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- Nonprofit
- Education
What You Need
Resources
- Blog
- Case Studies
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About

11 Salesforce nonprofit consultants to power your purpose

Lyndal Cairns
September 29, 2025

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Think of your nonprofit as a tapestry held together by the relationships you’ve made over its lifespan. Each donor, volunteer, and constituent is a unique thread, and together they create the strength, colors, and patterns that bring your mission to life.

To maintain tightly-woven connections with your community, you need to put in the work to understand them, keep up with trends, and craft appeals that resonate. That’s why constituent relationship management (CRM) software is so essential to your success—and one of the most popular tools is Salesforce.

While over 50,000 nonprofits use Salesforce to manage their tapestries of connections, its robust infrastructure can be tricky for users to navigate during launch. However, even if Salesforce is mysterious to your team, you can enlist the help of expert nonprofit consultants to guide you through the process so you can get up and running with better insights, faster.

Let’s explore what Salesforce nonprofit consultants do, why they’re worth pursuing, and which consultants lead the market.

What is Salesforce for nonprofits?
What does a Salesforce nonprofit consultant do?
How to evaluate a Salesforce nonprofit consultant
Top Salesforce nonprofit consultants

Have questions about Salesforce?

Get them answered with our FAQ guide.

What is Salesforce for nonprofits?

Salesforce is a CRM solution that allows nonprofits to manage data, fundraising, programs, and relationships with community members.

Salesforce has been a leading CRM for years and has offered numerous solutions tailored to nonprofits. These days, Salesforce has evolved to offer two main nonprofit solutions: Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) and Nonprofit Cloud.

Both options are available to nonprofits, and the ideal version for you depends on your capacity, budget, priority operations, and tech-savviness. Here are the key differences to know:

A Venn diagram compares NPSP and Nonprofit Cloud. NPSP is open-source for simpler needs; Nonprofit Cloud is paid and advanced for complex needs. Both are built on Salesforce, customizable, and often guided by a Salesforce Nonprofit Consultant.

NPSP

Is a managed package built on Salesforce, functioning as an add-on rather than a standalone product
Requires manual installation and customization
Is free and open source
Suits nonprofits with more straightforward needs

Nonprofit Cloud

Is a paid product with advanced features (ie: it’s one of Salesforces’ specialized Industry Cloud offerings)
Offers specific use cases designed for nonprofits
Leverages industry-specific data models
Suits nonprofits with complex needs

Both solutions are built on Salesforce, offer customizable nonprofit features, and can interact with the Salesforce ecosystem (i.e., can integrate with other Salesforce clouds and connect to AppExchange apps). However, we generally recommend using Nonprofit Cloud, as it’s a much more powerful solution that can help your nonprofit scale your outreach and fundraising results faster.

What does a Salesforce nonprofit consultant do?

Each Salesforce consultant has their own specialties, so no single list covers everything they offer. Still, these are the most common services you’ll see when evaluating nonprofit consulting partners:

Aligns CRM setup with nonprofit goals. Each organization that uses Salesforce has unique objectives, and the system should reflect those priorities. For instance, a food bank might configure Salesforce to track food distribution, while an arts nonprofit could focus on managing ticketing or memberships. Consultants understand the nuances of Salesforce and can configure an ideal setup.

Leads migrations. Your nonprofit likely has thousands of data points that need to be migrated to your Salesforce instance intact. Consultants ensure no important information falls through the cracks by cleaning data, mapping fields correctly, and validating the results before go-live.

Builds dashboards. Guaranteeing that the right information is tracked, reported, and easily accessible is essential for nonprofits to get the most from their Salesforce instances. Consultants build out dashboards so they reflect the most accurate information to each nonprofit’s priorities.

Train staff. Nonprofit staff should learn how to use Salesforce correctly from launch to prevent issues. As Salesforce experts, consultants have comprehensive knowledge of tips and pitfalls to avoid during onboarding. Plus, they can tailor materials to align with your team’s needs.

Offers ongoing support. Once you get up and running with Salesforce, consultants can remain a resource in case you hit any snags or want advice on evolving your use. If your team members are having trouble adopting the tool, they can work closely with the consultant to ensure everyone has the tools they need to succeed.

Salesforce consultants for nonprofits typically deliver services in phases, with the most common being discovery, system configuration, migration, training, and ongoing support. Their level of involvement shifts over time—they are often hands-on during the early stages and more ad hoc during the ongoing support phase.

How to evaluate a Salesforce nonprofit consultant

Since consultants offer various services and appeal to different audiences, choosing your ideal partner requires careful preparation and research. Ensure you check these boxes to find the best partner for your needs:

Check Salesforce’s list of vetted consultants. A certification from Salesforce itself is essential when guaranteeing a consultant knows what they’re talking about. To find nonprofit specialists, filter by Industry Expertise and browse reviews, achievements, and certifications.
Look for Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud certification on the consultant’s website. Even if you aren’t planning on using Nonprofit Cloud, you’ll want to ensure the consultant is well-versed in the solution in case it makes sense to migrate down the road.
Ask about experience with similar nonprofits. During the request for proposal (RFP) or interview process, share your challenges and goals, and see whether the consultant has addressed similar situations in the past.

Understand their implementation process and how it’ll affect your nonprofit. How long will implementation take? How will the implementation process differ based on your team’s specific skills? What unique skills does the consultant bring that will improve results? Ask more questions like this to picture the implementation process.

Review client case studies and references. Conduct your own research outside of the interview process by talking with trusted colleagues about their consultant experience. Consider case studies on the consultant’s website, but also look at third-party review sites to remove bias.
Assess ongoing support offerings. As a considerable investment, you want to guarantee that your nonprofit can benefit from consultant support in the long term. Gauge how they approach providing ongoing support—for example, are they available for one-on-one support, or do they rely on self-service training resources and webinars? Both can be helpful, but you should understand their approach so it matches your expectations.

Choosing the best Salesforce nonprofit consultant is as much about fit as it is about technical knowledge. The best partner should be Salesforce-savvy, but they should also understand your mission, communicate in a way your team can depend on, and adapt solutions to your nonprofit’s unique context.

Top Salesforce Nonprofit Consultants

Best overall: Heller Consulting

Heller Consulting is a nonprofit and education tech consultant that specializes in CRM implementation, tech strategy, change management, and data maintenance. We provide technical support for multiple CRMs, including Salesforce’s Clouds and nonprofit solutions.

Why Heller Consulting is the best Salesforce nonprofit consultant

Decades of nonprofit and educational experience. Our team has worked exclusively with mission-driven organizations for 30 years, giving us deep insight into the challenges nonprofits and education institutions face every day.
Specialization in advancement and fundraising. We’ve helped many educational institutions and nonprofits design Salesforce solutions that improve donor stewardship, campaign results, data management, and alumni engagement.
Strategy first, technology second. Unlike firms that jump straight into configuration, we focus on aligning your CRM strategy with your mission and goals, ensuring Salesforce supports your long-term vision.
Proven change management approach. Implementing new technology is about people as much as systems. Our consultants bring structured change management practices to help your staff adopt Salesforce with confidence and minimal disruption.
Trusted Salesforce partnership. As a certified Salesforce partner, we stay on top of platform innovations and industry best practices, giving nonprofits access to the latest tools, features, and nonprofit-specific solutions.
End-to-end services. From discovery and data migration to training and ongoing support, we take digital transformation to the next level. We have you covered throughout every phase of the implementation process so you don’t have to juggle multiple vendors.

Integrated partnership approach. Regardless of your specific needs, we work with you every step of the way. We become part of your team, ensuring we can access valuable insights that can shape our approach while guaranteeing your team feels prepared to take on new tech challenges.

CONTACT TEAM HELLER

Attain Partners

Attain Partners is a Salesforce consulting service that offers services to nonprofit, governmental, healthcare, and educational organizations.

Standout service: The managed services offering allows Attain to integrate fully into each nonprofit’s team and provide tactical, specific guidance.

Best for: Educational institutions and established nonprofits with growing digital teams. Attain is a good fit for those who want an affordable partner that offers both implementation and long-term managed services to extend internal staff capacity.

Huron

Huron is a consulting group that builds large-scale Salesforce instances for advancement, reporting, and donor relationship management.

Standout service: Salesforce implementations for advancement in the education space or with major nonprofits. Huron uses tools like Education Cloud, Tableau, and Data Cloud to provide a valuable interface for donor relationship management and fundraising.

Best for: Large universities and major nonprofits running advancement shops with multi-million or billion-dollar campaigns. These organizations typically have substantial technology budgets and need a partner who can combine Salesforce with enterprise-level strategy, data governance, and alumni engagement.

Fíonta

Fíonta is a digital transformation firm focused on providing nonprofits with tech strategy and expertise, including in Salesforce implementation and optimization.

Standout service: Implementation expertise for multiple Salesforce Clouds and managed packages, such as nonprofit-specific NPSP and Nonprofit Cloud, as well as the more general Service Cloud.

Best for: Mission-driven nonprofits, grantmaking foundations, and associations (including professional and mission-driven membership organizations) seeking expert support for core nonprofit operations, such as fundraising and program tracking.

Slalom

Slalom is a consulting firm that supports nonprofits and public-sector organizations through large-scale digital projects.

Standout service: Slalom combines Salesforce implementation expertise with broader services in business strategy, data analytics, and change management. The firm’s global footprint allows it to deliver resources and solutions at enterprise scale.

Best for: Large nonprofits and public-sector organizations with significant budgets and a need for Salesforce technical expertise and high-level strategic guidance.

Cloud for Good

Cloud for Good is a comprehensive Salesforce design firm that aims to provide transformational experiences powered by Salesforce.

Standout service: Flexibility to support any level of customization—whether your nonprofit needs a full, from-scratch build or a quicker, preconfigured solution using Accelerators.

Best for: Mid- to large-sized nonprofits investing significantly in Salesforce as an enterprise CRM. These organizations should manage complex fundraising and program portfolios and want a full-service partner for migration, marketing automation, and analytics.

Passion Fruit Partners

Passion Fruit Partners is a Salesforce-focused CRM consultancy for nonprofits.

Standout service: Unlike other consultants, Passion Fruit Partners focuses on Salesforce implementation instead of general CRM management. If you’re certain Salesforce is the best fit for your nonprofit, they have the highly specialized knowledge needed for success.

Best for: Small to mid-sized nonprofits that want a highly collaborative partner to implement, optimize, or manage Salesforce. Passion Fruit Partners is made for organizations with modest budgets that need hands-on, Salesforce-focused support rather than a large enterprise consultant.

DNL OmniMedia

DNL OmniMedia is a full-service digital consultancy that offers CRM implementation alongside web development, marketing automation, and more.

Standout service: DNL OmniMedia offers full-service Salesforce management services, from foundational data review to integrating other management solutions to providing ongoing support. The team’s broad scope of services allows nonprofits with more general needs (such as connecting Salesforce with tools like HubSpot) to manage everything through a single partner.

Best for: Mid-sized nonprofits with comprehensive needs looking for end-to-end Salesforce support. DNL OmniMedia is a strong choice for organizations ready to invest in integrations, custom development, and advanced analytics to improve both fundraising and program management.

Deep Why Design

Deep Why Design is a specialist Salesforce consulting firm that provides custom configuration for nonprofits.

Standout service: As a small Salesforce shop, Deep Why Design is focused on providing tailored insights through flexible, yet comprehensive one-on-one support. For example, its Office Hours offering allows clients to “drop in” when questions arise.
Best for: Small to mid-sized nonprofits with unique or complex program models that don’t fit “out of the box” Salesforce setups. Deep Why Design is ideal for organizations that want personal recommendations and flexible support options.

Beyond the Horizon

Beyond the Horizon is a Salesforce consulting firm that specializes in custom implementations for nonprofits.

Standout service: Beyond the Horizon has an emphasis on change management and training, which ensures that the the whole team supports the next iteration of your nonprofit’s Salesforce strategy.
Best for: Nonprofits who need a partner that works closely with them to implement new Salesforce solutions and that understands the importance of collaboration.

Crasftsman Technology Group

Craftsman Technology Group partners is a technology consultant that partners with nonprofits to build and optimize their Salesforce instances.

Standout service: Craftsman has a wide variety of expertise and services, such as CRM marketing optimization, impact tracking, and data analytics. This means they have a wide range of expertise that nonprofits with diverse needs can benefit from.
Best for: Nonprofits (especially in the community development and community health sectors) that need better data to draw insights from.

Wrapping Up

Launching your Salesforce instance can be daunting—which is why you should start looking for your best-fit consultant first. Before requesting proposals or looking at the AppExchange, establish how Salesforce can help your nonprofit achieve its goals. Your Salesforce nonprofit consultant can fill in the rest of the gaps, providing you with a roadmap to a successful tech stack—and mission.

Additional resources

Managed IT services for nonprofits & education orgs. Need general IT management or a fractional CIO? Team Heller can step in and integrate into your team. Learn more about our approach here.

What’s new in Salesforce and ascend: Summer 2025. Salesforce constantly releases new updates, and you should be aware of what’s coming next. Our guide for summer 2025 has you covered.

Salesforce data quality tricks from Guide Dogs for the Blind. Learn about Salesforce data quality from a leading nonprofit perspective in this case study.

You deserve tech that drives impact

Shift your efforts into high gear with Team Heller.

Author

Lyndal Cairns
Director of Marketing
Lyndal has worked at the intersection of nonprofits and technology for most of her career, building strategic marketing programs and managing data-driven campaigns at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Nonprofit Technology Network, InfluxData, and others. She leads Heller’s marketing efforts and is excited to position Team Heller as the partner of choice for nonprofit and education advancement leaders. When not at her desk, Lyndal is usually on a hiking trail or listening to a podcast about star stuff.
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