This document explains how Salesforce NPSP helps non-profit organizations track and manage soft credits.

What are Soft Credits?

Soft credits recognize individuals or organizations who indirectly influenced a donation but didn't directly contribute the money. They are a way to show appreciation for those who played a role in securing a gift.

For example, imagine John Smith convinces his friend Jane Doe to donate to your organization. John wouldn't receive a traditional "donation" credit, but he might receive a soft credit for influencing Jane's decision.

Types of Soft Credits in NPSP

NPSP tracks soft credits in three ways:

• Contact Role Soft Credits: These are for individuals associated with a donation but aren't the actual donors. This could be someone who:some text
  • Donated through a Donor Advised Fund (DAF): The DAF receives the "hard credit" (the actual donation), while the person who recommended the donation (e.g., John Smith) gets a soft credit.
  • Influenced the gift in some other way.
• Partial Soft Credits: This is for situations where a large donation comes from multiple people (e.g., crowdfunding). You can use this to award a specific amount or percentage of the total to each contributor.
• Account Soft Credits: These are for recognizing another organization that influenced the gift. Perhaps a company matched their employee's donation, and you want to acknowledge their role.

Managing Soft Credits in Salesforce

• Automated: NPSP can automatically assign soft credits based on pre-defined contact roles. For example, the primary contact on a DAF donation might automatically receive a soft credit.
• Manual: You can manually assign soft credits to individuals who influenced a donation on the Opportunity record.some text
  • Contact Role: You can assign these manually through the "Add Contact Role" button on the Opportunity record. Select the person and their role (e.g., "Influencer").

• Partial Soft Credits - can be used to award each contributor a specific amount or percentage of the total or even go over the total if needed.

• Account Soft Credits - here, we honor another Organization, not a person.

Viewing Soft Credits:

• Contact Role Soft Credits: These appear on the contact record's "Soft Credit Allocation" section.

• All Soft Credits: Soft credits can also be displayed as a related list on the Opportunity record.

Important Notes

• Nightly Batch Update: NPSP updates contact soft credit totals in a nightly batch process. You won't see immediate changes after assigning a role. To force an update, go to NPSP Settings -> Rollup Donations Batch.

• Hard & Soft Credit Totals: Salesforce doesn't natively combine hard and soft credits. You can create a formula field to merge these values for easier reporting (e.g., see how individuals contribute overall).

This system allows non-profits to effectively track and acknowledge the contributions of everyone involved in securing donations, strengthening relationships and fostering future support.

Optimizing Soft Credit Tracking:

• Expand Your Contact Role Options: While the standard roles are a good starting point, consider collaborating with stakeholders to define custom roles that better reflect your organization's needs. This will allow you to capture a wider range of influences on donations.
• Customize Soft Credit Assignments: NPSP allows you to configure which contact roles trigger soft credits. Review your settings and adjust them to ensure soft credits are assigned appropriately for your organization.
• Consider Primary Contact Recognition: Consider if checking the "Always Rollup to Primary Contact Role" makes sense in your scenario. This setting ensures that the primary contact receives credit for the donation, even if other soft credits are assigned.

We know Soft Credits might get complicated, and it is not always easy to know how to use them efficiently. Let us know if you’d like help with setting up Soft Credits at hello@maintask.io. 

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