Salesforce Experience Cloud for Nonprofits: License Overview

Salesforce Experience Cloud for Nonprofits: License Overview

Nonprofits face a persistent operational challenge: connecting with donors, volunteers, and program participants across multiple channels while keeping data accurate, communications timely, and the experience consistent. Spreadsheets and generic web forms no longer meet the bar.

Salesforce Experience Cloud enables nonprofits to build branded digital portals directly connected to their CRM data, giving stakeholders a single place to sign up, donate, manage their involvement, and access resources. For nonprofits specifically, Salesforce offers a dedicated license type: the Experience Cloud for Nonprofits license. It’s designed to make this accessible at a meaningful cost advantage.

With Experience Cloud, your nonprofit can deliver:

• Easy sign-ups for programs, events, and volunteer shifts
• Customized, relevant content aligned with each stakeholder’s interests
• Around-the-clock personalized self-service and support
• Enhanced self-service via knowledge bases and community spaces
• Secure debit and credit card payment processing for donations

Salesforce Experience Cloud for Nonprofits License Pricing

Is Salesforce free for non-profits? No, it’s not free for any non-profit organization, but Salesforce does offer significant programs and discounts that reduce the cost of core products for eligible nonprofit organizations. The Salesforce.org Power of Us Program, for example, provides qualifying nonprofits with access to core Salesforce products at deeply reduced rates or no cost for a baseline allocation. Details and eligibility requirements are maintained on the official Salesforce.org website and change periodically, so we recommend verifying current terms directly with Salesforce or a certified partner.

To start your journey with Experience Cloud, you first need to choose the right license. There are various Experience Cloud nonprofit license types that differ in platform capabilities and pricing. With the SFDC Experience Cloud for Nonprofits license, you can create beautiful online spaces for enhanced collaboration between stakeholders and your organization. Keep reading to learn more about the new Salesforce for non-profits license and its main features.

Experience Cloud for Nonprofits Licence: Key Features & Capabilities

This license is a dedicated Salesforce license tier built for nonprofit use cases. It delivers the same platform capabilities, Lightning Experience Builder features, and digital experience functionality as the Partner Relationship Management (PRM) license, but at a substantially discounted price for qualifying nonprofit organizations.

This makes it a practical choice for nonprofits that need rich, data-connected portals for donors, volunteers, program participants, or clients, without the overhead cost of a full PRM license.

Using the Salesforce for nonprofits license, you also get access to objects in Nonprofit Cloud Products such as Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (Salesforce NPSP), Volunteers 4 Salesforce, and Nonprofit Cloud Case Management. Use Experience Cloud for Nonprofits as an extension to these package solutions: create donor portals for volunteers, and get more functionality to manage, track and report on all data. 

License Comparison: Experience Cloud Options

The table below compares the three most relevant Experience Cloud license types for organizations evaluating their options:

Key takeaways from the comparison:

• The Experience Cloud for Nonprofits license is the only tier with native access to Salesforce nonprofit objects (NPSP, Volunteers for Salesforce, Nonprofit Cloud Case Management).
• It offers PRM-level platform capabilities, including full Experience Builder access, at a price point designed for nonprofit budgets.
• Customer Community licenses lack the nonprofit-specific data model, making them a poor fit for complex donor or volunteer management scenarios.
• If your organization already uses Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud or NPSP, the Experience Cloud for Nonprofits license is the natural extension to build outward-facing portals.
• For orgs with straightforward needs (e.g., a basic support knowledge base), a lower-tier license may suffice, but it will limit CRM data access.

Key Benefits: Why Nonprofits Choose This License

Here’s what this license enables in practice:

• More transparency and control
  Create dashboards that surface donation reports for volunteers and program participants, so stakeholders can see where their contributions are going. Transparency builds trust — and trust drives long-term engagement.

• Enhanced self-service
  Focus on your fundraising growth by providing your donors with enhanced self-service. Create a shared library of resources, including how-to articles and FAQs, to supply your stakeholders with the information they need. Bring the right people to the right location by creating cloud communities for better communication and collaboration between fellow supporters. 

• Seamless and engaging user experience
  Create digital experiences that are branded to the look and feel of your organization. Thanks to the high customization capabilities of Experience Cloud sites, you can define exactly how your site will look and what actions users will be able to take according to your specific needs as a non-profit.  

• More power to stakeholders
  With Experience Cloud for Nonprofits, volunteers can log in to your donor portal and view their giving history to the last detail, update their giving amount, contact information, or credit card data, or make changes to ongoing gifts.

• Secure debit and credit card payments
  Process donations directly through your portal with Salesforce’s secure payment infrastructure. Supporters can make one-time or recurring contributions without leaving your branded experience.

• Tracking and reporting
  Monitor your organization’s performance by running various reports. Define custom criteria to get the information you need. Filter, group, or display data in a graphical chart for better visibility and understanding.

• Time-efficiency
  Save time on service by creating an online space for your stakeholders where they can search and sign up for volunteer programs and manage their contact and profile information along with their own shifts.  

• Application process
  If your programs require an application, whether to assess volunteer suitability or enroll program participants, Experience Cloud supports intake forms that capture skills, experience, interests, and other custom data, feeding directly into your Salesforce records. 

Advanced Communities is a Champion for Non-Profits!

Are you using Salesforce for donor management, and need a beautiful portal or community enriched with Salesforce-native components and solutions? Advanced Communities has spent years working with nonprofit organizations to design, build, and extend Experience Cloud portals, from simple donor self-service sites to complex multi-stakeholder platforms.

Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to extend an existing site, we bring both the technical know-how and a library of Salesforce-native components purpose-built for nonprofit use cases.

Over the years, we’ve accumulated a wealth of experience working with Salesforce Experience Cloud, helping non-profits connect with their stakeholders and fundraising program participants. We’ll create a beautiful volunteer, member, fundraising, alumni, or any other portal type for you in accordance with your specific needs and requirements. 

Already have a portal?

Then use our AC solutions to enhance its functionality and take your non-profit organization’s management to the next level:

• AC MemberSmart is a powerful solution for nonprofits and associations that handles membership, directories, dues, and engagement tracking. It is for any non-profit that uses Salesforce Experience Cloud for charities. 
• Manage any kind of event: paid, free, free with donations, one-day seminars, or large multi-day conferences with AC Events Enterprise.
• Post volunteer opportunities and find your donors right on their Experience Cloud site with AC Job Board.
• Sell your products/goods and place a donation on the checkout form to encourage additional support for your organization with the AC eCommerce for Nonprofits app.
• Simplify your fundraising workflows to maximize donor support: campaign pages, recurring giving management, and donor-facing giving history with our AC Fundraising app.

Connect and collaborate with volunteers, donors, and clients in a whole new way with Experience Cloud and Advanced Communities!

Contact Us

Whether you’re evaluating the right Experience Cloud license for your nonprofit organization, planning a new donor or volunteer portal, or looking to extend an existing Salesforce implementation, Advanced Communities can help. We offer consultation on license selection, portal architecture, and full implementation or enhancement services.

Contact us to schedule a free consultation or demo.