribers.
Grants Management
Salesforce for nonprofits helps you keep all your grant-related information in one place, making it easier to collaborate with donors and track funding.
It also supports fundraising activities like events, donor relationships, and online donations.
Tools Salesforce Offers for Nonprofits - Which One Should You Choose?
More than 40,000 organizations, including foundations, charities, and higher education institutions already use Salesforce solutions for nonprofits to manage donors, fundraisers, and grants. But what are the tools they use? Find out below:
1. Nonprofit Success Pack
It is an open-source package with pre-built customizations and configurations that adapt Salesforce for the Nonprofit sector. And the best part? It is available for Free!
Through the Power of Us Program, Salesforce provides eligible charitable, nonprofit, educational, or social change organizations with 10 donated Enterprise Edition licenses. Additionally, there are deep discounts available on additional licenses, products, and services from Salesforce.
Features of Salesforce NPSP
Constituent Management: Provides a 360-degree view of constituents, managing complex relationships and visualizing connections.
Fundraising: Tools for strategic planning and data-driven insights to engage donors and raise funds.
Program Management: Manages and delivers programs to increase productivity and eliminate data silos.
Case Management: Helps case managers see the full picture of participants and deliver individualized experiences.
Outcome Management: Defines impact strategy, collects data, tracks progress, and evaluates program
Who Should Use It?
Any Small to mid-sized nonprofits looking for a cost-effective, entry-level solution can consider NPSP, which is also a component of the Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud. However, if your needs are much beyond that you’ll likely need to switch to Nonprofit Cloud sometime in the future.
Nevertheless, if you’re trying to navigate through manual processes and challenges and are looking for an affordable solution or a solution that you can test for some time without any cost, then NPSP will be a great choice.
For implementing NPSP, you can consider a Salesforce managed services partner who can act as your remote extension helping you get the max out of your NPSP licenses.
2. Nonprofit Cloud
Nonprofit Cloud is an umbrella term for Salesforce’s ecosystem of solutions tailored for nonprofits, which includes NPSP as a component. It expands beyond NPSP to integrate advanced features, products, and third-party solutions to address more complex needs.
Some of the additional features it offers ( as an extension to NPSP) include Program Management Module (PMM), Case Management Module (CMM), Fundraising Performance Management (FPM), Marketing Cloud for Nonprofits, and Philanthropy Cloud.
Note: Similar to NPSP, Nonprofit Cloud too is FREE for up to 10 users. Check detailed licensing information here.
Key Features of Nonprofit Cloud
Includes NPSP as the core CRM functionality.
Integration with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Tableau for analytics, and Einstein AI for predictive insights.
Advanced fundraising capabilities like grant management and major gift tracking.
Deeper customization and scalability options for large nonprofits.
Access to tools like MuleSoft for integrations and Pardot (Account Engagement) for targeted donor campaigns.
Who Should Use It?
Large nonprofits or NGOs with complex operational needs, flexible budgets, advanced analytics needs, and integration requirements with external platforms can consider it.
3. Experience Cloud
Experience Cloud is a separate Salesforce product designed to build online portals and communities for connecting with stakeholders.
It is not specific to nonprofits but can be integrated with NPSP or Nonprofit Cloud to enhance collaboration and engagement.
Key Features of Experience Cloud
Create portals for donors, volunteers, or beneficiaries to access resources, track their involvement, or view updates.
Build communities to foster collaboration among teams, stakeholders, or even program participants.
Offer self-service options, such as volunteer sign-ups or donation tracking.
Customizable to match the organization’s branding and needs.
Who Should Use It?
Nonprofits who want to provide an interactive, self-service experience for stakeholders, partners, or employees can go with Salesforce Experience Cloud implementation.
Note that Experience Cloud is not a feature within the Nonprofit Cloud but can be a core requirement if you are planning to improve user experience through your digital communities and portals.
How Nonprofits are using Salesforce?
Here’s how different Nonprofits are using Salesforce to overcome their mission challenges.
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross faced challenges in managing a vast network of donors and volunteers across 187 countries. With approximately $3 million in resources, the organization struggled with fragmented data systems that made it difficult to track donations, manage relationships, and coordinate emergency assistance efforts effectively.
To address these challenges, they implemented Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud to create a centralized donor management system. This platform allowed them to build a comprehensive contact list of donors, streamline the tracking of donations and grants, and enhance communication among staff members involved in disaster response.
Outcome?
The American Red Cross significantly improved its operational efficiency with Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud. They reported a more organized approach to managing donor relationships which ultimately improved their donor engagement and support. This streamlined process enabled them to respond more effectively to emergencies, enhancing their ability to protect lives and health globally.
2. Alone
Alone encountered challenges in managing the diverse needs of older adults seeking support to age at home. The organization required an effective system for client services, volunteer coordination, fundraising, and financial management to ensure comprehensive support for seniors.
To overcome challenges, they implemented Salesforce's Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) which provided them with a unified platform that integrated various functions, allowing for better tracking of client interactions, volunteer activities, and fundraising efforts.
Outcome?
With Salesforce in place, Alone experienced enhanced operational efficiency and improved service delivery. Staff members could easily access client information and coordinate services more effectively. This led to better outcomes for seniors seeking support, ultimately helping them maintain their independence while improving their overall quality of life.
Conclusion
Salesforce offers tailored solutions for nonprofits, whether you're starting fresh, upgrading from NPSP, or enhancing your current Salesforce setup. For organizations seeking advanced features, scalability, and robust program management, Nonprofit Cloud is a comprehensive choice.
However, NPSP remains a cost-effective and capable solution for smaller nonprofits or those with simpler needs. Besides these two, add-solutions like Experience Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and many more can also be considered along with your current solution, for a greater impact.
Irrespective of your starting point, Salesforce has all the choices you might need to scale your Nonprofit to the desired level and bridge existing gaps. However, which one is the ideal fit for your needs, that’s up to you to decide.
Need help in customizing Salesforce Nonprofit or NPSP? Our Salesforce development services experts are there to assist.
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