The Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) is a free, open-source managed package that installs on top of Sales Cloud and turns a standard Salesforce org into a fundraising and constituent-management CRM for nonprofits. It adds a nonprofit-ready data model — Households, a flexible account-relationship model, Opportunities used as donations, General Accounting Units (GAUs), Recurring Donations, and donation rollups — without custom code. It is distributed for free through the AppExchange and is available alongside the Power of Us program, which gives eligible nonprofits a set of donated subscriptions plus discounts.
One important 2026 reality check: NPSP is now in a coexistence/maintenance posture. Salesforce launched a newer native Nonprofit Cloud in 2023, and new nonprofit customers are generally steered toward it. Existing NPSP orgs continue to run and are supported, but if you are starting fresh you should evaluate both. We cover the newer platform in our companion post on the Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud for funds, programs, and marketing.
Key takeaways
- NPSP is a free managed package, not a separate product — it layers a nonprofit data model on top of Sales Cloud.
- Its core building blocks are Households, the flexible account model, Opportunities-as-donations, GAUs and GAU Allocations, Enhanced Recurring Donations, Levels, Engagement Plans, Batch Gift Entry, and rollups.
- The Power of Us program provides eligible nonprofits with donated licenses and discounts — name it, but always confirm current terms with Salesforce.org.
- For brand-new orgs, the native Nonprofit Cloud (2023) is now Salesforce's strategic direction; NPSP is in maintenance/coexistence mode.
- Existing NPSP orgs are still supported and do not need to migrate overnight — check current Salesforce.org guidance for any migration timelines (these dates shift, so verify before planning).
What is the Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack?
NPSP (originally the "Nonprofit Starter Pack") is a collection of managed packages built and maintained by Salesforce.org and released for free on the AppExchange. Rather than being a standalone CRM, it extends Sales Cloud Enterprise Edition with objects, automation, and page layouts that match how nonprofits actually work.
The biggest conceptual shift NPSP introduces is the flexible account model (sometimes called the household account model). In standard Salesforce, every Contact belongs to a business Account. NPSP reorganizes Contacts into Household accounts so a development team can track individual donors, the families they belong to, the gifts each gives, and the relationships and affiliations between people and organizations — all from one place.
Donations are recorded as Opportunities, which lets nonprofits reuse Salesforce's mature pipeline, stage, and reporting tooling for gift tracking instead of inventing a parallel system.
What features does NPSP include?
NPSP bundles a focused set of fundraising and constituent features. The most-used ones are:
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Households & flexible account model | Groups Contacts into households and relationships instead of business-only accounts |
| Opportunities as donations/gifts | Tracks one-time and major gifts using Salesforce's native pipeline |
| Enhanced Recurring Donations | Manages ongoing/scheduled giving with a dedicated recurring-donation object |
| General Accounting Units (GAUs) + Allocations | Splits a single gift across funds, programs, or restrictions |
| Customizable Rollups | Summarizes giving totals (lifetime, this year, largest gift) onto Contacts and Households |
| Levels | Auto-assigns donors to tiers (e.g. bronze/silver/gold) based on giving |
| Engagement Plans | Templated, repeatable task sequences for stewardship and outreach |
| Batch Gift Entry | Fast keyboard-driven entry for large batches of gifts |
Around these, NPSP also supports campaign management, volunteer and event tracking through related apps, and integrations with the wider Salesforce ecosystem such as Marketing Cloud and Pardot. Because donations live in Opportunities, standard Salesforce reports, dashboards, and Flow automation all work without extra plumbing.
NPSP vs the native Nonprofit Cloud: which should you choose?
This is the question most nonprofits ask in 2026. The short answer: existing NPSP orgs can keep running NPSP, while most new nonprofits should evaluate the native Nonprofit Cloud first.
| Aspect | NPSP (Nonprofit Success Pack) | Native Nonprofit Cloud (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Free managed package layered on Sales Cloud | Native Salesforce product, built into the core platform |
| Best fit | Existing NPSP orgs already invested in the data model | New nonprofits starting fresh |
| Data model | Households + Opportunities-as-donations | Purpose-built objects (e.g. Gift Commitment, Gift Transaction) |
| Direction | Maintenance / coexistence posture | Salesforce's strategic, actively-developed direction |
| Licensing | Free package; Power of Us for donated licenses | Licensed product; eligibility and terms via Salesforce.org |
Neither choice is "wrong" — the right pick depends on where you already are. A long-running org with years of NPSP history, customizations, and reports usually has no urgent reason to move. A brand-new nonprofit gains more by starting on the platform Salesforce is investing in. Because migration timelines and product guidance from Salesforce.org change over time, confirm the current roadmap before committing either way.
How do you get and set up NPSP?
NPSP is installed from the AppExchange onto a Salesforce org, typically Sales Cloud Enterprise Edition. The recommended path for most nonprofits is to apply for the Power of Us program through Salesforce.org first; eligible organizations receive a set of donated subscriptions plus product discounts, then layer NPSP on top.
A typical rollout looks like this:
- Confirm eligibility for Power of Us and provision the org.
- Install NPSP (and any companion packages like the Volunteers app) from the AppExchange.
- Configure the account model, record types, and donation stages to match how your team raises money.
- Import historical data — donors, households, and past gifts — using a tool such as Data Loader. Our guide on importing client records using Data Loader walks through the mechanics.
- Set up rollups, GAUs, and Levels so dashboards reflect real giving from day one.
If you would rather not run this internally, our Salesforce consulting team handles NPSP setup, data migration, and the build-vs-Nonprofit-Cloud decision for nonprofits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack free?
Yes. NPSP itself is a free, open-source managed package distributed through the AppExchange. It runs on top of a Salesforce org (typically Sales Cloud Enterprise Edition), and eligible nonprofits can obtain donated Salesforce subscriptions through the Power of Us program. Confirm current eligibility and terms directly with Salesforce.org.
Is NPSP being discontinued in favor of Nonprofit Cloud?
NPSP is not abruptly discontinued, but it is in a maintenance/coexistence posture. Salesforce launched a native Nonprofit Cloud in 2023 and now steers most new nonprofits toward it. Existing NPSP orgs continue to run and are supported. Because migration timelines shift, check the latest Salesforce.org guidance before making plans.
What is the difference between NPSP and Nonprofit Cloud?
NPSP is a free managed package layered on Sales Cloud that uses Households and Opportunities-as-donations. The native Nonprofit Cloud is a built-in Salesforce product with purpose-designed objects such as Gift Commitment and Gift Transaction. NPSP suits existing orgs; the native platform is the recommended starting point for new nonprofits.
What is the flexible account model in NPSP?
The flexible (household) account model reorganizes Contacts so they belong to Household accounts rather than only business accounts. This lets nonprofits track individual donors, the households they belong to, and the relationships and affiliations between people and organizations — which mirrors how donor relationships actually work.
How are donations tracked in NPSP?
Donations are recorded as Opportunities. This reuses Salesforce's native pipeline, stages, reporting, and automation for gift tracking. NPSP adds Enhanced Recurring Donations for scheduled giving, General Accounting Units (GAUs) to split gifts across funds, and Customizable Rollups to summarize totals onto Contacts and Households.
Can we migrate existing data into NPSP?
Yes. Most nonprofits import historical donors, households, and gifts using a tool such as Salesforce Data Loader after the account model and donation stages are configured. Plan the field mapping carefully — especially how legacy donor records map to Households and how past gifts map to Opportunities — before loading.