Forum Discussion
Who has successfully deployed and configured Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit solutions?
In the last three months, multiple Microsoft Support people have not been able to deploy and configure Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit solutions for us.
Who has been successful? Are there any guidance videos?
- Hi just saw your post, have you succeded to set up your Cloud and solutions? It is much easier in the meanwhile with the new version to set up.
Regards Klaus I am in a similar situation - project team of 1 in a small NFP that can't afford the prohibitive consulting fees.
I am still awaiting some grants being active to progress implementation but follow the process below:
- Ensure nonprofit eligibility is met and can access non profit portal
- Apply / purchase licenses as required
- Follow the implementation process through Lifecycle Services (https://lcs.dynamics.com/)
- And/or the Power Platform Center of Excellence guide at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/guidance/coe/starter-kit
The communication and documentation across different offers and solutions is a mixed bag of results, and the continuous handballing to pricey consultants is likely to steer us away soon enough.
- Took me a couple hours plus the time for some things to spin up on their own. I am here in the US. Other than the Fundraising app which I had to set up manually, everything else was pretty basic. I simply followed the docs step by step. My only thing now is that I have very little data to enter. 😉
- HenrikMotzkus
Microsoft
I deployed Volutneer Management successfully recently. Contact me in the case of questions.
- Hi Praveen_Kumar, we are a NZ Partner that has deployed the solution and supported an offshore organization with their deployment. We have found it a bit challenging in places and Greg has supported us a few times to navigate the Microsoft beast. At present we struggle with the roadmap as the product has changed significantly recently and support around some of the components. There is a yammer group (https://www.yammer.com/cdmfornonprofitscommunity/) that has some help also. Happy to get one of the team to help answer questions, we've probably encountered most challenges. Cheers
Good Day Praveen,
Deployment has been a bit of a S***show for us. We have spent countless hours with Microsoft Support and our "partner". Partners want up to $200K for deployment and integration of basic applications such as Fundraising and Engagement, Business Central accounting and Powerapps Portals. Support tickets tend to end with the agent saying they don't handle deployment only break-fix (ie: resolve errors).
That being said, we are working with a great support agent now and should have Fundraising and Engagement deployed in the next couple of days.
Bigger picture: I have recruited a group of twenty D365 volunteer consultants and advisors. We are working on a project to provide a roadmap for nonprofits to deploy and integrate Fundraising and Engagement, Business Central accounting, LinkedIn, MS Commerce, and Powerapps Portals.
I want to thank Microsoft for their generosity. However, they should work on streamlining the process of deployment and integration. Small nonprofits simply can't afford the time and expense needed to make this happen. It seems way more complicated that competitive offerings.
Any nonprofit that wants access to the solutions we develop should add me on LinkedIn and send me a message.
Jeff
GregTeichPraveen_Kumar CommunityEnterprise
Hi CommunityEnterprise Praveen_KumarSounds like you've not had a great experience (to say the least). I just responded to CommunityEnterprise's post and want to reiterate, this is definitely not the experience we're hoping for--I recognize that you've both used 'months' to describe your journey, and that I'm coming in at the 'days/hours' timeframe, so let me first recognize that anything I say here may have already been said/tried and apologize for the experience thus far.
I obviously don't know the partners either of you are working with, but we do have a list of partners here: Find Nonprofit Partners | Microsoft Nonprofits . We cannot and do not control pricing for our partners, and some engagements can be very expensive. I would hope not all quotes are as high as the one you listed (CommunityEnterprise), but it is truly dependent on the scope of the work.
We appreciate the feedback, and while that may often be said, I want to assure you this isn't a pleasantry. While I hope that we improve, such that your experiences are dramatically better, I also recognize that we will be on this journey of constant improvement forever. So, while we'll never "be there", feedback like this--however harsh it may be at time--helps us along the path.
In terms of your bigger picture: I'm definitely interested in what you come up with from a roadmap and product perspective, and appreciate you inviting other nonprofits on the journey.- Hello GregTeich
I'm sorry to join the choir of those struggling to deploy and configured the Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit. Even working with your suggested list of partners, quotes are simply unaffordable for medium small organizations as ours and, in addition, they don't seem to manage the whole system with great expertise and seems to be an implicit agreement that is not very user friendly. Anyway, we had especial interest to configure what we think is a simple system for our needs that is connected to our internal and communication systems which all happens in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. We want to avoid purchasing other similar software that is out there to improve compatibility, fluency and security. It seems mission impossible, to be honest.
CommunityEnterprise , interested in your work and I'll reach out separately to learn more, although our timeline is now very tight. Thanks
- Any Microsoft employee looking to volunteer to help with the abovementioned project should add me on LinkedIn and send a message.
