Cloudy’s Top 10: Resources for Nonprofits using Salesforce – Part 1

Your organization may have started using Salesforce because of the 10 free licenses – and you made a great choice! But what makes Salesforce truly stand out is not just the free stuff, but the amazing community and resources available to nonprofits using the platform. Here are some amazing resources you should not miss:

1) NPSP Documentation: Up-to-date documentation for all parts of the Nonprofit Success Pack. The documentation is clear, concise, and very important to understand, so Cloudy strongly recommends a read-through for all nonprofit admins!

2) NPSP Settings: Find them in your org by clicking the “+” in the Tabs bar and look alphabetically in the list. Open and read thru all the tabs on the left side. And on the main page, there are excellent LINKS to updated resources!

3) Trailhead: Free Salesforce training using readings, videos, hands-on exercises, and quizzes. Cloudy recommends exploring trails related to Beginner Admin, NPSP Fundraising, and Volunteers:

4) The Power of Us HUB: The HUB is the Salesforce nonprofit online community; use your Salesforce Login to join. The HUB is packed full of relevant resources to explore, but here are two top features to get you started:

GROUPS: Join Groups that are relevant to your Salesforce needs and interests; post questions in groups and receive speedy responses from experts and community members, search posts for keywords you are interested in, and learn from the accumulated knowledge in group posts. Top groups to try:

• Nonprofit Success Pack: Post any question relating to NPSP here.
• Volunteers for Salesforce App: Post questions relating to V4F in this group. The App’s creator, David Habib, is active answering questions here! Similarly, search to find groups that may exist for other Apps that you use!
• NPSP Release Announcements: NPSP releases updates every two weeks. Stay abreast of the updates by joining this group.

IDEAS: The Ideas forum is a place to post and vote for the features and enhancements that you would like to see in the NPSP. The leaders and developers who are responsible for releasing new NPSP features pay close attention to the Ideas forum, and popular Ideas frequently become reality in NPSP updates. Post your Ideas for NPSP Features that would help your org –> Vote for Ideas that you love –> Get new toys in future NPSP releases!

5) Salesforce Success Community: This is the main online Salesforce support community. As with the HUB, log in using your Salesforce login. Join Groups, vote for Ideas. etc. Spend some time browsing the many resources here!

Get started with these essential resources and read Part 2 with 5 more great resources for nonprofits using Salesforce.

If you’d like to talk to a nonprofit Salesforce expert right away, Contact Us!