Top 10 Salesforce apps for nonprofits

Salesforce^® has become a transformative platform for nonprofit organizations, enabling them to manage their operations, donor relationships, and mission-driven goals more effectively. With a wide range of applications designed specifically for nonprofits, Salesforce provides tools to support fundraising, volunteer management, compliance, and data integration. 

This article covers the best Salesforce apps for nonprofits and the Salesforce Clouds most likely to be useful and valuable. You’ll learn how each Salesforce nonprofit application can help you, including enhancing workflows, improving data accessibility, and helping your organizations maximize their impact. 

So, let’s get started. Here are our top 10 Salesforce apps for nonprofits:

1. Nonprofit Cloud

Salesforce’s Nonprofit Cloud is an incredibly powerful and comprehensive platform developed specifically for nonprofit organizations’ needs. It provides a suite of tools to streamline donor engagement, program management, and overall organizational efficiency. With features tailored to the nonprofit sector, Nonprofit Cloud allows organizations to:

• Manage donor relationships and constituent data: Nonprofit Cloud provides a robust CRM platform to track donor information, allowing organizations to segment supporters by giving history, engagement level, and demographic data. This segmentation enables nonprofits to personalize their outreach strategies and create targeted campaigns.
• Gain actionable insights: The application includes custom dashboards and reporting tools that provide insights into campaign performance, donor activity, and program impact. Nonprofits can track key performance indicators (KPIs) in real time, enabling them to adjust their strategies based on what works best.
• Streamline fundraising workflows: Nonprofit Cloud helps nonprofits track donations, pledges, and sponsorships, integrating donor activity in one location to simplify fundraising campaign planning and execution. Automated workflows can be set up to ensure timely follow-ups and acknowledgment of donations.
• Engage supporters: Built-in tools allow nonprofits to communicate more effectively with their supporters through personalized email campaigns, events, and follow-ups, ensuring a more engaged community. By nurturing relationships, nonprofits can cultivate long-term support and increase donor loyalty.

Example: A global nonprofit organization uses Nonprofit Cloud to segment its donor base by location, donation frequency, and interests, enabling targeted engagement and more personalized outreach. As a result, they’ve seen a significant increase in repeat donations and a stronger sense of community among their supporters.

2. FinDock

Handling donations efficiently is critical for nonprofits, and FinDock is an ideal Salesforce fundraising app for end-to-end donation management. By offering a wide range of payment processing options, FinDock ensures nonprofits can easily accept contributions while providing them with clear insights into donation patterns. With FinDock, nonprofits can:

• Support multiple payment methods: FinDock enables nonprofits to accept credit cards, direct debits, and mobile payments, catering to donor preferences and making it easier to contribute. This flexibility increases the likelihood of receiving donations from a wider audience.
• Access in-depth donor insights: The application provides a robust set of tools to analyze donation trends, track donor history, and identify opportunities for relationship building. Nonprofits can understand which campaigns resonate most with their donors and adjust their strategies accordingly.
• Simplify multi-currency and multi-channel support: Ideal for global nonprofits, FinDock’s ability to handle international donations ensures accurate records across multiple currencies, simplifying donor relations. This capability is crucial for organizations that operate in various countries and need to manage funds across different currencies.

Example: A humanitarian nonprofit that provides aid in crisis zones uses FinDock to manage multi-currency donations from international supporters. FinDock’s analytics help them identify major donors and enhance their global fundraising efforts, strengthening their capacity to deliver critical services.

3. Marketing Cloud

Effective marketing strategies are essential for nonprofit success, and Salesforce’s Marketing Cloud platform provides powerful tools for engagement, automation, and analytics. Nonprofits can use Marketing Cloud to:

• Create personalized communication campaigns: Nonprofits can segment their audience and create tailored email campaigns that resonate with specific donor groups. By delivering relevant content, organizations can enhance engagement and encourage donations.
• Automate donor communications: The app allows nonprofits to set up automated workflows for donor acknowledgment, follow-ups, and event invitations, ensuring timely communication without requiring significant staff resources. This automation is crucial for maintaining strong relationships with supporters.
• Analyze campaign performance: Marketing Cloud offers robust analytics tools to track the success of campaigns, helping nonprofits adjust their strategies based on data-driven insights. This capability allows organizations to optimize their marketing efforts continuously.

Example: An animal welfare nonprofit uses Marketing Cloud to launch a targeted email campaign showcasing specific rescue and care initiatives needing support. By analyzing engagement metrics, they can identify which projects resonate most with their supporters, enabling more effective future fundraising efforts.

4. FormAssembly

Capturing data through forms is essential for nonprofit functions, from volunteer recruitment to donor engagement, and FormAssembly provides nonprofits with a reliable solution for collecting and managing data. This powerful tool integrates seamlessly with Salesforce, providing the flexibility and security nonprofits need to handle sensitive information. FormAssembly allows nonprofits to:

• Create custom forms for any purpose: Nonprofits can design forms for applications, surveys, and feedback collection, streamlining data gathering and eliminating manual entry. This flexibility allows organizations to tailor their data collection to specific needs and projects.
• Ensure data security: With HIPAA-compliant and PCI-certified solutions, FormAssembly is ideal for nonprofits handling donor financials or participant medical information, safeguarding all collected data. This compliance is essential for maintaining trust with donors and stakeholders.
• Automate data processing: The app routes form responses directly into Salesforce, reducing the risk of human error and saving staff time on data management. Automation frees up staff to focus on higher-impact tasks rather than administrative work.

Example: A homelessness charity uses FormAssembly to streamline volunteer sign-ups. Prospective volunteers fill out an application, which is automatically saved in Salesforce, allowing the charity to efficiently manage and track volunteer engagement and ensure a smooth onboarding process.

5. Experience Cloud

Experience Cloud is a powerful Salesforce platform that enables nonprofits to create branded online communities and portals, enhancing engagement and collaboration with donors, volunteers, and beneficiaries. By offering a space for community interaction, Experience Cloud helps nonprofits extend their impact and foster a deeper sense of belonging among their supporters. With Experience Cloud, nonprofits can:

• Build customized portals for stakeholders: Experience Cloud allows nonprofits to create online portals for different groups, such as donors, volunteers, or beneficiaries. Through these portals, nonprofits can share relevant information, updates, and resources tailored to each group’s interests and needs.
• Engage volunteers with dedicated spaces: Experience Cloud enables nonprofits to establish volunteer communities where volunteers can sign up for events, view schedules, and access necessary information. This setup simplifies coordination and keeps volunteers informed and connected.
• Encourage collaboration and peer-to-peer support: Nonprofits can leverage Experience Cloud to create forums or discussion groups, allowing supporters and program participants to connect and share experiences. This peer support can help build a strong, engaged community and amplify the nonprofit’s mission.

Example: A nonprofit supporting people with learning disabilities uses Experience Cloud to create a job portal where users can access job readiness resources, find inclusive employers, and connect job seekers with mentors. This setup helps job seekers build skills and improve their employment prospects.

6. Accounting Seed

For nonprofits, financial transparency and accuracy are essential. Accounting Seed offers a comprehensive Salesforce-integrated accounting platform that helps nonprofits manage their finances and ensure transparency with stakeholders. This Salesforce nonprofit application provides features like:

• Grant tracking and fund accounting: Nonprofits can manage multiple funding sources, track expenses, and ensure funds are allocated according to specific program needs. This is crucial for organizations that rely on grants and need to provide detailed reports to funders.
• Integrated reporting tools: The app allows nonprofits to generate reports for budgeting, financial forecasting, and compliance, helping leadership teams make data-backed decisions. Comprehensive financial reporting supports strategic planning and resource allocation.
• Direct integration with donation data: Accounting Seed pulls donation information directly from Salesforce, reducing data entry and linking contributions to financial records automatically. This integration minimizes errors and enhances financial management efficiency.

Example: A youth development nonprofit uses Accounting Seed to manage its grant funds, tracking expenditures across different programs and ensuring accurate reporting for both internal and external stakeholders. This level of financial oversight helps the organization maintain donor trust and transparency.

7. Jitterbit

Nonprofits often rely on multiple software solutions for their operations, making data integration essential for efficient workflows. Jitterbit is a Salesforce-based integration tool that allows nonprofits to connect Salesforce with other platforms, simplifying data management. With Jitterbit, nonprofits can:

• Synchronize data across platforms: Jitterbit allows nonprofits to integrate data from other systems, ensuring that donor, volunteer, and program information remains up-to-date. This synchronization is vital for maintaining a single source of truth across the organization.
• Automate repetitive tasks: By automating data transfer processes, Jitterbit reduces the time required for manual data entry, improving overall accuracy. Automation frees staff to focus on strategic initiatives rather than administrative tasks.
• Access real-time information: Nonprofits can instantly access data on donations, volunteer hours, and program outcomes, giving them a holistic view of their impact. This real-time data access supports informed decision-making.

Example: A global relief organization uses Jitterbit to integrate its Salesforce data with external accounting software, ensuring seamless data sharing and minimizing manual entries across systems. This integration enhances overall efficiency and accuracy in financial reporting.

8. Blackthorn Events

Events play a major role in nonprofit engagement and fundraising, and Blackthorn Events provides a versatile solution for managing events on Salesforce. Designed to simplify both virtual and in-person events, Blackthorn Events allows nonprofits to:

• Organize and customize events: Nonprofits can create events of any size, with customizable registration options, ticketing, and branding. Blackthorn Events offers easy setup and management for conferences, fundraisers, and community events, making it possible to cater to a variety of formats.
• Track real-time participation and engagement: The app integrates seamlessly with Salesforce, allowing organizers to monitor registrations, check-in, and attendee interactions. This data can help nonprofits assess event effectiveness and gather insights for future planning.
• Optimize the participant experience: Blackthorn Events enables nonprofits to provide a seamless experience for attendees by offering pre-event communications, automated reminders, and personalized engagement opportunities. By enhancing the participant experience, nonprofits can foster stronger connections and encourage continued involvement.

Example: A nonprofit focused on raising awareness and funds for cancer research uses Blackthorn Events to manage its annual gala. The platform helps streamline ticket sales, track attendee registration, and coordinate donations, ensuring a successful event that maximizes fundraising efforts for cancer initiatives.

9. Vinton

Vinton, by NativeVideo, is an AI-powered notetaking and meeting intelligence app built exclusively for Salesforce. It automatically captures conversations from virtual or in-person meetings and transforms them into actionable Salesforce data. For nonprofits, this means improved team efficiency, better-quality data, and enhanced insights for future interactions.

• Meeting notes made easy: Vinton transcribes meetings in real time and automatically generates summaries, follow-ups, and action items, all saved against relevant Salesforce records.
• Enhanced collaboration: Recordings and notes are easily accessible in Salesforce, streamlining knowledge sharing across teams.
• Smarter engagement: Vinton scores meetings, highlights areas for improvement, and provides AI-driven coaching suggestions to help teams optimize donor and partner interactions.

Example: A nonprofit focused on connecting jobseekers with inclusive employers uses Vinton to capture conversations during employer meetings. Vinton automatically generates meeting summaries and action items in Salesforce, ensuring no follow-up tasks are missed and allowing the nonprofit to focus on building valuable partnerships.

10. GoMeddo

Volunteer management is vital for many nonprofits, and GoMeddo is an innovative Salesforce volunteer app that simplifies the process of recruiting, managing, and engaging volunteers. This tool provides essential features to enhance volunteer programs, including:

• Centralized volunteer database: GoMeddo allows nonprofits to keep track of volunteer information, availability, and interests in one place. This centralization helps organizations assign volunteers to suitable roles based on their skills and preferences.
• Automated scheduling and notifications: The app enables nonprofits to set up schedules for volunteer shifts, send out reminders, and notify volunteers of upcoming opportunities. Automation reduces administrative work and enhances volunteer engagement by ensuring they are always informed.
• Impact tracking and reporting: GoMeddo helps nonprofits measure volunteer impact, including hours contributed and tasks completed. This data is invaluable for showcasing the contributions of volunteers to stakeholders and is essential for reporting and grant applications.

Example: A local food bank uses GoMeddo to coordinate its volunteer efforts during busy holiday seasons. By using the app to schedule shifts and track volunteer hours, the food bank enhances operational efficiency and ensures all tasks are covered, ultimately improving service delivery to the community.

Want to implement any of these Salesforce apps for nonprofits?

Those are all our top 10 Salesforce apps for nonprofits. Salesforce’s vibrant, ever-growing ecosystem is full of many more applications that can deliver great value for nonprofit organizations, catering for all kinds of needs and use cases, so it may be helpful to think of this article as a starting point rather than a complete list. We’re excited to see how Salesforce and Salesforce Partners find new ways to innovate for the benefit of nonprofits in the future.If you’re part of a not-for-profit organization and you’d like help to successfully implement any of the apps we’ve explored here, or get some assistance to solve challenges you’re facing, VRP Consulting is here for you. We help nonprofits of all kinds, all over the world, to make the most of powerful Salesforce-based technology to achieve their goals and increase their impact. Get in touch today and let’s discuss how we can help you, too.

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About the Author

Roman Mosko

Nonprofit Account Manager, VRP Consulting

Roman Mosko has deep experience in creating transformative change for nonprofit organizations via technology. Before joining VRP Consulting, where he works to ensure success for our nonprofit clients, Roman worked for the Red Cross for many years, where he was Head of Fundraising. He has been shortlisted in the Global edition of the 2024 Digital Revolution Awards, in the “Rising Star of the Year” category.