Salesforce Elevate Is Retiring: What Your Nonprofit Needs to Know

In April 2023, Salesforce announced the sunset of its online fundraising solution, Elevate. Here, we dive into what this means for nonprofits and how organizations affected by this update can prepare for a smooth transition to the next fundraising platform.

What Is Elevate?

Salesforce.org’s Elevate is a tool that helps nonprofit organizations reach their fundraising goals. This customer-driven product allows them to create campaign donation pages that link directly to campaigns within their Salesforce CRM instance.

Elevate also allows organizations to accept payments that flow into Salesforce’s Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP), evaluate recurring donation programs with a unified view, and personalize donation pages with engaging, customized content.

However, as Salesforce began evaluating Elevate earlier this year, the results revealed there was a limited future innovation envelope, and the intended value was not being delivered with the available resources. The result was the tough decision to sunset the product by the end of 2024.

What Nonprofits Currently Using Elevate Need to Know

The Salesforce platform will honor all existing contracts to provide ample time for migration to alternate online donation solutions. Its team is also committed to maintenance and bug fixes, although there will be no innovation with the tool.

While this news can overwhelm organizations leveraging Elevate for their giving pages or other fundraising needs, Classy’s deep Salesforce integration and long-standing partnership enable a smooth transition with minimal operational downtime. We’re committed to supporting nonprofits through this change to protect and fuel your impact.

Top Migration Considerations for Your Next Fundraising Software

It’s critical that your team has access to the right tools to propel your mission forward. Deciding which software is best for your organization comes down to knowing what to ask a potential vendor.

A few technical questions to ask during your evaluation include:

• What types of organizations are most successful when using your solution?
• Is there a limit to how many campaigns I can create?
• Which payment options do you offer?
• What are the standard transaction fees?
• Does everything operate seamlessly on a mobile device?

In addition to technical questions, you’ll want to understand a provider’s rate of innovation and how it can support your other fundraising needs, like expansion and scalability. Here are a few holistic questions to add to your list:

• What’s ahead on your company’s roadmap and plan for future product innovation?
• What makes your company stand out in the market beyond its products?
• What do you envision as the future of giving, and how are you working to support organizations like mine in preparing?

For additional guidance, here are 20 questions to ask during your nonprofit software evaluation.

How Classy Can Fuel Your Fundraising Long-Term

Classy’s comprehensive fundraising platform and payment offerings, coupled with our proven migration capabilities, ensure:

• Unlimited access to scalable tools designed to grow as you do
• Seamless, optimized giving experiences and donation forms that help nonprofits double revenue to do more for their communities
• Multiple ways for donors to get involved, including five campaign types and multiple payment methods
• Flexibility to tell your stories in personalized ways and tools to share them at scale
• Seamless communication between your front-end and back-end experiences through thoughtful integrations and award-winning APIs
• No fundraising hiccups due to unprotected data or unreliable technology

Classy vs. Classy Alternatives

Classy’s robust suite of products makes it possible to create the right experience for the right donor at the right time, every time. When evaluating Classy versus Classy alternatives, there are a few key differentiators worth noting:

• Embedded donation forms: Drive conversions up to 2x the industry standard thanks to a mobile-first, streamlined design.
• A/B tested: Benefit from A/B tested Classy donation experiences with large sample size, real-world conditions, time and cost efficiency, and insights from long-term trends and patterns that inform development and innovation for future functionality.
• Peer-to-peer and registration with fundraising: Activate your supporters to raise on your behalf and extend your reach to their networks.
• Auctions, mobile bidding, and on-site payments: Engage networks through events and Classy Live by developing customized and curated experiences that act as a powerful springboard for extending supporter lifetime value. With flexible, scalable options, like auctions, mobile bidding, and on-site payments, you have the ability to boost attendee engagement and generate more revenue opportunities.
• Payment flexibility: Make it easy to give more, and more often, with a campaign experience backed by Classy Pay that offers donor payment flexibility.

What does transitioning to Classy look like?

Classy and Salesforce’s long-standing partnership has resulted in the deepest integration in the industry. Our alignment in shared values and customer success means you can transition from Elevate while maintaining and strengthening your Salesforce environments.

We also understand how crucial it is for your fundraising and CRM solutions to integrate seamlessly within your unique use case. With a dedicated Classy for Salesforce team and an innovative approach to our solution, Classy for Salesforce works for you now and in the future.

To empower Elevate customers with Classy, we’re offering special packaging that includes the following for the first year with a three-year subscription term:

• $0 subscription fee
• Free recurring donor migration
• Free Classy for Salesforce integration
• Comprehensive onboarding assistance

Transform Your Fundraising Future With the Right Technology

We encourage nonprofits to demand more of their technology, with the ideal fundraising suite seamlessly operating in the background. This allows your impact stories to take center stage.

Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, deterring donors due to a lack of trust, disruption in the storytelling process, or distraction from the call to action. A fundraising experience’s quiet efficiency determines a nonprofit’s ability to establish deep, meaningful personal connections at scale. So how does your current experience ladder up?

For more information on how Classy can support your fundraising efforts, we encourage you to request a demo and see our in-house payment solution, expansive fundraising campaign portfolio, industry-leading user experience, and more in action.