As Salesforce continues to expand its product offerings, the number of certifications they offer has multiplied. As a nonprofit looking to hire a Salesforce consultant, you might hear consultants list the various certifications they have. However, even consultants with otherwise impressive credentials have found themselves with failed projects because they lack two critical things: knowledge of nonprofits, and the Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP).”
At Dreamforce 2018, Salesforce.org announced its newest certification, the Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud Consultant. Why was this such a huge deal? Many nonprofits use Salesforce differently than for-profit businesses, and the NPSP comes with numerous customizations to support common nonprofit use cases, such as matching gifts, soft crediting, recurring donations, and many others. The Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud Consultant certification tests exam-takers on how well they actually know nonprofits, as well as how to apply that knowledge to an implementation of NPSP.
Dayspring Partners’ Salesforce consultants Dale Gish, Jessica Kwok, and Lisa Soulet, jumped at the chance to register for the beta exam of the Nonprofit Cloud Consultant. Normally, the exam would be 60 questions completed in 90 minutes, but the beta was double that — a grueling 120 questions in 160 minutes. When they completed the test and submitted their answers in November, they received a message: “Your answers have been recorded and you will receive your results in January.” They went back to the office to the good work of serving nonprofits, wondering if they passed.
Then on December 27th, the exam results arrived. Dale Gish… Pass! Jessica Kwok… Pass! Lisa Soulet… Pass! Three out of three… “Congratulations, Trailblazer! You’ve successfully completed the certification exam to become a Certified Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud Consultant”.
The wait was well worth it. Dayspring’s Salesforce consultants were already nonprofit Salesforce experts–and now they have the certifications to prove it. Our certified Nonprofit Cloud Consultants are now 9 times Salesforce-certified and ready to serve!