Phase One: Discovery, Design & Prototype
This includes Discovery workshops using a prototype to guide you through the design process. We gather detailed requirements, design the solution, and plan the build and migration.
Future-proof your grantmaking solution with our foundationConnect migration services. At Vera, we understand the importance of maintaining an exceptional grantee experience, supported by a collaborative and flexible grant management solution. Migrating off one grant management solution can be daunting at the best of times, but even more so when your legacy system is being retired. On the other hand, migrating to a new system also offers an opportunity to strengthen processes, to adopt new innovations, and to improve the grantee user experience.
The recent Salesforce announcement to retire foundationConnect on January 31, 2026, with subscription renewals ceasing after January 31, 2025 has created a clear deadline for grantmaking organizations currently relying on foundationConnect.
Grantmakers seeking to stick with a Salesforce-based solution can stay within the ecosystem by shifting their data and processes to Amp Impact, the Outbound Funds Module, or Salesforce’s new Nonprofit Cloud for Grantmaking. Vera can run implementations with any of these products. If you’re not sure which is right for your organization, we can assist with a Strategy and Discovery engagement to recommend the best solution and project approach. Below we explore each product with some benefits and considerations.
Amp Impact is used by grantmakers around the globe not only to track impact (for which it’s best known) but also to manage their grant-making lifecycle – from applications, reviews, and due diligence to administering funds, budgeting, and monitoring progress, risks, and impact. Amp Impact helps organizations generate holistic insights that inform decisions and enable greater transparency, while reducing grantees’ reporting burden.
How Amp Impact compares to foundationConnect:
✅ = out-of-the-box
🛠 = significant configuration or custom development needed
🔌= 3rd party tool
❌ = not a current feature
As the above comparison shows, Amp Impact offers much of the functionality covered by foundationConnect, with the current exception of a 501c3 charity check (this is on the Amp Impact roadmap). In addition to the more robust impact measurement functionality, the biggest advantage lies in Amp Impact’s flexible Submissions functionality, which allows grantmakers to manage and use any number of form templates for applications, reviews, due diligence, narrative reporting, and more, without having to rely on a Salesforce Administrator or Consultant to manage or modify templates.
Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud for Grantmaking also provides a set of features for grantmakers to streamline funding programs, from proposal to award management. While the licensing model likely means a higher cost for most organizations, all Nonprofit Cloud products include access to Salesforce’s ‘common components for industries’, like Omnistudio, Decision Rules Engine, and Document Generation. Launched in Summer 2023, Nonprofit Cloud for Grantmaking is still a young product, but does offer some similar functionality for grantmakers to foundationConnect. It’s worth noting that NPC for Grantmaking can also be used in conjunction with Amp Impact.
How NPC for Grantmaking compares to foundationConnect:
✅ = out-of-the-box
🛠 = significant configuration or custom development needed
🔌= 3rd party tool
❌ = not a current feature
As the comparison shows, NPC for Grantmaking provides much of the functionality offered by foundationConnect. Like Amp Impact, NPC for Grantmaking doesn’t yet offer a 501c3 charity check. It also does not yet offer impact reporting functionality, though we expect basic functionality to be made available for use in Experience Cloud in 2024. Configuring applications with NPC for Grantmaking is broadly similar to what can be done with foundationConnect (both rely on a Salesforce Administrator or Consultant to build and manage templates), though Omnistudio offers additional features that can enhance the grantee experience. Another advantage is that documents can be generated through Omnistudio Document Generation without the need for a third-party document generation tool like Conga, S-Docs, or PDF Butler.
The Salesforce Outbound Funds Module is a free managed package that provides some core functionality for grantmakers to manage funding requests, reviews, requirements and disbursements.
How the Outbound Funds Module compares to foundationConnect:
✅ = out-of-the-box
🛠 = significant configuration or custom development needed
🔌= 3rd party tool
❌ = not a current feature
Configuring applications with the Outbound Funds Module is broadly similar to what can be done with foundationConnect (both rely on a Salesforce Administrator or Consultant to build and manage templates), and relies heavily on metadata configuration and Salesforce Flow or a 3rd party form tool for the application user interface. While the Outbound Funds Module functionality is more basic than Amp Impact or Nonprofit Cloud for Grantmaking, it can be a suitable solution for grantmakers with a single application and simple reporting requirements. Since the solution is free, cost often is a primary driver in why organizations consider or choose Outbound Funds.
We assist foundationConnect clients in transitioning to a new grantmaking solution, including options like Amp Impact, Salesforce NPC for Grantmaking, Salesforce Outbound Funds Module, as well as other alternatives and solution combinations.
Our initial step is to carefully evaluate your current and future requirements to determine the most suitable solution. Throughout this process, we engage in discussions to consider key criteria when choosing a new technology solution, provide solution demonstrations, and address potential challenges associated with different choices. With over 14 years of experience in implementing grantmaking solutions, we aim to serve as a trusted advisor, offering practical guidance to help you save time, resources, and avoid potential issues.
Once you’ve made your choice regarding the solution, we can begin working on its implementation, moving forward to the next phase as outlined below.
We deliver implementations in two phases. Here is what you can expect from us.
This includes Discovery workshops using a prototype to guide you through the design process. We gather detailed requirements, design the solution, and plan the build and migration.
During the second phase, we configure the solution, conduct thorough testing, then deploy with your migrated data. During and post deployment, we provide end user training to help with user adoption
Your success is our success. We think of our impact as the delta we affect in our clients’ impact. With a consistent customer satisfaction score rating of over 4.8 out of 5 on the Salesforce AppExchange, we are proud to have served many amazing organizations and look forward to many more!
Our experienced consultants bring a wealth of industry and technical expertise, ensuring that you receive reliable advice and a solution tailored to your organization’s specific needs.
A global team of highly skilled Salesforce Consultants with 300+ active certifications and counting.
Experience successfully delivering over 1,000+ projects in the social sector.
Over 420 customers globally in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Consultants across 5 continents, covering more than 12 languages.
With over 14 years of experience serving nonprofits, Vera Solutions has been a leader in developing program management and impact measurement solutions on the Salesforce Platform, while building expertise across a wide range of Salesforce Clouds (Sales, Service, Experience, Nonprofit, Analytics, etc).
Currently, over $12 billion of programs, grants, and projects advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals are managed using Vera’s flagship product, Amp Impact. Our team has both extensive knowledge of the nonprofit sector and deep experience in delivering powerful, flexible, and sustainable solutions for a wide range of clients.
As a long-time Salesforce International Impact Partner, we’ve been dedicated to the Salesforce ecosystem for 14 years. With the growth of Amp Impact, Vera Solutions has also been recognized twice as Salesforce.org Product Partner of the Year (2019, 2022) and with a Partner Innovation Award (2021). We are constantly on-top of the Salesforce Platform’s latest features and enhancements and how they can be leveraged to support our clients’ missions.
We’ve had the privilege to work with amazing organizations globally and learn from these engagements. We’ve distilled and published some of our key learnings on our blog. Choose your topic, read our expert tips and get in touch with any questions.
We’ve been working with Grantmakers for the past 14 years, helping to implement solutions that provide better grantee experiences, streamline the grantmaking process, drive collaboration, and generate meaningful impact reports to gain deeper insights and make informed decisions. As your migration partner, we dive deeper to address key questions and create your migration strategy, from a straight forward ‘lift-and-shift’ migration to a more complex one including major changes to processes or custom features.
The answer depends on your organization’s requirements. Straightforward implementations are usually completed within 3-5 months, whereas more complex implementations are typically completed within 6-9 months. Together, during the discovery phase we will align on a timeline as well as internal and external resource requirements (a factor that, if neglected, can cause project delays).
We have 14 years of experience working exclusively with nonprofits in the areas of grantmaking, portfolio management, and impact measurement. We’ve worked with organizations such as the Elton John Aids Foundation and the Aga Khan Foundation using Amp Impact to optimize their grantmaking and provide insights into their impact. Our team consists of experts who have a deep understanding of the unique challenges and needs faced by grantmakers, allowing us to recommend the most effective solution to match your requirements.
At Vera, we understand the importance of confidentiality and security when it comes to sensitive data. That’s one of the reasons Amp Impact is built on the secure Salesforce platform.
We offer a range of Consulting and Managed Services beyond foundationConnect Migrations. Our Consulting Services cover a range of needs from Discovery, Design, Prototyping, Configuration, Testing, Deployment, Migration, Training and post implementation support. Clients often choose to continue our engagement with Managed Services, either with Admin Support, Managed Support, or Engineering Support Services. As Amp Impact’s community has grown we’ve been inspired to see key leaders and technology practitioners come together and learn from each other by connecting through our Vera Connect portal, our Amp Impact Summits, or in one of our many Amp Impact and Vera Peer Learning Groups.