Are you using the .NET version of the foundationConnect portal?

 

Salesforce first discussed the retirement of the foundationConnect .NET portal at the User Groups held at the Dreamforce and TAG conferences in November 2019. While they did not mention any specific dates, they did announce that Salesforce will be retiring the .NET version of the foundationConnect portal. This means foundations currently using the .NET version will need to upgrade to the Communities-based version of the foundationConnect portal (originally released in 2015).

Update:

on 2/18/20, Salesforce had a webinar on the topic https://sfdc.co/2020-02-18

on 2/4/20, Salesforce announced the retirement of foundationConnect .NET portal. https://powerofus.force.com/s/article/fC-NET-Retirement-FAQs

What is involved with the conversion?

While both versions are on the Salesforce platform, the conversion is not straightforward because of key design differences. Here are the high level tasks required during the conversion:

  • Obtain Communities licenses & Install new foundationConnect packages
  • Basic configuration of Salesforce Communities
  • Convert every online form (LOI, Full Proposals, Grantee Reports, External Reviews…)
  • Convert portal users
  • Admin Training

We have already converted 3 foundations from .NET to Communities, and we have found that the most labor intensive part of the process is the conversion of the online forms. In .NET, the online forms are controlled by Salesforce page layouts. In Communities, it is driven by custom objects called Quiz and Questions. Also the instructional help text and portal field labels work differently. Out of the box, you would have recreate each online form manually. Depending on the number of forms, and number of fields that are on each form, this could take a long time. For this reason, Sputnik Moment has created a tool to automatically convert the forms from one format to the other with minimal manual work. Poof 🙂

How can Sputnik Moment help me with the conversion?

In preparation for this upcoming transition, Sputnik Moment is offering 2 approaches to assist .NET customers:

– FAST TRACK CONVERSION

– CUSTOM CONVERSION

(1) The Fast Track Conversion is a packaged service offering that focuses on the basic/essential migration tasks necessary to transition from .NET:

 

  • Conversion of each form as is
  • Conversion of portal users (only active grantees)
  • Basic training on key differences

However it does not include the implementation of Communities-only features such as the Online Grantee Budget module, Guidestar API, or the optimization of your current features/processes (which are not required for the transition). We envision that these additional elements could be tackled in a “Phase 2” project or as part of on-going support at a later time. It is designed for budget-conscious foundations with relatively basic requirements. It is typically completed in 4-8 weeks.

(2) The Custom Conversion includes the items in the Fast Track, but is a more tailored engagement for foundations with robust existing foundationConnect needs that would address:

  • Existing custom CSS for portal design
  • Multiple portals
  • API integrations
  • Multi-language/Multi-currency
  • Custom Triggers
  • Custom Visualforce pages
  • More complex grant making processes

This offering is also well-suited for foundations interested in combining the transition from .NET with an update of their current grantmaking processes. It is typically completed in 3-4 months.

If you are interested in planning for this conversion, please contact us at [email protected] or complete this questionnaire.