Introduction

Salesforce – An overview in their own words.

Salesforce is a leading provider of cloud-based software, pioneering the concept of Software as a Service (SaaS) since its founding in 1999. The company’s core mission is to empower businesses by helping them connect with their customers through a unified platform called Customer 360. This platform provides a single, shared view of the customer, allowing different departments—from sales to service—to work together seamlessly and more effectively.

As a global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Salesforce has built its reputation on helping organizations of all sizes streamline business processes, increase efficiency, and foster stronger customer relationships.

Salesforce

Salesforce

Integrations

Data Next-Level Practice #1

Develop system defaults that make existing data sources easy to find and use.

  • Build functionality to support easy data discovery, reuse, and sharing that funders and nonprofits opt into by default.
  • Develop real-time data sharing pipelines with data providers, utilizing various application programming interfaces (APIs), including read/write, webhook/event-driven, and/or firehose APIs.
  • Offer easy-to-use data catalogs.

Defaulting to easy discovery and reuse of existing data saves time, reduces burden, and ensures access to accurate, up-to-date information.

Third Party Data Integrations

Third-party data integrations streamline workflows by automatically populating applications and reports with information, reducing manual entry and administrative burden. They also enhance decision-making by providing richer organizational insights and enabling easier data comparison across applicants.

Data Source Integration Type Model for Access Integration Process
360Giving - - -
Candid - - -
CauseIQ - - -
Charity Navigator - - -
GivingTuesday - - -
GlobalGiving - - -
GreatNonprofits - - -
Impact Genome - - -
Impala - - -
Nonprofit Open Data Collective - - -
NGOsource - - -
OrgHunter - - -
Philanthropy Data Commons - - -
ProPublica - - -
UpMetrics - - -
Urban - - -
US Census Bureau - - -
US IRS - - -
United Nations - - -
Other Data Source - - -

The platform provides self-service tools that allow customers to connect with a wide range of third-party services. To get started, a customer must provide their own API subscription key from the service they wish to use, as those subscriptions are managed separately. The platform is designed to seamlessly integrate with any service that follows the OpenAPI specification, an industry-standard format. For example, ProPublica and Candid are two services that offer this type of easy integration.

Not Currently Nlp

External Data Sharing

Build real-time data pipelines (read/write/webhook APIs).

Offering read/write, webhook, or firehose APIs for external data sharing makes it easy for funders to set permissions and automatically share data directly with the entities they choose.

Not Currently Nlp

Data Catalogs or Documentation

Provide easy to use data catalogs.

Providing easy-to-use data catalogs demystifies which third-party data sources a system integrates with, helping users understand their options before creating custom grant applications or reporting features.

Not Currently Nlp

Reusing Data As A Primary Source

Use existing data before requesting new data entry.

Prioritizing existing third-party data as a primary source means making it the default—encouraging customers to use available data first and add custom questions or reporting features only as needed. This helps funders start with what exists and build from that baseline.

Not Currently Nlp

On-Platform Nonprofit Profiles

Support nonprofit profiles that can be reused on multiple grant applications.

Storing nonprofit profile information collected by other funders is a strong first step in reducing burden—especially if nonprofits can reuse that data for applications and reports. Sharing it with central data repositories and providers takes the effort even further.

Capacity Building

Data Next-Level Practice #3

Build funder and nonprofit data capacity through integrated educational resources that help them understand data reuse and sharing.

Educational resources build funder and nonprofit capacity to reuse and share data effectively, reducing duplication and improving decisions.

Not Currently Nlp

Integrated Educational Resources

Demystify data reuse and sharing with helpful educational resources.

Educating funders and nonprofits about where their data resides, how to update it, and empowering them to control their narratives across multiple platforms is essential. This not only helps keep information current but also reduces burden when the same data is reused by multiple funders.

Not Currently Nlp

Data Reuse Onboarding & Training

Data reuse concepts integrated as part of onboarding and training.

During onboarding, showing new customers how the system supports data reuse helps them embed better data practices across the grant lifecycle, reducing nonprofit burden and strengthening overall data quality.

Not Currently Nlp

Data Sharing Onboarding & Training

Data sharing concepts integrated as part of onboarding and training.

During onboarding, showing new customers how the system supports data sharing helps them embed better data practices across the grant lifecycle, reducing nonprofit burden and strengthening overall data quality.

Not Currently Nlp

Data Reuse In Place of Manual Collection

Actively encourage data reuse in place of manual collection.

Actively promoting data reuse in your materials, trainings, and system outreach sets a new standard and helps shift expectations away from customization and bespoke data collection.

Taxonomies

Data Next-Level Practice #4

Default to modern, common taxonomies and support interoperability.

  • Develop default functionalities that support the use of modern, common taxonomies (e.g., GeoNames, Impact Genome Standards, Candid Philanthropy Classification System, UN SDGs, etc.).
  • Develop the functionality to map/crosswalk custom taxonomies—e.g., those proprietary to your system or those custom to individual organizations—to modern, common taxonomies for interoperability.
  • Develop the functionality to map/crosswalk legacy taxonomies —e.g., the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE)—to modern, common taxonomies for interoperability.

Using common taxonomies with crosswalks ensures interoperability, prevents silos, and makes data easier to compare and integrate across systems.

Integrated Taxonomies

A platform’s ability to support modern, widely adopted taxonomies makes it easier to align with sector standards and conduct “apples to apples” analysis while reducing data collection burdens on nonprofits. As NTEE is no longer updated and contains offensive and outdated language, it is not considered a modern, common taxonomy.

Taxonomy Type Availability Mappings/Crosswalks
Candid Philanthropy Classification System (PCS) Multi-Faceted Not Available -
Geonames Geographic Not Available -
International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Aid Tracking Not Available -
Impact Genome Standards Impact Measurement Not Available -
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Development Goals Not Available -
System Proprietary Taxonomies Custom Not Available -
Bespoke Custom Taxonomies Custom Not Available -

Not Currently Nlp

Taxonomy Educational Resources

Help funders understand the benefits of modern, common taxonomies.

Educating funders about available resources encourages them to build on existing frameworks rather than designing their own. This helps the sector move toward a more common understanding of its activities.

Not Currently Nlp

Taxonomy Catalogs or Documentation

Provide clients with a taxonomy catalog to encourage discovery.

Providing clients with a taxonomy catalog or documentation of integrated modern taxonomies helps demystify system options and encourages funders to build on common frameworks.

Not Currently Nlp

Multi-Taxonomy Coding

Support coding data into multiple modern, common taxonomies.

Supporting the ability to code into multiple modern, common taxonomies allows funders to compare apples-to-apples data and impact across the sector and around the world.

The Salesforce platform is highly flexible and designed to support a wide variety of data needs. Instead of being locked into a single, pre-defined set of taxonomies, our platform provides customers with the tools to integrate whatever coding data works best for their unique processes.

Burden Reduction

Data Next-Level Practice #5

Develop tools, systems, and feedback loops to monitor and reduce burdens.

  • Develop tracking metrics and opportunities for feedback so that funders can take informed actions that proactively reduce burdens in their systems and processes.
  • Develop tools, such as performance dashboards and in-line recommendations in application editors, that can guide funders to reduce burdens and incorporate Data Next-Level Practices proactively.

Tracking tools and feedback loops make burdens visible so funders can take action to reduce them and improve nonprofit experiences.

Not Currently Nlp

Estimated Time and Effort to Completion Tracking

Offer tools and systems for proactively reducing burdens.

Providing funders and nonprofits with estimates of the time and effort required for processes like LOIs, surveys, and applications helps all stakeholders manage these types of processes more effectively.

Not Currently Nlp

Burden Reduction Performance Dashboards

Offer dashboards that give insight into burden reduction efforts.

Providing funders with performance dashboards or metrics to track burden reduction helps them better understand how their processes impact nonprofit partners.

Not Currently Nlp

In-Line Burden Reduction Guidance

Proactively reduce application burden with immediate feedback and help.

Offering funders in-line guidance within application editors proactively encourages them to reduce applicant burden.

Not Currently Nlp

Applicant Feedback Loops

Offer ability for applicants to provide feedback on systems and processes.

Allowing applicants to provide (optionally anonymous) feedback on funder systems and processes captures fresh, real-time insights and enables continuous improvement.

Data Governance

Data Next-Level Practice #6

Offer transparent data governance and update processes.

  • Publicly share your data governance policy on your website.
  • Be open about your governance processes with stakeholders (e.g., funders; data, taxonomy, and infrastructure providers; and nonprofits) as you plan to update data systems, processes, and taxonomies.
  • Offer the ability for stakeholders to provide suggestions and input on a rolling basis.

Transparent governance builds trust and accountability while inviting stakeholder input to keep data practices fair and responsive.

Not Currently Nlp

Data Governance Policy Available Online

Publicly share data governance policy.

Publicly sharing your data governance update process lets users know when they can provide feedback and how actively the company reviews its policies.

Not Currently Nlp

Transparent Data Governance Update Process

Be open about governance update processes with stakeholders.

Sharing information about how and when data governance policies are updated shows that the organization is actively maintaining and improving its practices. It helps nonprofits and funders understand how decisions are made, when changes might affect them, and how they can stay aligned. Transparency in the update process builds trust, ensures accountability, and signals that governance is not static but responsive to evolving needs and standards in the sector.

Not Currently Nlp

Governance Feedback Loops

Offer the ability for stakeholders to provide input on a rolling basis.

Offering the ability for stakeholders to provide suggestions and input on a rolling basis ensures that users feel heard and respected while building a culture of learning and partnership.

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Get Involved

Participate in user focus groups, visioning sessions, and more.

Fund This Work

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Editorial Notes

About the Directories
The NLPs are aspirational and forward-looking, designed to move the sector beyond current practice. Not all vendors or providers have adopted them yet, that’s expected. We encourage you to engage your chosen partners around the NLPs.

Join the Directories
We welcome and encourage new participants. Together, our community of GMS vendors and data providers are working to make philanthropy’s data more connected, equitable, and reusable. To get started, visit Join the Directories.

Disclaimer
Information in these directories was voluntarily shared by the providers. It is for reference only and does not imply endorsement. For updates or corrections, please contact us.