Industry guide · Salesforce Experience Cloud

Experience Cloud for nonprofits.

Grantees, volunteers, program participants and chapters working directly in the same Salesforce data your staff rely on, instead of through forms, spreadsheets and email.

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What Salesforce Experience Cloud does for nonprofit

Experience Cloud lets nonprofits and grantmaking foundations open parts of their Salesforce org to the people they work with outside the staff. Foundations run grant applications, progress reports and payment requests through a grantee portal. Service organizations let volunteers find shifts, sign waivers and log hours, and let program participants complete intake and view appointments. Federated organizations give chapters and affiliates a shared site for resources, member data and reporting. Each audience sees only its own records, and the data lands directly in Nonprofit Cloud or the organization's existing Salesforce model, ready for reporting to boards and funders.

Why it fits

Why nonprofit is different.

Nonprofits serve several external audiences at once, and each has very different expectations. Grantees want a clear process and fewer duplicate reporting requests. Volunteers expect scheduling that works on a phone in seconds. Program participants may have limited internet access, low digital literacy or reasons to be cautious about sharing information, and some face safety risks if their data leaks. Staff capacity to maintain complex systems is usually thin. Experience Cloud fits when each site is scoped tightly to one audience's core tasks, built with accessibility and plain language from the start, and configured with declarative tools that a small administrative team can support without depending on custom code.

Use cases

How nonprofit teams use Salesforce Experience Cloud.

Grant application and reporting

Foundations and nonprofits that regrant funds can publish opportunities, accept applications with eligibility screening and collect budgets and attachments in one place. Reviewers score applications inside Salesforce, and awarded grantees return to the same portal for progress reports, payment requests and amendments. Grantees see deadlines and history in one view, and program officers stop reconciling email attachments with spreadsheets. Declined applicants receive consistent notices.

Volunteer scheduling and hours

Volunteers browse opportunities by location and skill, sign up for shifts, complete required waivers or training and record hours from their phones. Coordinators manage capacity and send reminders, and hours roll into reports for grant compliance or recognition programs. Groups from employers or schools can register together, with a leader managing their team's sign-ups directly. No-shows are tracked so coordinators can follow up.

Program participant intake

Participants apply for services, complete eligibility questions and upload documents in a mobile-friendly, accessible site, available in the languages the community speaks. Case managers review submissions, schedule appointments and share next steps securely. Participants who prefer in-person help can still be entered by staff, so the portal widens access rather than becoming a requirement. Referral partners can submit on a participant's behalf.

Chapter and affiliate collaboration

Federated organizations can give local chapters a site with brand resources, training, event tools and access to their own members and donors. Chapters submit annual reports and compliance documents through the portal, and national staff see consolidated data across the network. Shared data improves consistency without forcing every chapter onto an identical operating model. Chapter leaders change often, so onboarding them quickly matters.

Design

The data model decisions.

Nonprofit portal designs start with who is a user. Grantee organizations, individual volunteers, participants and chapter staff each need a contact and account structure that supports correct sharing, often built on Nonprofit Cloud's person and organization model. The second decision is sensitivity: which participant data is too sensitive for broad staff visibility, and how to restrict it. The third is outcome alignment, ensuring portal submissions such as reports, hours and intake answers map to program and outcome records so funder and board reporting runs from the same data.

Payment processor

Online donations, event registrations and program fees collected through the portal post to Salesforce with gift or payment records, while card data stays with the processor.

Background screening service

Volunteers working with children or vulnerable adults can be screened through an integrated service, with status recorded before shift sign-up is allowed.

Accounting system

Grant awards, payment requests and restricted funds flow to accounting, so finance and program teams report the same figures to boards and funders.

Plan for it

What to get right first.

Protect vulnerable participants

Some participants, such as survivors of abuse or people with health conditions, face real harm if their information is exposed. Apply strict sharing, limit what appears in email notifications and consider whether HIPAA or other confidentiality obligations apply. Review designs with program leaders who understand participants' circumstances.

Design for accessibility

Participants and volunteers use a wide range of devices, languages and assistive technologies. Test with screen readers and keyboard navigation, write in plain language, translate key content and follow WCAG guidance. Accessible design broadens reach and reduces the staff time spent helping people through forms.

Right-size external licensing

Portal license types and login-based options suit different usage patterns. Estimate how many volunteers, grantees and participants will log in and how often, then compare options with your Salesforce account team, including any nonprofit programs available, before committing to a design.

FAQ

Salesforce Experience Cloud for nonprofit: questions.

Is Experience Cloud compatible with Nonprofit Cloud data?

Yes. Experience Cloud sites can expose Nonprofit Cloud records such as programs, grants, volunteer shifts and participant information, subject to sharing rules. Organizations still on older nonprofit data models can also build portals. We confirm your current data model and any planned migration first, since portal design depends on the objects underneath. Migration timing shapes scope.

Can donors manage their own giving online?

They can. A donor portal can show giving history, provide tax receipts, let donors update recurring gifts and payment methods and manage communication preferences. Payment changes should go through your processor's secure components. Many organizations find that self-service reduces routine stewardship requests and gives donors a more transparent relationship with the cause. Receipts are generated automatically.

Is a grantee portal worth it for a small foundation?

It depends on volume and complexity. A foundation running a few invitation-only grants may manage well with forms and email. A portal pays off when applications are numerous, reporting requirements are detailed or program officers spend significant time chasing documents. We can start with applications only and add reporting later. Grantees also appreciate saved drafts and clear deadlines.

How do we keep a portal maintainable with a small team?

Favor standard components, declarative flows and templates over custom code, document every configuration choice and limit each site to the tasks it must support. Train at least two staff members as administrators. We also plan a simple roadmap for enhancements, so requests are prioritized rather than added piecemeal until the site becomes hard to manage.

Services

Salesforce Implementation Salesforce Managed Services

Nonprofit markets we cover

Washington, DC Memphis New Haven

Planning Salesforce Experience Cloud for nonprofit? Let’s talk it through.

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