Is Salesforce Really Free for Nonprofits?

For nonprofits looking to streamline their operations, improve donor, volunteer, program, or case management, and enhance their outreach efforts, Salesforce is often touted as a powerful solution. One of the key drivers for nonprofits migrating to Salesforce is the ability to manage all of your organization’s data in a single source of truth database. 

Many have heard that Salesforce offers its services for free to nonprofits, but is that really the case? In this blog post, we'll explore the costs associated with using Salesforce for nonprofits and offer guidance on how to build an appropriate budget.

Before we get started, let’s break down the various costs associated with Salesforce. We’re going to categorize related expenses into four categories: licensing, implementation, data migration, and ongoing support. 

• Licensing: The recurring fee paid to Salesforce and other third-party tools to use their platform for your data and business process management needs. This expense should remain relatively consistent year-to-year and should be built into your annual budget. Your licensing fees will increase or decrease based on several factors such as the number of users and desired features.
• Implementation: This is usually a one-time setup fee (though it may be broken down into multiple payments) that will be an investment in your overall system design and development. Most organizations work with Salesforce implementation (SI) partners who are experienced at configuring the Salesforce platform and integrations to their unique needs. This expense should be built into your first year’s budget. The cost of an implementation can vary based on the scope of work defined. The more complex the implementation, the more costly it will be.
• Data Migration: If your organization has data in other systems such as a legacy CRM system or spreadsheets, you may want to consider migrating your data into Salesforce. Your SI partner can help develop a migration plan and assist with the migration. Similar to the implementation, data migration is usually a one-time fee. Data migration can be a time consuming and costly effort, but when done properly, your team will be able to access historical data and reports in your new Salesforce system.
• Ongoing Support: While some organizations treat this as an optional expense, we strongly discourage this train of thought. Salesforce is a database, and like all other databases, it must be maintained. This means that you should have resources available to train new staff as they join your team, create reports upon stakeholders’ requests, audit data for accuracy and cleanliness, troubleshoot bugs, and plan for updates and enhancements. Just like licensing, budgeting for ongoing support should be part of your annual budget and is crucial to your organization’s success. There are several routes you can take for ongoing support. Some organizations opt to hire an internal Salesforce Administrator role to manage their org. Another popular option is to establish a support contract with your implementation partner.

Now that we understand the various types of expenses associated with Salesforce, let’s dive in.

How much does Salesforce cost?

Estimating the costs for Salesforce licensing, implementation, data migration, and ongoing support can be challenging, as they vary greatly based on the complexity of your nonprofit's needs, the size of your organization, and the extent of customization required. However, we can provide you with rough cost ranges to give you a general idea. Keep in mind that these ranges are subject to change, and it's essential to obtain detailed quotes from Salesforce consultants or partners for accurate budgeting.

Licensing

Salesforce offers a grant program called the Power of Us Program, which offers 10 free Enterprise Edition licenses of Sales and Service Cloud to eligible nonprofits. This grant program is usually what spurs confusion about whether Salesforce is free or not for nonprofits. In addition to the Power of Us grant, Salesforce also offers substantial discounts on products not included in the free licenses.

If you are a nonprofit organization that meets the eligibility criteria, then you certainly can (and should) take advantage of the 10 free licenses that Salesforce offers. Included in the free licensing are features to help nonprofits manage their donor, fundraising, program, and outbound funding data. 

Many nonprofits find that the base set of features covers the majority of their needs, though it’s not uncommon for organizations to seek additional features and functionalities that cost extra. To determine if you will incur licensing fees, you’ll need to determine the following:

• How many unique users need access to the data in Salesforce? If more than 10, you will need to purchase additional user licenses. The current pricing as of October 2023 can be found here.
• Do you need additional functionality beyond what is provided in the base feature sets? If so, you will need to work with your Salesforce Account Executive (AE) and/or Salesforce implementation (SI) partner to determine the correct product(s) for your requirements. This could end up being a Salesforce product or a third-party app from the AppExchange.

We realize we didn’t exactly answer how much licensing costs, and that’s mainly because we don’t have control over licensing costs. The best way to get accurate licensing cost estimates is to schedule a meeting with a Salesforce Account Executive.

Implementation

Before your team can start effectively using Salesforce to manage your data and processes, the platform needs to be configured. This configuration is what we refer to as the implementation process. The cost for implementation is generally a one time set up cost and should be budgeted accordingly. Due to this, most organizations experience their highest spend for Salesforce in year 1 because of the initial costs to get started. However, once complete, your organization will be equipped with a platform that meets your needs and your team will be trained on how to use it effectively to manage your data and business processes.

Implementation costs and timelines can vary wildly. We can’t provide a clear answer to how much it will cost to your organization until we have a chance to talk through your exact requirements. But, we put together some Quick Start implementation services to help you gauge the estimated costs and timelines associated with implementing Salesforce in various capacities.

• Small Projects: Approx. $5,000 - $20,000; Usually focused on one or two use cases (such as fundraising & program management) and minimal automation/integration.
• Medium Sized Projects: $20,000 - $60,000; Combines multiple use cases and starts to emphasize more custom automation and integrations specific to the organization’s business process.
• Larger Projects: $60,000+; Combines multiple use cases with high levels of automation, multiple integrations with external systems, or custom development.

We encourage you to check out our Quick Start Services and reach out to us to understand which one is the best fit for your organization.

Data Migration

Transferring your existing data to Salesforce can be a substantial undertaking. You may need to invest in data cleaning, conversion, and migration services to ensure a smooth transition to the platform. Data migration costs can vary based on the volume and complexity of your data, as well as the quality of your existing data.

Data Migration Cost Estimates:

• Small Nonprofits: Approx. $2,000 to $10,000; Nonprofits with smaller datasets and relatively clean data may fall within this range for data migration services.
• Medium-Sized Nonprofits: Approx. $10,000 to $30,000; Organizations with larger datasets and some data cleanup requirements can expect costs in this range.
• Large Nonprofits: Approx. $30,000 to $100,000+; Large nonprofits with substantial datasets, complex data structures, and significant data quality issues may need to budget in this range or higher.

Ongoing Support

Once Salesforce is up and running, you should consider ongoing support costs. This includes expenses related to onboarding new users, system maintenance, updates, and troubleshooting. While some organizations may have in-house Salesforce administrators (people knowledgeable and certified in Salesforce whose primary role is to maintain their org’s Salesforce system), others may rely on external consultants or managed services. It's essential to budget for ongoing support to ensure the continued success of your Salesforce implementation.

Ongoing Support Costs:

• In-House Administration: Approx. $0 to $70,000+ per year 
• If your organization has an in-house Salesforce administrator(s), the cost may primarily involve their salaries and training. Smaller nonprofits might not have additional ongoing support costs in this category. According to Glassdoor.com, the national average salary for a nonprofit Salesforce administrator is $68,621.
• External Support/Consulting: Approx. $10,000 to $50,000+ per year.
• Nonprofits relying on external consultants or managed services for ongoing support should budget for monthly or annual fees, which can vary based on the level of support needed. Here’s an overview of our support service pricing as of December 2023. 

How do I budget for Salesforce?

The first step to building your Salesforce budget is to start defining your needs and goals for a Salesforce implementation. With clearly defined expectations, you can help guide your Salesforce Account Executive (AE) and Salessforce implementation (SI) partner in providing relevant product recommendations for your needs. Your Salesforce AE will build you a package of licensing that meets your needs and your SI partner will define an implementation scope of work based on the requirements you define together. 

Getting started is simple! Follow our steps below to begin building your Salesforce implementation budget:

1. Complete our pre-discovery questionnaire (click on Free Download button below). This will be helpful for planning a system upgrade in any capacity, not just Salesforce!
2. Schedule a free discovery meeting with a Solution Engineer at Nimbus Tech.
3. Get connected with a Salesforce Account Executive to review your needs. (We can help with this too!)
4. Review licensing and implementation proposals.