You have probably seen or at least heard of the announcement by now: On May 2nd, Salesforce unveiled the newest addition to their Nonprofit Cloud: Grantmaking! (officially to be released on July 18). If you need a refresher about the new nonprofit cloud, check out our blog about this shift.
Why is this important? Why now?
Grantmaking is the name of the next generation grants management product by Salesforce, built on the new Nonprofit Cloud for industries.
The key reason for this shift is to facilitate innovation between the different Salesforce markets: Automotive, Financial Services, Health & Science, Public Sector and so on. Each of the industries built features from which nonprofits and foundations can now benefit. We are super excited about several of the core features (known as Common Industries Components) that are now available within the nonprofit cloud via simple license activation: Omnistudio, Data Processing Engine, Doc Gen, Business Rules Engine and more.
Another key data model shift is the ability to support Person Accounts. This facilitates the ability to track and manage relationships with individuals for scholarship or fellowship awards. You also natively gain a way to visualize those relationships in a relationship tree canvas.
What does this mean for me?
First of all, there are no plans to sunset Grants Management or Outbound funds and NPSP is not going anywhere. Unless you’re dying to implement the newest core functionality available on the nonprofit cloud, there is no need to jump the shark. We’ll let you know if anything changes and you can also reach out to your AE to get a demo of the new product.
Don’t worry – we got you!
This is a significant announcement and we’re here as your partner to help you understand and navigate this shift. We will continue to support you and your team in whatever capacity you use Salesforce and will keep you informed of any changes. Keep an eye out for updates in our quarterly newsletter. If you’re interested in knowing how this will directly impact your organization, please contact us to discuss.
FAQ
I am still using foundationConnect, what should I do?
You have a couple of options:
1. Salesforce will be hosting a complimentary fC to grantmaking readiness bootcamp series from June through July. This will be a six week series on how you can prep for your implementation and is best for clients who have the time and technical system understanding to fully document their requirements with some general guidance from Salesforce and in a cohort setting with other foundations. If you’re interested, register for the upcoming preview/info session on May 24 @ 1pm ET.
To register for the full, complimentary Salesforce bootcamp series: register for both Wednesdays and Fridays @ 1pm ET.
NOTE: Please only register if you will commit to the entire 6 week process.
2. If you would like a more personalized approach, we recommend you complete the Sputnik fC Migration Assessment & Requirements and then roll into the implementation soon thereafter. We have updated our assessment to focus more heavily on project discovery for either a custom build (e.g. utilizing Sales cloud objects like opportunities) or the new grantmaking for nonprofit cloud product.
I am using Salesforce Grants Management, what should I do?
Nothing. Salesforce will continue to support this product and there is no end of innovation or end of life announcement. There might be strategies to future-proof your system so feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.
I am using Salesforce’s open source Outbound Funds, what should I do?
Nothing! Outbound Funds will continue to be an open source, community driven project that Salesforce plans to continue supporting and keeping the data model free and available to any org. There might be strategies to future-proof your system so feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.
