Open Source with NPSP

A Technology Model That Makes Sense for Nonprofits

Open Source is changing the way we develop technology each

and every day. Open source refers to software whose source
code is available for all users to see, which means transparency,
extensibility, and collaborative development are built-in features.

The Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP), our customer relationship

management (CRM) solution for nonprofits, is a great example
of open-source software. The NPSP source code is available to
anyone on GitHub.

LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT OUR OPEN SOURCE SOLUTIONS FOR NONPROFITS

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What does open source mean for you?

Have you ever used a piece of software and thought, “I

know how this could be improved, but why would the
developers listen to me?” In many cases, you’re right —
there’s no good way for you to make your feedback heard.
But in the open-source world, users are more than just
consumers of a product; they’re actually co-developers.
When you have an idea for a new feature, or one that could
work better, you’re able to contribute directly. You can get
the source code from GitHub, make changes, and submit
your idea for consideration. Once developers review it, they
can push the new feature or bug fix into the application
across the entire user base.

It’s a model that makes sense to nonprofits: instead of the

software company dictating the future of the product, it’s
up to all of the users to speak up, pitch in, and make great
things happen one change at a time.

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Transparency – When you encounter some unexpected
behavior and report it to Salesforce.org and the community,
no one has to guess what the issue is. Everyone can look at
the underlying code and figure out what’s going on.
Developers, partners, and experienced users can quickly
suggest solutions.

Continuous Improvement – By its nature, open-source code

is always getting better, and the faster you can get upgrades
into the hands of the users, the faster you can innovate. So
open-source software usually has shorter update cycles. In
the case of NPSP, we push new and improved code
seamlessly to users every two weeks.

Integration & Extensibility – An open-source framework

also lends itself to modularity, which means it’s easier to build
add-on components. That’s why you often see a thriving
ecosystem of partners around popular pieces of open-source
software. NPSP boasts an especially vibrant group of partners
that implement, customize, and develop complementary
add-ons for nonprofits of all shapes and sizes.

Community – Open-source software is built for and by the

community. At Salesforce.org, NPSP developers talk to users
and community contributors every single day. The needs of
the community become our product roadmap, and that’s
how it should be.

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Some people ask how NPSP can be considered open source when you need to have (and sometimes pay for)
Salesforce in order to use it. Think about other open-source software you use. Just as Firefox (an open-source
application) runs on Apple OS X (a commercial operating system), NPSP (an open-source package) runs on Salesforce
(a commercial platform). You get the benefits of open source, even if the underlying platform is closed source.

By the way, NPSP isn’t the only Salesforce add-on solution that is open source. Check out the AppExchange to learn
more about other pre-integrated Salesforce apps.

Not every piece of software should be open source. Some are closed source just because their creators put a lot of
resources into creating them, and they want to make money and protect their intellectual property. This is a good thing;
without it, we wouldn’t have the unbelievable breadth of software options available to us today. Commercial and
open-source projects can and do happily coexist, and even build on each other. In fact, Salesforce itself is built on a
wide array of open-source components, but it remains a commercial service.

With open source, everyone has easier access to better technology. We’re proud to be bringing more open-source tech
to nonprofit organizations that need it. Open source is part of what makes NPSP so special and so perfect for
nonprofits: it’s transparent, flexible, collaborative, and community-driven. We encourage you to learn more about the
larger open-source community online, and join our community in the Power of Us Hub.

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Next Steps

1. Download a Nonprofit Success Pack Trial >

2. View the Nonprofit Success Pack Source Code >

3. Visit the AppExchange to See Other Pre-Integrated Salesforce Apps >

4. Join the Open-Source Community in the Power of Us Hub >

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Ready to engage your constituents like never before?
LEARN MORE AT SALESFORCE.ORG/NONPROFIT/NONPROFIT-SUCCESS-PACK/ >
TO LEARN MORE VISIT SALESFORCE.ORG >