While the winter winds bring sweeping changes to our lives, Salesforce Winter ‘24 release notes are a breath of fresh air for grantmaking organizations and nonprofits around the world. At Grantbook, we have started using our own ‘Scale of Disruption’ to evaluate the level of impact of new tech, tools and processes on grantmakers.
Mass Quick Actions
A standout feature in this release is the introduction of Mass Quick Actions. This net new functionality allows users to perform actions on multiple records at once, greatly enhancing efficiency. Some practical applications of this game-changing new feature include updating the status of multiple Grant Applications, or sending communications to several grantees simultaneously.
Flow Updates
There are several new time-saving flow features in this release.
Transform Element
The new Transform element in Flow Builder allows a seamless exchange of data collections between different Flow resources. This is a huge stride towards simplifying the integration of external data into Salesforce without requiring coding, moving toward a future with less code dependency. This new element will allow grantmaking organizations to easily automate the importing and translating of data from a legacy GMS.
Custom Error Messages
You can now create tailored error messages to explain issues or provide necessary corrections to end users. This long-awaited update enhances user-friendliness and experience, as well as increasing issue resolution efficiency. Your Salesforce Admins and super-users can now share their deep knowledge about trouble-shooting and known errors more quickly and directly with your grantees and stakeholders.
Other Notable Flow Improvements
- The Grant Application experience continues to improve, supported by screenflow components that react dynamically to changes and user input
- Salesforce has extended support for HTTP callouts from flows, broadening the scope of external integrations. In practical terms, this means that system admins with little to no coding experience can now use Flow Builder to fetch external data (for example, Charity Status or OFAC integration).
Outcome Management
What is it?
Outcome Management is a newly-introduced feature for Nonprofit Cloud, enabling nonprofits to define, measure and evaluate the results of their programs from a centralized tool. With various viewing perspectives such as organization-wide, per-program, per-grant, and per-grantee organization, it offers a comprehensive understanding of impact that you can slice and dice to see the data you need.
The feature includes a pre-configured app and a dashboard that offers quick views of essential performance indicators, making it easier to share these results with stakeholders.
Who will benefit from it?
- Nonprofits can better demonstrate their impact, thereby supporting more informed decision-making and potentially attracting more support from stakeholders
- Grantmakers will gain a clearer understanding of the impact of their grants and programs, enabling better resource allocation
- Stakeholders will receive more comprehensive and meaningful reports on program outcomes, enhancing transparency and trust
- Communities and grantees will receive funding and support based on the most up-to-date data available, ensuring beneficial programs with strong outcomes will be recognized and invested in.
Unsure where to start?
Start by exploring Salesforce’s Nonprofit Cloud, and familiarize yourself with the Outcome Management Feature. Experienced partners like Grantbook can help you in defining and measuring the outcomes you want to achieve with your programs, ensuring the appropriate metrics and indicators are built right into your tools. You can adjust your strategies, ensuring you are getting the most impact from your approach, by evaluating the data you’re gathering and engaging with your stakeholders. Plan to share the outcomes of your new approach and gather feedback on your stakeholders’ experience for continuous improvement.
And of course, please reach out if you need a hand with any of the steps above; we are happy to help!
