6 Reasons to Be Excited About the Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit

Petra Eimiller
01 Apr, 2021

One of the industries we focus on is the non-profit sector. We’ve worked with dozens of non-profit organizations over the past decade, from those that serve local communities to worldwide organizations. We’re continually inspired by what they accomplish with tight budgets and limited resources, and we’re happy when we can introduce technology that helps make a difference.

That’s why we’re so excited about what’s going on with Microsoft’s non-profit team. In 2017, Microsoft’s Tech for Social Impact (TSI) group was formed to focus on connecting Microsoft partners with non-profits to help them succeed with the help of affordable and accessible technology. We’re honored to have had the opportunity to work with TSI.

Microsoft’s latest effort in support of the non-profit sector, is possibly the most exciting: the release of the Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit. This suite of applications connects the cloud capabilities of the Microsoft stack to the most common challenges faced by nonprofits, pulling workflows and data sources from across the organization together onto a single platform, enabling them to work smarter and accelerate their mission without a big budget hit.

Here are 6 reasons why we’re excited
about the Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit:

  • 1

    The Nonprofit Common Data Model

    was the first component of the product, released in 2018, and forms its foundation. Essentially a common language for nonprofits and their technology partners, the Nonprofit Common Data Model is a platform-agnostic set of entities, attributes, and relationships addressing common non-profit scenarios.

  • 2

    Support for front-line staff and volunteers

    is one of our favorite attributes. Those individuals are the backbone of any non-profit, and they need tools that enable them to be more efficient, with the right data at their fingertips and efficient processes, so they can keep the focus where it should be–on their clients, not paperwork and red tape.

  • 3

    Fundraising and Engagement

    for Dynamics 365 Sales helps you manage donors and raise funds. Fundraising requires you to show your donors and funders that their money is being spent wisely. By breaking down silos across programs and operations, Fundraising and Engagement drives insights by enabling you to follow the flow of funding from initial gift through program delivery to impact measurement. You can also better understand donors so you can design personalized engagement to improve fundraising results.

  • 4

    The Dynamics 365 Nonprofit accelerator

    helps non-profits eliminate data silos, enabling them to gain insights from their data regardless of where it’s housed. It provides a uniform platform that lets non-profits connect, embed, or extend Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform to support core processes like program delivery, constituent & volunteer management, fundraising, impact measurement, and more. Most importantly, the accelerator is designed to reduce the cost of development, freeing money for building more solutions and supporting other efforts.

  • 5

    Attracting donors and supporters

    is critical to any non-profit, and Microsoft has made sure the platform makes it easier to attract, retain, and grow the donor/supporter base, as well as being better able to handle the different ways they give through individual donations, planned giving, gift and-kind grants, recurring, etc.

  • 6

    Volunteers

    who give their time to non-profits are invaluable to the success of the organizations they support, and the Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit helps organizations manage volunteers with better engagement and collaboration to ensure they’re being used for the maximum impact. It helps with the design of programs and services as well as tracking outcomes.

Explore Additional Resources for Non-Profits

Contact us

By using this form you agree to the storage and processing of the data you provide, as indicated in our privacy policy. You can unsubscribe from sent messages at any time. Please review our privacy policy for more information on how to unsubscribe, our privacy practices and how we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.