Soapbox Engage Blog

We're just a few days away from the next NPSP Day in New York, and I can't wait to jump right back into the unconference mix here in the US after the NPSP Day tour took a two-stop jaunt overseas.

Community events like these not only increase knowledge, but open our minds to a more creative position. They give us a chance to exit the day-to-day work and focus on exploring new opportunities. As of yet, we haven't had a Play-Doh breakout (soon, maybe?), but just working together as a community to solve common challenges, we've created some pretty innovative ideas.

To make the countdown to Friday a bit easier, I've done my best to collect one of the largest set of Power of Us Hub posts. So, find a cozy spot, sit back, and indulge in this week's content roundup.

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Great Posts from the Salesforce Power of Us Hub

1. Expressing Exceptional Gratitude: Moving Beyond the Receipt to be a Thankful Nonprofit
   Tim Forbes (Soapbox Engage)

   6 ways to increase your fundraising efforts just by saying "thank you" to your donors. Plus, a webinar recording to boot!

2. Higher Education vs Nonprofit Success Pack
   Chris McAnally (Ada Developers Academy)

   When you're an organization that has a class component to your programs, is this the right time to choose HEDA over the NPSP? Run both?

3. NPSP Data Entry training / certification?
   John Fine (Hood River County School District Foundation)

   There's enough Salesforce functionality training options to fill up an ocean or two, but we're seeming to lack training in the data entry itself. While every organization is a special snowflake, is there a common path of training or certification that we can make to help newbies at our organizations succeed faster in data entry?

4. Why Chatter is Great for Nonprofits
   Janna Rawls (Cloud for Good)

   Chatter was all the rage a few years ago, but have organizations found it successful for aiding them in reaching their goals? Here's some ways in which organizations can put Chatter to good use.

5. Why would I use recurring donation instead of opportunity?
   Jillian Beever (IDE Canada)

   Different donors call for different ways to utilize NPSP tools. Some organizations use recurring donations, while others use opportunities. What method is more efficient for your organization?

6. What is the best approach for migrating NPSP 2.0 data in a source org to NPSP 3.0 in a target org?
   Lexa Koenig (Vera Solutions)

   We probably can't have enough good documentation on migrating from NPSP v2 to v3!

7. To use NPSP or not?
   Maureen Bunting (Latino Community Foundation)

   Before blindly making the jump into the NPSP, it's good to think of your own use case and how the NPSP can help solve your data and automation challenges. Here's a nice starting point for learning more.

8. Is there a way to categorize your donors (HHs and organizations) by importance?
   Kara Greenblott (Center for Mindful Learning)

   If you're in need of prioritizing donors, both past and prospective, what's the best way of managing that in the NPSP? Would Levels alone do the trick?

9. Best way to record donation pledges?
   Rick Dolishny (Junior Achievement of Peterborough Lakeland Muskoka)

   Pledges feel almost as good as those donation dollars flowing into your bank account, but they're different. Recording them in Salesforce so you can see all the value of the pledges can be a little tricky. Here's some ideas of customizing the Opportunity staging process for such needs.

10. NPSP Best Practices: recommendations?
    Michael Pierce (OpenGate Consulting)

    Imagine you only have one hour to provide the most important parts of the NPSP to a nonprofit that is brand new to it. What would you cover?

11. Change Owner Error
    Beth Saunders (Beth Saunders Consulting)

    Merging contacts is a sticky problem, and often times, you'll end up with your head in your hands. Here's an awesome thread exposing further insight into the role external Ids can have in the process.

Great Events for the Salesforce Nonprofit Community

1. NPSP Day New York - June 23
   Ryan Ozimek (Soapbox Engage)

   Start spreading the news! The next NPSP Day will take place this Friday in New York, and with the views I'm told we'll have of the Hudson River, I wouldn't miss it. Oh, and all the Salesforce goodness!

2. LATAM Hub Office Hours - mier, 21 de Junio @ 12pm MEX
   LATAM Office Hours (LATAM Office Hours)

   No te pierdas esta semana en las Horas de Oficina de LATAM.

3. HUB Office Hours - Fri, Jun 23 @ 12pm EST
   Caroline Renard (Technology Interpreter for Arts Groups)

   Join Allison Letts, Aiden Martin, and Gorav Seth for this week's HUB Office Hours. Earn the "Salesforce Flow Master" title for your organization.

Great Ideas for Nonprofits Using Salesforce

1. Allow Engagement Plans to schedule tasks based on Engagement Plan End Date
   Fiona Rosenthal (North Peak)

   What if Engagement Plans could look to milestones in the future, work backwards, and set a task to be delivered before the end date? Essentially, calculate subsequent tasks based on the completion date of the parent task.