Driving Nonprofit Missions Forward with Managed Services
What Are Managed Services, Anyway?
If you’ve ever wished your technology could just work so your team could stay focused on fundraising, programs, and impact, you’re not alone. That’s where Managed Services come in. Think of it as ongoing support and strategy designed to keep your systems reliable, efficient, and aligned with your mission.
At Idealist Consulting, Managed Services is one of the ways we’ve had the most direct and lasting impact for our clients. By pairing deep Salesforce expertise with lived nonprofit experience, our team knows how to bridge the gap between technical fixes and real-world needs. We don’t just keep your systems running, we make sure they’re working the way your mission needs them to.
From admin coaching and marketing automation to integrations, data cleanup, and roadmap planning, our team helps nonprofits get the most out of their tools today while preparing for tomorrow. And because we work across the entire Salesforce ecosystem, including Nonprofit Cloud, Tableau, Agentforce, and more, you’ll have one partner who knows your world and keeps everything connected.
Why Nonprofits Partner With Us
Our clients choose Managed Services because it offers more than just technical support—it’s a partnership built around understanding your mission and ensuring your systems grow alongside it.
1. Keep Your Mission Moving
Your staff has enough on their plate. We’ll guide your technology strategy and handle the details, so your team can stay focused on fundraising, programs, and impact.
2. Nonprofit Expertise Built In
We don’t just know Salesforce, we know nonprofits. Our consultants have lived experience in fundraising, operations, program delivery, and grantmaking. That perspective allows us to design solutions that respond to real-world needs, not just technical requirements.
3. Build for Tomorrow
We don’t just fix issues; we evolve your systems so they scale with your mission. By investing in proactive improvements now, you’ll save time, money, and stress later.
4. Support That Fits You
No two nonprofits are alike. That’s why we customize every Managed Services plan. Whether you need quick troubleshooting, interim staff coverage, or a long-term strategic partnership, we tailor our approach to match your goals.
How We Do Managed Services
Managed Services is more than just a help desk. It’s an ongoing relationship that adapts to your organization’s needs. Here’s how we work with you:
- Support & Training: Troubleshooting, user management, data cleanup, admin coaching, and marketing automation support.
- Optimization: Building and refining reports, dashboards, automations, integrations, and customizations.
- Advisory: Strategic roadmap planning, tool selection, and preparing your systems for future solutions like Nonprofit Cloud or Agentforce.
- Proactive Maintenance: Regular audits, security and permissions reviews, and long-term alignment with Salesforce best practices.
- Projects: Implementing new features, migrating data, and managing larger initiatives with the benefit of a partner who already knows your systems.
Who You’ll Work With
With over 20 years of experience supporting nonprofits, our Managed Services team brings together a broad bench of specialists:
- Developers for custom code, integrations, and scalable solutions.
- Data Migration Specialists for smooth and secure data transitions.
- Business Analysts to translate your mission needs into technical requirements.
- Solution Architects to design future-ready, mission-aligned systems.
- Marketing Automation Specialists to ensure tools like Marketing Cloud Account Engagement deliver results.
- AI Specialists to help you adopt emerging tools like Agentforce to streamline workflows and personalize outreach at scale.
We also support a wide range of tools, including Nonprofit Cloud, Experience Cloud, Agentforce, Tableau, Marketing Cloud Account Engagement, NPSP, Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, MuleSoft, and third-party apps like Blackthorn, FinDock, Apsona, and FormAssembly.
What Managed Services Look Like in Action
Our partnerships are as diverse as the missions we serve. We’ve helped nonprofits modernize by moving legacy automations into Salesforce Flows, integrating tools like Classy and external event platforms, and building dashboards that give staff clearer insights.
At times, the work is urgent, like embedding a Salesforce admin during staff transitions, or focused on cleanup, such as streamlining data and removing unnecessary fields. In other cases, it’s about growth and strategy, like launching Experience Cloud sites or advising on big-picture decisions such as moving to Nonprofit Cloud or adopting Agentforce. These examples only scratch the surface; the case studies below show how this work comes to life for specific organizations.
Case Study: National Climate-Focused Foundation
As part of a Managed Services partnership with a nonprofit organization focused on the clean energy transition, we supported a full grants management redesign to help streamline and modernize their operations. One major improvement was building a portal for consultants to replace their manual, email-based invoicing process. With this self-service system, consultants can now submit invoices directly, saving staff significant time and reducing errors.
Beyond immediate efficiency gains, we also tackled technical debt from the organization’s initial Salesforce setup, ensuring the system was stable and sustainable for the long term. Through ongoing roadmap planning, we’ve continued to align their technology with organizational goals, so their tools not only meet today’s needs but also position them for future growth.
Case Study: Adelente Mujeres
Through our Managed Services partnership with Adelante Mujeres, we provide ongoing technology support that keeps their team focused on mission, not maintenance. This includes FormAssembly troubleshooting and updates, ensuring their forms run smoothly for staff and program participants. We’ve also built custom reports and dashboards so program data can be easily tracked against success metrics, giving leadership the insights they need to measure impact.
When there have been staffing gaps, our team steps in to provide backfill support—from keeping documentation up to date to delivering team training and enablement. This has been especially valuable as staff adopt new tools like Salesforce case management, helping them gain confidence and efficiency. With Idealist Consulting as their trusted partner, Adelante Mujeres has the technical foundation to continue expanding their work empowering Latina women and immigrant families in Oregon.
Case Study: Center for Resource Solutions
With Center for Resource Solutions, our Managed Services team has supported projects that automate and streamline critical processes. First, we built an email drip campaign leveraging custom metadata, formula fields, and flows on the Opportunity object. This automation now delivers tailored follow-up messages, significantly reducing staff time spent on manual outreach. We also designed a new renewal process for their Green-e certification program using FormAssembly and Stripe, making it easier for participants to complete renewals and for staff to manage them efficiently.
Managed Services That Flex With Your Needs
Every nonprofit’s journey is different. Some come to us with urgent needs, like covering for a staff member on leave or solving a critical integration issue. Others are looking for long-term stability and growth. Many simply need a trusted partner to handle the backlog of fixes or provide a proactive strategy when they don’t yet have a defined project.
That’s why our Managed Services are built for flexibility. We co-create the right plan for you, ensuring your systems stay healthy and mission-aligned while your team keeps moving forward.
Let’s Keep Your Mission Moving
Whether you need immediate admin support, strategic roadmap planning, or a partner to help evolve your systems for tomorrow, Idealist Consulting’s Managed Services can help. Together, we’ll make sure your technology doesn’t just work, it works for your mission.
