If your nonprofit uses Salesforce or is thinking about it, you've probably heard that things are shifting. Salesforce's Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) has been the go-to solution for years, but Salesforce is positioning Nonprofit Cloud as the future. So what does that mean for your organization?
Here's where things stand.
What is NPSP?
The Nonprofit Success Pack is an open-source managed package built on top of standard Salesforce. It's been around for more than a decade, was originally developed with the Salesforce.org community and is installed in thousands of nonprofit orgs worldwide.
NPSP gives you a nonprofit data model out of the box: Accounts and Contacts set up for households and organizations, donations tracked as Opportunities, recurring donations, engagement plans, customizable rollups and built-in gift entry. It runs on standard Salesforce and works with the tools most admins already know, like Flows, reports, dashboards and the Setup menu.
For many nonprofits, NPSP is proven and familiar. There's a huge community, extensive documentation and a deep bench of consultants who know it inside and out.
What is Nonprofit Cloud?
Nonprofit Cloud (NPC) is Salesforce's newer industry solution, built directly into the core platform rather than installed as a managed package. It uses a different data model, one Salesforce designed from the ground up for nonprofits instead of adapting the Sales Cloud model.
Its main features include fundraising, program management, outcome tracking, case management and grantmaking, all built as native platform features. The objects and relationships are purpose-built for nonprofit work, which can mean a cleaner setup for some organizations.
Salesforce has signaled that Nonprofit Cloud is where future investment will go, which matters for long-term planning.
Key differences at a glance
- Architecture: NPSP is a managed package on the standard platform. Nonprofit Cloud is a native industry solution.
- Data model: NPSP adapts the Sales Cloud model (Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities). Nonprofit Cloud uses purpose-built nonprofit objects.
- Maturity: NPSP has more than 10 years and a massive install base. Nonprofit Cloud is newer and still changing quickly.
- Community: NPSP has a huge ecosystem of documentation, forums and third-party tools. Nonprofit Cloud's community is growing but smaller.
- Licensing: Eligible nonprofits get 10 free licenses through the Power of Us program, and Salesforce's pricing guide lists those as Nonprofit Cloud Enterprise Edition. Pricing beyond the first 10 varies, so confirm current terms with Salesforce.
- Migration: Moving from NPSP to Nonprofit Cloud takes planning and careful data mapping.
- Long-term direction: NPSP is in maintenance mode. Nonprofit Cloud has an active development roadmap.
When NPSP still makes sense
NPSP isn't going away overnight, and for many organizations it's still the right choice:
- You're already on NPSP and it's working. If your team knows the system, your data is clean and your processes are solid, there's no urgent reason to migrate. Stability has real value.
- You're a smaller organization. NPSP's data model is straightforward, well documented and supported by a massive community. For smaller teams, that matters.
- A migration isn't in the budget yet. Moving to Nonprofit Cloud is a real project. If the money and staff time aren't there, a well-maintained NPSP org can serve you for years.
- Your consulting partner knows NPSP deeply. The pool of NPSP-experienced consultants is large, which means competitive pricing and plenty of people who can help.
When Nonprofit Cloud makes sense
- You're starting fresh. If you're implementing Salesforce for the first time, building on the platform Salesforce is actively investing in makes sense.
- You're a larger organization with complex needs. Nonprofit Cloud's data model can handle complex program management, grantmaking and outcome tracking more cleanly than NPSP in some cases.
- You're planning for the long term. Salesforce's roadmap favors Nonprofit Cloud. If you're thinking about where the platform will be in five years, that's where the new features will land.
- You need other Salesforce industry features. Nonprofit Cloud is designed to work with Salesforce's broader industry clouds, which can matter for larger or more complex organizations.
The honest answer
It depends. I know that's not the decisive answer anyone wants, but it's the truth. The right choice depends on your organization's size, budget, timeline, existing Salesforce investment and in-house technical skills.
What I'd caution against is deciding based on marketing materials alone, whether they're Salesforce's or anyone else's. The best approach is a careful look at where your organization is today and where you're headed.
If you're weighing NPSP against Nonprofit Cloud and want a clear-eyed evaluation for your situation, Datawake can help you think it through. I don't have a preferred answer.