How Nonprofits Can Make the Most of 10 Free Licenses with Salesforce’s Power of Us Program
We get asked a lot if Salesforce, a company that has taken strides to be transparent, is really free for nonprofits, and the answer is yes. Salesforce’s Power of Us program (offered under Salesforce.org) provides certain types of organizations, such as nonprofits, with 10 free licenses.
According to their pledge page, they’ve given over $240 million in grants, 3.5 million hours of community service, and provided product donations for more than 39,000 nonprofits and educational institutions.
By combining this incredibly cost-effective program with the expert knowledge and experience of Vision Point Systems, your organization can save money, provide better services to your clients, and deepen its engagement with donors and volunteers.
What is the Power of Us program?
The Power of Us program was created by Salesforce to help nonprofit organizations achieve their mission and gives eligible nonprofits and educational institutions access to 10 free licenses and discounts on additional subscriptions, products, and services including their fundraising product Elevate.
To illustrate how useful and effective this program can be, more than 88% of organizations in the Power of Us program say that access to Salesforce tools and support have changed and improved how their work gets done.
Who is eligible for the Power of Us program?
The Power of Us eligibility guidelines tell us that to be eligible your organization must be recognized as a charitable, nonprofit, educational, or social change organization in the country where you are located.
There are also country specific requirements. For example, if your organization is based in the United States, it must be designated as a 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4).
How to claim your 10 free licenses
If your organization meets the criteria for the Power of Us program, the next step is to claim your 10 free licenses. You’ll need 5 things to get started.
An active trial
First, you have to sign up for the free trial which will become your official Salesforce instance.
It’s worth noting however that if your organization is not ready to begin an active Salesforce implementation, you shouldn’t begin the application process. Instead, contact VPS so one of our professional consultants can assess your organization’s position and guide you through the process.
A system administrator
Next, you’ll need a dedicated system administrator. If your organization has someone in mind, that’s awesome. But if not, don’t worry. You can still take advantage of this program. In fact, this is a sticking point for a lot of organizations because they may not have the resources to dedicate a full-time staff member. This is a problem that VPS can solve.
Executive approval, Tax IDs and Legal Documents
These are straight forward. Nonprofits have to provide an authorization from an Executive Director or Board Chair as well as a VAT, Tax number, or EIN which Salesforce uses to verify nonprofit status. Additionally, you’ll be asked to include governing documentation to show you are recognized as a charitable, nonprofit, or nongovernmental organization.
Use your free licenses to support your mission
Nonprofit organizations can use Salesforce for many efforts and activities. This includes managing donor information, tracking donations, managing events, and helping clients. You can also use Salesforce to provide a better experience for your employees and volunteers.
Leverage an expert consultant
The first step towards improved processes and communication is to select a qualified and competent implementation partner. A partner that is knowledgeable and experienced in the various nuances of the nonprofit space as this will help ensure your implementation goes smoothly and that you have access to the support you need.
Vision Point Systems, a registered Salesforce partner, has certified experts and an ecosystem of industry leaders that provide dynamic and comprehensive business process and communication solutions. In other words, we’re experts at serving nonprofits and building custom Salesforce solutions that automate and streamline customer outreach and service access.
More specifically, VPS consultants can set up custom objects and records, build workflows, hook up external communications such as Twilio for Salesforce, and build customized low-code enterprise applications. We’ve seen these enhancements do wonders for nonprofits.
For example, in 2021 after working with VPS to implement Twilio Flex, the 36th Hungerthon brought in over $920,000 to help solve hunger in America. This 2-minute video shows how we did it.
Conclusion
The Power of Us program is a great opportunity for nonprofit organizations. By taking advantage of the 10 free licenses, nonprofits can save money on software and provide better services to their clients.
To really maximize the advantages of this free program, nonprofit organizations should partner with an implementation expert like VPS that has successfully worked with nonprofits of all sizes and missions.
Let’s discuss your next innovative project today.
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