Get ready for another NPSP Day recap! On September 11, NPSP Day landed in Minneapolis at the historic Grain Exchange, where local nonprofits, schools, and Salesforce pros came together for a day of learning, problem-solving, and connection. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect: a crisp, sunny September day that matched the energy in the room.
It was inspiring to see so many Minnesota-based Catholic schools diving into their Salesforce journeys with NPSP, alongside seasoned community champions like Nick Lindberg, Stephanie King, and Jason Samuels.
Whether folks were brand new to Salesforce or a longtime power user, the conversations captured the spirit of what makes NPSP Days special: collaboration, curiosity, and a whole lot of ah-ha moments.
Read on for key takeaways from our breakout sessions!
- Data Hygiene and De-duping
- Process Automation
- Reports & Dashboards
- Galas, Fundraising, and Event Registration
- Experience Cloud
- Third-Party Apps & Integrations
- Forms and Surveys
Data Hygiene and De-duping
This session dug into strategies for maintaining clean, reliable data in Salesforce. From staging objects to smarter deduplication practices, participants shared practical tips and identified pain points many orgs face.
Key takeaways:
- Use duplicate matching rules set to report only (not alerts) so you can run reports on duplicates via Duplicate Record Sets.
- Consider staging objects for imports – retain original data and use a flow to push into records.
- Schedule flows with a 1-minute delay when loading data to avoid governor limits.
- Use tools like Demand Tools, Apsona, or CSV Compare to handle deduplication and batch updates.
- Always ask: Do we need all the data we’re tracking? Every org should have a clear Data Governance Policy.
Process Automation
Flows were front and center in this session, with participants exploring best practices, common pitfalls, and the latest features.
Key takeaways:
- When migrating from Process Builder, it can be wise to rebuild flows instead of using Salesforce’s automatic converter.
- Test your flows thoroughly and use fault paths or subflows for better error handling.
- Avoid hardcoding IDs. Reference record variables instead.
- Establish clear naming conventions and documentation to keep flows maintainable.
- Create a “kill switch” with custom settings to quickly disable a flow if needed.
Reports & Dashboards
Participants shared creative ways to make reports and dashboards more insightful and manageable, from cleaning up unused reports to leveraging dirty data dashboards.
Key takeaways:
- Use a “report of reports” to identify unused or outdated reports.
- Leverage the free Data Quality Analysis Dashboards package to monitor common data quality issues.
- Build dashboards that aim for a “Wall of Zeros” as a marker of clean data.
- Use cross filters to identify root causes of bad data (e.g., missing affiliations).
- Start with NPSP’s built-in reports, clone them, and adjust as needed.
Galas, Fundraising, and Event Registration
This session focused on how Salesforce can help manage complex fundraising events and donor engagement.
Key takeaways:
- Campaign hierarchies are important for tracking ROI across events, mailings, and volunteer efforts.
- Establish a clear “Last Seen Alive” metric to measure supporter engagement.
- Consider using custom ticketing objects tied to Campaign Members to track sales, RSVPs, and fair market value.
- The Soapbox Engage Events app can support capacity control and self-service management.
- Visual tools like badges and stickers (digital or physical) can foster community and increase speed of recognition for users.
Experience Cloud
Admins and developers explored how Experience Cloud can extend Salesforce’s power to external audiences.
Key takeaways:
- Unauthenticated sites are free. Use them strategically for forms or public content.
- Prefill flows from URLs to streamline user input and link directly to records.
- Always write to a separate object when possible to protect core data.
- Consider login-based authentication for sensitive data or repeat users.
- Leverage custom questions and answers objects to build dynamic, reusable forms.
Third-Party Apps & Integrations
This discussion showcased the wide range of tools nonprofits use to extend Salesforce functionality.
Key takeaways:
- Apsona is a versatile tool for reporting, importing, deduping, and mail merges.
- Wealth screening tools like WealthEngine, iWave, and DonorSearch help assess donor capacity.
- Cazoomi and other connectors streamline syncing with platforms like Mailchimp.
- Conga can simplify mail merge templates, while Outlook integration can support email tracking.
- Texting apps like Mogli and task management tools like Asana can boost outreach and planning.
Forms and Surveys
In this session, participants compared tools for gathering supporter data and managing event registrations.
Key takeaways:
- Popular tools include the Soapbox Engage Forms app, FormTitan (robust integration, dynamic prefill), FormAssembly, Jotform, Typeform, and Salesforce Surveys.
- Consider using staging objects for safer data management and matching records.
- Screen flows on Experience Cloud sites are increasingly powerful, with features like CAPTCHAs and dynamic layouts.
- Think long-term: choose tools and structures that will scale as your org grows.
- Visual design matters. Make forms engaging with confetti, sections, and user-friendly layouts.
NPSP Day Minneapolis was a fantastic day of sharing knowledge, solving challenges, and building community. We’re grateful to everyone who joined us, whether you were starting your Salesforce journey or sharing hard-earned wisdom.
Shout out to our host!
A huge thank you to our generous hosts at Coco at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange for providing such a beautiful and welcoming space for the day. We’re also deeply grateful to Idlewild Partners for sponsoring NPSP Day 2025 and helping make this community gathering possible.
Join a Future NPSP Day!
Want to join in on the fun? Check below or visit npspday.org to see if we’re coming to a city near you and be sure to mark your calendar!
- NPSP Day New York - October 9
- NPSP Day Washington DC - November 6
- NPSP Day Philadelphia - December 4
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