Blog
September 18, 2014
As you have probably seen by now, the Salesforce Foundation just announced their new NGO Connect product. This is an exciting next step for the Foundation and our ecosystem, but also has raised a lot of questions. Here’s my take and why I’m thrilled.
What is NGO Connect?
NGO Connect is the result of Salesforce Foundation doubling down on developing the best nonprofit CRM product including Fundraising, Events, and Volunteer Management. NGO Connect is a rebranding of roundCause, the fundraising software product from roundCorner, now backed by the power of the Salesforce Foundation.
Why I think this is great?
- Investment and expertise by salesforce.com (the world’s #1 CRM company) and the Foundation means exponentially more rapid innovation for NGO Connect. NGO Connect rocks today and the pace of innovation going forward will be amazing.
- Product support for NGO Connect will be integrated with the Salesforce support team via existing Basic or Premier support plans. Clients will be able to go to one place for support for core Salesforce and NGO Connect.
- Closer collaboration between the roundCorner and core Salesforce product development teams mean that the nonprofit community will benefit more directly from Salesforce product innovations.
- The Foundation will drive NGO Connect product development and roadmap, ensuring that the needs of the nonprofit community will be heard.
What questions did our team have about NGO Connect?
As much as I was excited by the NGO Connect announcement, our team had a number of questions. Here’s what I found out…
Q: Will NGO Connect be available via the Power of 10 Grant program?
A: Yes, 2 licenses of NGO Connect will be included with the P10 Grant.
Q: Will other AppExchange products work seamlessly with NGO Connect?
A: At present, some do and some do not. However, getting the key AppExchange products that serve the nonprofit community to work seamlessly with NGO Connect is a top priority. NGO Connect is currently providing the schema and support for implementors who want to integrate with their solution.
Q: What about NPSP 3.0?
A: The Foundation has been adamant; they will continue to support the NPSP. In fact, the Foundation’s NPSP and NGO Connect teams are one in the same. Over time I suspect that the best of NPSP 3.0 will make its way into NGO Connect and vice versa.
Q: Will roundCorner still exist or is it now part of the Foundation?
A: The company roundCorner will continue to exist and will continue to develop NGO Connect (formerly roundCause) better and faster with their investment from Salesforce.com, closer collaboration with the Salesforce CRM development team, and support from the Salesforce Foundation.
Q: What about other Fundraising, Event Management and Volunteer Management apps on the AppExchange today that could be seen as “competitors” to NGO Connect?
A: All those Apps will still be available and will continue to be a part of Salesforce’s thriving ecosystem. And some of them may even coexist with NGO Connect when that’s appropriate for organizations with specific needs.
