Another new iPhone model has arrived, and for many of us that means switching over all our data, applications, and media onto a new device. If you’re anything like me, this launches a cleanup process, viewing and evaluating which apps, programs, media, and more can be deleted, and which ones are important enough to make a move. During this process, I realize what the impact of having (or lacking) that app, contact, photo, video, or item means on my phone use routine. It is a similar experience for organizations evaluating migrating to a different CRM. You use the experience to carefully evaluate your data and the impact of your data quality on your business. This is the case for migrations from Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) to Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud; today, we’ll discuss why and how understanding the impact of your data is a key consideration for migrating from NPSP to Nonprofit Cloud.
The Influence of Data on the Migration Process
A migration from NPSP to Nonprofit Cloud typically means moving into a new instance of Salesforce. This involves moving all of an organization’s data onto the new platform. To ensure a seamless transition, your data must be extracted, transformed, and loaded while maintaining data accuracy, compatibility, and integrity and with the new system. This process is crucial to preserve your organization’s historical donor and constituent data, such as contact information, communication history, fundraising records, and more. Your data is essential for continuing operations and leveraging insights from past interactions. However, depending on the quality, quantity, value, and integrity of your data, the complexity of your migration can still vary.
When planning a migration from NPSP to Nonprofit Cloud, your organization should review its data and consider the following questions to understand the impact of their data:
What information is used from my data?
This information can include contact profiles (i.e. full names, preferred nicknames, titles, mailing addresses, emails, phone numbers), communication preferences, donation history, average gift amounts, engagement history, wealth indicators, demographic information, and more. If your organization uses this information from your data on NPSP, you should ensure you can still access and obtain that same data on Nonprofit Cloud. In addition, think about what information from your data you seek to use but cannot obtain while on NPSP, and if migrating to Nonprofit Cloud will give you access to that information.
How much historical data is still used?
If you currently use historical data such as past interactions, donation history from the past five years, or donation trends that impacted prior campaigns to make data-driven decisions, it is important to have that historical data maintained and available for use in Nonprofit Cloud. This ensures continuity with your organization’s operations. Preserving and migrating historical data is also a best practice for data integrity and record keeping.
What is the quality of your data?
After years of use, your organization’s NPSP platform may require more consistent, updated, or complete data. Thus, during your migration, it is vital to identify and rectify data quality issues to prevent the transfer of erroneous or irrelevant information into Nonprofit Cloud.
How are you mapping your data?
Mapping data fields from NPSP to Nonprofit Cloud can be complex because their data structures differ. However, Cloud for Good has developed a Migration Accelerator to provide a template for our clients so that they don’t have to start from scratch. Along with Cloud for Good’s migration approach, our organizations see their live data in Nonprofit Cloud’s system during each migration sprint and can refine their specific data mapping accordingly to complete the entire data migration more quickly and accurately.
What Departments are Currently on Salesforce?
When contemplating a migration to Nonprofit Cloud, it’s important to recognize that not every department at your nonprofit may be ready for the transition. If you have a team currently relying on spreadsheets or other disparate systems that is interested in Salesforce, or if you’re launching a new program, consider allowing them to migrate to the reimagined Nonprofit Cloud.
This approach enables seamless data connectivity through tools like MuleSoft, ensuring everyone has access to the information they need. Getting users into the system early to experience the benefits of the new technology will significantly enhance user adoption and facilitate effective change management. By demonstrating the advantages of the Nonprofit Cloud, you can foster a culture of collaboration and data-driven decision-making across your organization.
Want to Know How Complex Your Migration From NPSP to NPC Might be?
Understand the Importance of Your Data
Your organization’s data is important and often is what differentiates your organization from others. As you plan your migration from Salesforce NPSP to Nonprofit Cloud, make sure you identify all the data you want in Nonprofit Cloud, preserve your historical data, ensure your data mapping is to your specifications, and can support the needs and goals all the teams in your organization that use it. This will also make a difference in executing a seamless migration process regardless of complexity.
Partnering with an implementation partner that understands your business can also help you identify the right data migration strategy for your organization. Cloud for Good has been working with nonprofit organizations for almost 15 years, and deeply understands the niche nonprofit use cases that impact how your data flows through your organization.
If you are unsure how complex migrating your data from NPSP to Nonprofit Cloud will be or want to know other key considerations for making the switch, Cloud for Good is here to help! Get in touch with one of our experts, read our eBook on migrating from NPSP to Nonprofit Cloud, or take our Migration Complexity Assessment below to benchmark how complex your migration from NPSP to Nonprofit Cloud may be.
