How to enhance your nonprofit reporting and analytics with Salesforce

Many nonprofits struggle to measure the impact of their programs effectively, making it difficult to show donors and stakeholders the value they provide. Without clear reporting, you may risk losing funding and trust—both critical to achieving your mission.

Salesforce offers a solution. Its analytics and reporting tools simplify data collection, create tailored reports, and ensure compliance. These instruments empower organizations to enhance transparency, make informed decisions, and strengthen their mission outcomes. According to reports, digitally mature nonprofits are nearly twice as likely to see efficiency improvements and 3.5 times more likely to achieve their mission goals.

At Noltic, we’ve helped nonprofits of all sizes implement Salesforce to transform their reporting processes. Our team has worked hand-in-hand with organizations to configure the tools they need to measure impact, engage donors, and ensure compliance with ease. In this article, we’ll share our insights, including practical steps to optimize your reporting with Salesforce, real-world examples of the benefits, and tips to start seeing results today.

‍

Case study: how we improved reporting and analytics for a nonprofit that increased their donor retention rates to 20%

When the full-scale war in Ukraine began, Better Time Stories brought comfort to displaced children by delivering personalized storybook packages. Despite their incredible mission, they struggled to track how many children received these packages and whether they were making a real difference. Without reliable reporting, it was hard to communicate their impact to donors and stakeholders.

As their operations grew, they faced another challenge: the lack of analytics tools to evaluate donor engagement and fundraising strategies. This data gap threatened their ability to secure funding as potential donors increasingly demanded measurable outcomes.

‍

Our collaboration

‍

‍

Better Time Stories partnered with us to implement a comprehensive Salesforce reporting system. We enabled them to track nonprofit metrics like packages delivered, donor engagement, and feedback from families. Real-time insights allowed them to optimize programs, improve logistics, and present compelling reports.

‍

‍

Case study: automated daily reports that enhanced case management

When the full-scale war in Ukraine began, Zenoo launched the Freedom Boxes project to bring joy to Ukrainian children with uplifting gifts. However, early feedback revealed a deeper need: families required practical support, not just comfort items. This realization exposed a critical issue—Zenoo lacked the reporting tools to understand the real needs of those they wanted to help.

As they shifted their focus to collecting donations for essential supplies, Zenoo encountered another challenge. They needed a way to verify potential hosts offering shelter to refugees. Without an effective system for managing these verifications, they faced delays and risks, leaving vulnerable refugees exposed to potential harm.

‍

How we helped

‍

Zenoo partnered with us to create the Freedom ID platform, a secure identity verification system built on Salesforce. Together, we streamlined the host verification process by implementing automated ID processing and real-time analytics. The system provided tools to track key metrics like verification speed, the number of verified hosts, and feedback from both hosts and refugees. Daily reports and action-needed notifications ensured cases were managed efficiently.

‍

Deliverables and outcomes

‍

• Automated daily reports enhanced case management with features like agent assignment and real-time updates;
• Automated verification processes reduced wait times for refugees and ensured timely placements;
• Real-time analytics helped identify issues quickly and refine matching strategies for hosts and refugees;
• Trust between refugees and hosts increased significantly, leading to more successful placements.

‍

‍

Case study: 3000+ requests fulfilled thanks to advanced analytics, reporting, and coordination

Nova Ukraine has been delivering humanitarian aid since 2014, but the full-scale war in 2022 brought overwhelming challenges. The surge in donations and grant requests exposed the limits of their manual tools, leading to inefficiencies like duplicate entries and delays in processing applications. Such challenges threatened their ability to deliver aid promptly and maintain trust with donors and partners.

‍

Our solution

‍

We partnered with Nova Ukraine to implement a tailored Salesforce solution, automating grant request processing, consolidating donor data, and enhancing reporting. Our system eliminated duplicates, simplified approvals, and provided real-time insights into donations and distributions, enabling faster and more transparent operations.

‍

‍

Salesforce features to help your nonprofit enhance reporting and analytics

Salesforce offers a range of features designed to upgrade nonprofit data analysis and reporting, enabling you to make informed decisions, engage donors effectively, and optimize your operations. Here's an overview of key capabilities and their benefits:

‍

‍

How to enhance your nonprofit’s reporting and analytics capabilities: tips from our team

Salesforce can transform your nonprofit’s reporting, but only if it’s set up correctly and customized to your needs. Missteps in configuration can lead to inaccurate insights and poor decisions.

As our CTO Vlad Petrovych says: "If your reports overlook key trends, like the typical end-of-year donation surge, you might mistakenly think donor interest is declining. This could lead to budget cuts and strategic errors. Proper setup is essential."

Our team has helped nonprofits avoid these challenges by ensuring Salesforce delivers accurate, actionable insights tailored to their goals.

‍

‍

Have clear goals and KPIs

‍

Imagine you’re hosting a fundraiser for your nonprofit, aiming to support educational programs for underprivileged children. You work tirelessly to organize the event, but afterward, you’re unsure whether it succeeded. Did you raise enough funds? Did donors feel engaged? Were the intended outcomes achieved? These questions remain unanswered without clear goals and KPIs, leaving your team guessing instead of learning and improving.

Set specific goals tied to your mission, like raising $50,000 for scholarships or engaging 70% of event attendees in follow-up activities. From there, define KPIs to measure your progress. For example:

• Track every donation and compare it to your goal in real-time;
• Monitor event participation rates and responsiveness to follow-up communications;
• Measure the number of beneficiaries served or services delivered to gauge the real-world effect of your efforts.

‍

Noltic’s tip:

Use Salesforce's Nonprofit Cloud Dashboards to visualize your KPIs at a glance. Create separate dashboards for different goals—fundraising, donor engagement, and program impact. For example, a “Donor Engagement” dashboard could display email open rates, event attendance confirmations, and follow-up call responses, helping you spot trends and take action quickly.

‍

Utilize engagement scoring

‍

Your organization might have a long list of donors, but not all are equally engaged. Some donate regularly, attend events, and even volunteer, while others contribute once a year. How do you focus your efforts? Engagement scoring can help. By assigning scores to donor activities—like donations, event attendance, and volunteering—you can quantify their involvement and tailor your strategies accordingly. Each activity a donor completes earns them points. For instance:

• Donations: 10 points for recurring donations, 5 points for one-time donations;
• Event attendance: 8 points for participating in a fundraiser or gala;
• Volunteering: 15 points for volunteering time.

High-scoring donors are your most engaged supporters, and they are more likely to respond positively to personalized outreach. Low-scoring donors might need re-engagement campaigns to rekindle their interest.

Here is how you can use engagement scoring in Salesforce:

• Define which activities earn points and assign a value to each with NPSP Engagement Plans;
• Use Salesforce Flow or Automation Tools to automatically update scores based on donor actions recorded in the system;
• Use Salesforce Reports to group donors into segments (e.g., highly engaged, moderately engaged, low engagement);
• For high scorers, send personalized thank-you messages or exclusive invitations. For low scorers, re-engage with updates on how their support makes a difference.

‍

Noltic’s tip:

Integrate Salesforce Marketing Cloud to create automated journeys based on engagement scores. For example, donors with scores over 50 could receive an invitation to join a leadership circle, while those under 20 might get a series of updates on the impact of your programs to reignite their interest.

‍

Implement predictive analytics

‍

With Salesforce Einstein, nonprofits can leverage AI-driven insights to predict which donors are likely to contribute again, which programs need more funding, which campaigns will drive the most engagement, identify trends, and fine-tune fundraising strategies for maximum impact.

Salesforce Einstein capabilities for nonprofits:

• Einstein uses historical data to forecast donor retention, recurring donations, and potential major gifts;
• Analyze patterns in donor engagement, such as seasonal giving spikes or event participation, to adjust your strategies;
• Einstein identifies which campaigns or programs yield the best ROI, enabling smarter budgeting;
• Generate tailored suggestions for donor outreach, such as when to contact specific supporters or which communication channels to prioritize.

‍

Noltic’s tip:

Integrate Einstein Prediction Builder to create custom models tailored to your nonprofit’s unique goals, such as predicting event attendance or volunteer likelihood. Pair this with Einstein Analytics for real-time dashboards that visualize AI insights alongside traditional nonprofit performance metrics.

‍

Automate donation and impact tracking

‍

Tracking donations manually can lead to delays, errors, and missed opportunities. Imagine trying to reconcile hundreds of donations during a busy campaign and discovering days later that a large gift wasn’t recorded properly. Automating this process ensures every contribution is accounted for promptly and accurately, freeing your team to focus on what matters most—advancing your mission.

How automation works in Salesforce:

• Use Salesforce’s Payment Processing integrations, such as Elevate or Payment Services, to automatically record donations and update donor profiles;
• Configure validation rules and automated workflows to verify the correctness of donation entries, flagging discrepancies for review;
• Combine automation with Salesforce Dashboards to provide real-time updates on funds raised and their allocation, offering instant insights into your organization’s progress.

‍

Noltic’s tip:

Integrate Salesforce Flow to set up workflows that trigger email acknowledgments immediately after a donation, update donor engagement scores, and notify the team of major gifts in real-time. This ensures no opportunity goes unnoticed and builds trust with your supporters.

‍

Master advanced reporting

‍

Advanced reporting in Salesforce lets your nonprofit go beyond basic data views, offering deep insights that drive smarter decisions. Imagine creating a single report that tracks not just donations but also how each aligns with event attendance, volunteer participation, or campaign performance. These capabilities help you answer key questions faster and with greater accuracy.

Advanced Salesforce reporting tools and tips:

• Custom Report Types (CRT) allow you to combine data from multiple objects, such as donations, events, and volunteer hours, into a single report. You can create a report to analyze how volunteer activity correlates with donor retention or campaign contributions.
• Cross Filters and Sub-Filters refine report data by including or excluding related records. Your team can analyze donors who attended a specific event but haven’t donated since so that you can target them with a re-engagement campaign.
• Row-level formulas can perform dynamic calculations directly in reports, such as averages, percentages, or other metrics. These formulas help to calculate the average donation size per campaign or determine profit margins from fundraiser events in real time.

‍

Noltic’s tip:

Combine all three features to build a donor engagement report that includes average donation sizes, filters out inactive donors, and ties donations to volunteer activity and event attendance. Then, these insights can be displayed visually using Salesforce Dashboards for quick decision-making.

‍

Develop custom impact reports

‍

Imagine presenting a detailed, real-time report to your donors, showing exactly how their contributions funded meals, education, or medical supplies for beneficiaries. Custom impact reports provide this clarity by measuring program effectiveness, capturing feedback, and tracking resource usage—all in one place.

How to create custom impact reports in Salesforce:

‍

• Track outcomes:

Use NPSP to link programs with specific outcomes, such as the number of beneficiaries served or services delivered.

Example: A report showing how a scholarship program supported 150 students, detailing graduation rates or academic progress.

‍

• Capture beneficiary feedback:

Integrate survey tools like Salesforce Surveys to collect feedback and automatically link responses to program records.

Example: Create a report combining feedback ratings and comments to highlight areas for improvement in your programs.

‍

• Monitor resource utilization:

Use custom fields and reports to track how funds, supplies, and staff time are allocated across initiatives.

Example: A report showing how $100,000 in donations was distributed across five programs, including cost per beneficiary.

‍

• Dashboards for live updates:

Pair your custom reports with dashboards that provide live nonprofit KPI updates, such as funds raised, beneficiaries impacted, or volunteer hours logged. These dashboards help you identify trends and adjust strategies in real time.

‍

Noltic’s tip:

Leverage Einstein Analytics to add predictive insights to your impact reports, such as forecasting the number of beneficiaries served if current funding trends continue. Combine these forecasts with historical data for a holistic view.

‍

Make sure your data architecture is scalable

‍

As your nonprofit grows, so does the complexity of managing data. Imagine starting with a small donor base and a handful of programs, only to realize later that your system can’t handle the increasing volume of donations, volunteer hours, and program data. Without a scalable data architecture, you risk inefficiencies and data bottlenecks that hinder your mission.

How to build scalable data architecture in Salesforce:

‍

• Plan for growth:

Use NPSP to structure your data around standard objects like donors, programs, and campaigns.

Example: Set up scalable record types for donors (individuals, corporations, major gifts) to ensure future flexibility.

‍

• Optimize security with permission sets:

Instead of relying on roles alone, use permission sets to grant specific access to team members as your organization expands.

Example: A new fundraising coordinator gets access to donor records but not financial data, ensuring security while enabling productivity.

‍

• Data storage and automation:

Regularly review and archive inactive records to optimize performance. Use Salesforce Flow to automate processes like cleaning duplicates and updating inactive contacts.

Example: Automate notifications for duplicate donation records, saving time and preventing reporting errors.

‍

Noltic’s tip:

Consider integrating Salesforce Shield for enhanced data encryption, audit trails, and event monitoring. This ensures your data remains secure and compliant even as your organization scales.

‍

‍

Noltic is here to help your NGO achieve ambitious goals

At Noltic, we specialize in empowering nonprofits to make a greater impact through the power of Salesforce. As an experienced Salesforce partner, we’ve worked with NGOs of all sizes to streamline their operations, enhance reporting capabilities, and unlock actionable insights. From small organizations focused on local communities to global initiatives addressing large-scale challenges, we’ve helped nonprofits overcome data challenges and focus on their mission.

‍

Our expertise in nonprofit reporting and analytics

‍

We understand that clear, accurate reporting is the backbone of donor trust and operational success. Our team has implemented tailored Salesforce solutions for nonprofits to:

• Build custom dashboards and reports highlighting KPIs like donor retention, funds raised, and beneficiaries served.
• Implement real-time analytics to make informed decisions and adjust strategies quickly.
• Automate donation and program tracking to reduce manual errors and free up resources for impactful activities.
• Configure engagement scoring systems to prioritize outreach and improve donor relationships.

‍

How we work with nonprofits

‍

We begin by understanding your unique goals and challenges, ensuring the solutions we create align with your mission. Whether it’s setting up scalable data architecture, developing predictive analytics with Salesforce Einstein, or customizing reports to demonstrate impact, we guide you every step of the way. Our approach combines technical expertise with a deep understanding of the nonprofit sector, ensuring that your tools work for you, not the other way around.

‍

‍

FAQs

What kind of reports can I create with Salesforce?

‍

Salesforce allows you to create a variety of reports tailored to your nonprofit’s needs. These include donation summaries, volunteer activity, program impact, donor retention rates, and engagement tracking. You can also use Custom Report Types to combine data from multiple objects for deeper insights, such as linking donations to event participation or volunteer hours.

‍

How can I visualize my data with Salesforce?

‍

You can use Salesforce Dashboards to visualize your data in real-time with charts, graphs, and tables. These customizable dashboards allow you to display KPIs like funds raised, event attendance, and beneficiary outreach. Tools like Tableau and Salesforce Einstein Analytics provide advanced data visualization and AI-driven insights for complex datasets.

‍

Can I use Salesforce to forecast future donations?

‍

Yes, Salesforce Einstein can analyze historical data to predict future donation trends. It helps identify donors likely to give again, estimate seasonal giving patterns, and provide forecasts to guide your fundraising efforts. This ensures better planning and more efficient allocation of resources.

‍

How can I use Salesforce to identify trends in donor giving behavior and adjust my fundraising strategies accordingly?

‍

Salesforce reporting tools let you track giving behaviors, such as donation frequency, amounts, and timing. With Cross Filters and Row-Level Formulas, you can analyze subsets of data, like donors who reduce their contributions over time. These insights allow you to adjust your strategies by targeting specific groups with personalized campaigns or re-engagement efforts.