Key uses of Salesforce for Nonprofits
Salesforce can help you manage nearly every aspect of your organization, whether you use a managed package approach or the new Nonprofit Cloud.
Here are some key areas:
A note about integrations: In addition to products offered by Salesforce, there are also thousands of third-party apps in the Salesforce AppExchange that integrate with the Salesforce CRM platform to help you extend your Salesforce solutions in new ways. Note that many of these apps may not have been developed or adapted for the new Nonprofit Cloud yet. So, if you have an AppExchange app that is critical to your organization and you’re thinking about investing in the new Nonprofit Cloud, then be sure to check with the vendor that it will work with the new Nonprofit Cloud.
Additional uses for the new Nonprofit Cloud
The new Nonprofit Cloud will also have additional functionality. Here are some examples:
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
At Dreamforce 2023, the user conference for Salesforce, Salesforce announced Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud. Slated to be available in 2024, Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud will allow you to segment supporters, create content such as cultivation emails or social media copy, and create a webpage without having to use code.
For major gift officers, Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud will be able to draft a personalized gift proposal. Fundraisers will be able to draft a proposal and pull in the programs that the donor is affiliated with, and then the AI tool will create a draft of a gift proposal that can be edited and sent out quickly. This will allow fundraisers to reach out to more people in a personalized way.
For programs, users will be able to ask Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud to create a program summary. For fundraising, users will be able to use Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud to generate personalized gift proposals.
Salesforce is committed to responsible AI, meaning Einstein has a “trust layer” that prevents the large language model from storing your prompts and your outputs.
Outcome Management
Slated to be available in the new Nonprofit Cloud in fall 2023, Outcome Management will tie fundraising dollars to programs. It will allow you to track outcomes and programs in one place and have that data connected back to fundraising efforts. This will give your organization insights into how your fundraising dollars are impacting your programs. You can connect outcomes to the programs that they are affiliated with and then use that data to create reports.
Grantmaking
Nonprofit Cloud for Grantmaking, now available as an add-on to the new Nonprofit Cloud (at an additional cost), is a feature-rich grants management software solution that helps organizations manage, track, and deliver funding programs – making it easier and faster to get funding out to other nonprofits, communities, individuals, schools, and other organizations.
As you can see, Salesforce is a strong technology option for nonprofits. The company also has a solid track record of offering powerful nonprofit solutions for more than a decade. According to Salesforce, more than 50,000 nonprofits and NGOs use the Salesforce platform. There is also a huge ecosystem of partners and resources available to support nonprofits that use the Salesforce platform, many of which (like Heller Consulting) are staffed with certified industry veterans who understand the unique needs and challenges of nonprofit organizations.