Announcing Upgrade Month ‘16: Get Even More Out of Salesforce by Upgrading to NPSP 3

By: Mary Pustejovsky, Nonprofit Starter Pack Product Manager, Salesforce.org

The new year is all about upgrading. You might upgrade your fitness with a new exercise routine or diet. You might upgrade your mind by reading more. You might even upgrade your résumé by committing to learn a new skill.

A lot of people’s resolutions have to do with streamlining, whether that means getting organized, achieving balance, focusing on what matters, or just simply… simplifying. Everyone in the nonprofit world can understand that desire — me included. It’s something that my team is always thinking about as we develop the Nonprofit Starter Pack: how can we help nonprofits streamline their processes, so that their staff can focus on what matters. These were guiding principles for us in the development of the the latest version of the product, NPSP 3, and we love hearing from organizations that have used it to streamline their work.

But if you’re running on an older version of the NPSP, you’re probably not getting the most out of Salesforce, since you aren’t able to take advantage of the new features in NPSP 3.

That’s not good! But don’t worry. We’re here to help.

Announcing NPSP Upgrade Month ‘16!

We’re kicking off the new year with Upgrade Month! For the next 30 days (from January 11 to February 12), our goal is to help all of the nonprofits running on older versions of NPSP upgrade to version 3.

Throughout the month, we’re coming together as a community to support you in the upgrade process. Here’s how you can access those resources:

• Go to the Upgrade Page and follow the step-by-step guide to upgrading
• Sign up for the Upgrade Webinar
• Join the Upgrade Group in the Hub and sign up for Office Hours
• Follow us on Twitter at @SalesforceOrg to get the latest tips, tricks and upgrade success stories all month long!

How Do I Know if I Need to Upgrade?

Follow the instructions here to see which version of NPSP you’re running.

Why Should I Upgrade?

NPSP 3 has a lot of improvements over older versions, including:

• Updates automatically pushed to you — never run an upgrade again!
• Improved configuration settings UI
• Enhanced household management
• Enhanced address management (including multiple and seasonal addresses)
• Grants management tools
• Fund allocations, and much more!

The benefit of automatic updates is a huge advantage on its own, since we push new features and fixes to you every two weeks. If you upgrade now, it’ll be like scheduling a gift for yourself to be delivered every other week for the rest of the year! I can guarantee there will be some wonderful gifts this year, including matching gifts and partial soft credits. You wouldn’t want to miss out on that, would you? If that isn’t exciting enough for you, I can promise there will be much more to come in 2016.

How Do I Upgrade?

It’s a lot easier than you think! There are a few important things to consider when upgrading, especially whether you need to convert your account model. Head over to the Upgrade Page and follow the step-by-step guide to upgrading.

Should I Do the Upgrade Myself?

You should only run the upgrade installer if you’re an experienced Salesforce admin. If you’d rather work with a certified upgrade partner, fill out this form, and we’ll help you get connected.

I’m Already on NPSP 3…Can I Still Be Part of Upgrade Month?

Great question! There’s already an Upgrade Group in the Hub. Join that group and share your upgrade wisdom and lessons learned. The more organizations we can get on the latest version of NPSP, the more good we can all do together — that’s why it’s called the “Power of Us,” after all.

So make room for one more new year’s resolution on your list, and plan to upgrade to NPSP 3 today.

Happy Upgrade Month!

Watch the Upgrade Webinar Recording