NPSP: this is what you can do with it

Salesforce users in the non-profit sector have undoubtedly heard of NPSP. But what is it and what can you do with it? In this article, I will show you what NPSP can do for your organisation.

What is the NPSP?

Salesforce was once developed to support sales processes. However, the platform is so flexible that it can also be used in education, healthcare and charities. So as not to have to keep reinventing the wheel, the call arose for a standard solution for nonprofits and that is what the Nonprofit Success Pack become.

The app is free* to download and optimises Salesforce for use in a charitable organisation. The user interface is available in six languages, including Dutch. NPSP is open source, which means users help build improvements and new features. Salesforce.org provides version control and distributes an update every fortnight.

It's all about relationships

What immediately stands out in NPSP are the many ways of recording interrelationships. For example: Tim is Max's father, but also an employee of a construction company as well as a board member at the football club. All these connections can be registered and viewed from different sides. The relationship diagram shows family relationships at a glance. The term 'soft credit' is also introduced here. These are gifts that someone does not make themselves but has influenced. For example: Tim raises €1,000 with a charity run and his employer doubles the proceeds. We then have a 'hard credit' of €1,000 with Tim and his employer, but also a 'soft credit' of €1,000 with Tim, because he has influenced his employer's donation. When segmenting donors, you can choose to include the value of this soft credit.Source: Salesforce.org Power of Us

Processing of donations

The standard 'Opportunity' object is used to record various types of donations: one-off, structural, membership, in-kind and 'grant' management. Pledges and gifts can be linked to campaigns and earmarked funds. Does the use of the gift need to be reported? You record the actions and deadlines under 'Deliverables'. While NPSP has an option for quick entry of donations, it does not have a built-in solution for automated processing of collections and bank files. This requires customisation and installation of an additional service. Incidentally, it is high on the agenda at Salesforce.org to develop a standard solution for this.

Segmentation and relationship management

By default, NPSP has more than 80 'roll-ups', or counts and indicators for segmenting donors. Think: total gifts last year, best gift year, highest gift etc. These roll-ups are customisable and also applicable to other objects. For example, also include the number of events attended or the number of volunteer tasks performed when calculating donor value. The score results in a 'Level', which then triggers an 'Engagement Plan'. This is a series of tasks specifically aimed at a certain type of donor. Think: sending anniversary book, inviting major donor event, phone call from the director, etc.

Volunteer management

For nonprofits that work a lot with volunteers, NPSP offers comprehensive support. For each volunteer, you record their availability and qualities and then easily match them to needs. Website integration is also possible so volunteers can register for open jobs.