Microsoft's Dynamics 365 Nonprofit Accelerator v2 broadens partner, technology footprint

Microsoft's Nonprofit Accelerator launched in November 2018 and since then has doubled the size of its Common Data Model (CDM) entity set – from 35 to 75 -- and nearly tripled its network of partners from 14 to 40.

This week Microsoft is announcing plans for the Dynamics 365 Nonprofit Accelerator v2, with updates in a range of areas including new and improved apps, the enhanced CDM, and plans for more solutions to come, both from Microsoft and partners.

"The Common Data Model is core to our strategy," said Erik Arnold, CTO of Tech for Social Impact at Microsoft Philanthropies, an interview with MSDW. The growing list of stakeholders, which includes both large services firms like Avanade and Ernst & Young and smaller firms, has helped shape the next iteration of the CDM schema and the Dynamics 365 Nonprofit Accelerator v2.

In a blog post, Arnold wrote that Microsoft is investing in mapping templates to help third parties map CDM to their native schemas. Many have already accomplished this, he reports, including for Blackbaud's Luminate Online, Classy's fundraising suite, Fluxx's grant management suite, Jackson River's Springboard platform, and Volunteer Match's recruiting solutions.

Arnold also wrote that "Microsoft has invested in mapping the CDM to the Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack," something that the team stated it had not been able to do at the original launch.

Dynamics 365 Nonprofit Accelerator v2 and CDM offerings

Arnold noted several organizations already using the Dynamics 365 Nonprofit Accelerator: International Rescue Committee, Leonard Cheshire, SOS Children's Villages, and Team Rubicon, among others.

The Dynamics 365 Nonprofit Accelerator v2 will add more core features, align with industry standards, and use the broader set of CDM entities and attributes. The Accelerator's set of solutions includes constituent management, fundraising, beneficiary management, awards tracking, services delivery, volunteer management, and International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Organization and Activity standards.

Some of the new features draw directly on existing Dynamics 365 applications. For example, volunteer coordination, which optimizes activities and tracks preferences, skills, certifications, and availability, uses D365 Project Service Automation.