How Nonprofits Get 10 Free Salesforce Licences: Power of Us Explained

Eligible nonprofits receive "10 Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud or Sales/Service Cloud licenses, at no cost" through the Power of Us Program, per Salesforce's nonprofit pricing page (as at September 2026). The licences do not expire. You apply through the Power of Us portal with your charity registration documents. The licences are free; implementation, data migration and training are not.

What Do You Actually Get From the Power of Us Program?

Salesforce's help article on the programme (article 004754266, publish date 27 April 2026) describes the donation as "10 donated Enterprise Edition licenses and deep discounts on additional licenses, products, and/or services". Once approved, you request one of two bundles:

• "10 Agentforce Nonprofit – Enterprise Edition licenses (formerly Nonprofit Cloud)"
• "10 Sales and Service – Enterprise Edition licenses"

The same article confirms that "Organizations that choose the Sales and Service bundle can manually install NPSP if they wish to use that data model and functionality". It also lists discounts on Salesforce training, Salesforce events and "participating Apps and Consulting Partners from the AppExchange". On extra seats, the pricing page says only that "If you need additional licenses, Salesforce offers discounts to eligible nonprofits". No percentage is published.

	Agentforce Nonprofit bundle	Sales and Service bundle
What it is	Salesforce's current nonprofit product, built into the core platform	Standard Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, Enterprise Edition
Nonprofit data model	Built in (Salesforce help): case, programme, fundraising and outcome management	Install NPSP yourself, or use standard objects
Usually right for	Organisations starting fresh in 2026	Teams with NPSP experience or NPSP-only integrations

Our post on Nonprofit Cloud vs NPSP for NZ nonprofits works through the choice. NPSP's status, in Salesforce's words from the same help article: it "remains fully supported", but "while still supported, it is no longer receiving direct development of features or enhancements. We call this 'End of Innovation'". Salesforce also says "there is no requirement to migrate" until you are ready. NPSP is a safe place to be and a questionable place to move to.

What Would Ten Enterprise Licences Otherwise Cost?

On Salesforce's Sales Cloud pricing page (as at September 2026), standard Enterprise lists at US$175 per user per month, or AU$245, billed annually. Ten users for twelve months at list price is US$21,000 a year, or AU$29,400. Salesforce publishes no NZD pricing and negotiated prices vary, so treat this as list-price value, not cash saved. SAASKOOL's own published estimate (nonprofit packages) is roughly NZ$20,000 a year in donated licences.

Beyond ten seats, nonprofit rates apply. From the nonprofit pricing page and its Australian equivalent, as at September 2026, with the standard list price for comparison:

Licence	USD per user per month	AUD per user per month	Terms
Power of Us donation, first 10 users	US$0	AU$0	"do not expire"; Master Subscription Agreement applies
Nonprofit Cloud Enterprise	US$60	AU$84	Billed annually; "require an annual contract"
Nonprofit Cloud Unlimited	US$100	AU$140	Billed annually; "require an annual contract"
Sales Cloud Enterprise, standard list	US$175	AU$245	Billed annually

Which Organisations Are Eligible?

Salesforce's Power of Us Eligibility Guidelines set the rule: "To be eligible you must be recognized as a charitable, nonprofit, educational, or social change organization in the country where you are located." The country list gives New Zealand's required documentation as "Registration with NZ Charities Commissioner, Articles and Memorandum of Association", and Australia's as "ACNC Registration or DGR".

That wording is old: the document is Salesforce's 2023 file, and its country list is prefaced "As of the 1st of February 2018". Today, charity registration is administered by Charities Services, "a regulator" within the Department of Internal Affairs. Decisions are made by "the independent Charities Registration Board, Te Rātā Atawhai", with Charities Services making "many registration and deregistration decisions under delegation from the Board" (DIA). In practice, attach your Charities Services registration and rules or constitution.

One caution: Salesforce states that "Final determination of eligibility will be made at our sole discretion", so registration is evidence, not a guarantee of approval.

For scale, in New Zealand the charities.govt.nz home page counter showed 29,247 registered charities as displayed on 8 September 2026, and worldwide "More than 56,000 nonprofit organizations and educational institutions started their journey with the Power of Us Program" (Salesforce, as at September 2026).

Who is excluded? Hospitals, health insurance organisations, group or individual health practices and inpatient care facilities, plus chambers of commerce (their foundations excepted) and trade or business associations. Social enterprises, B-Corps and non-retail co-operatives receive discounts but not the donation. Hospital foundations are eligible, and fiscally sponsored organisations are considered. And it is "one donation per organization".

Not Registered Yet? The New Zealand Process

Register first, then apply. In New Zealand, Charities Services' application page (as at September 2026) says "it may take up to 12 weeks or longer to assess applications", but "You can begin operating as a charity while you wait for a registration decision", and "If your organisation met all requirements at the time you applied, your registration will be backdated to your application date".

DIA's Charities Act overview says "Registration on the charities register is voluntary", but it unlocks more than Salesforce licences. Inland Revenue says donors "get 33.33 cents back for every dollar you donate to an approved organisation" (IRD, as at September 2026), and its donee organisation guidance is direct: "If you are not registered but have charitable purposes, you need to register as a charity to become a donee organisation", through Charities Services.

How Do You Apply? Step by Step

1. Check eligibility above, and confirm which legal entity holds the charity registration; that entity applies.
2. Get the sign-off. The guidelines ask for "authorization from your Executive Director or Board Chair".
3. Gather the documents. Salesforce says "have your tax ID number and legal documentation handy": in New Zealand, your IRD number plus "governing documentation to show you are recognized as a charitable, nonprofit, or nongovernmental organization".
4. Nominate a system administrator. Salesforce lists this as "Recommended"; in our experience it matters most, because this person owns the org.
5. Log in to the Power of Us portal with a Trailblazer ID, which "is different than your login information to your Salesforce instance". No org is needed first: "A Salesforce org (or trial) is not required to complete your Power of Us application."
6. Submit and wait. Salesforce's pages give three timelines as at September 2026: "up to three days" (Power of Us page), "up to 3 business days" (help article) and "Approval can take up to 2 weeks" (Trailhead). Plan for two weeks.
7. Select your donation product. "Once approved, log back into the Power of Us Portal with your Trailblazer ID to select your donation product." Existing Unlimited Edition customers "should select 'Product Discounts Only'".
8. Receive your org. "You will receive an email with how to log in to your org."

Two traps. You can "try Nonprofit Cloud for up to 30 days" before applying, but "your trial org will not convert to production after you apply", so build nothing you want to keep in a trial. And the licences "are free of charge and do not expire, however, they are subject to Salesforce's Master Subscription Agreement as well as product specific legal terms".

What Does "Free" Not Cover?

The donation is licences, not a working CRM. Everything below costs staff time, a partner's fee, or both:

• Implementation: data model, layouts, security, automation and reports.
• Data migration: donors, members, participants and gift history, cleaned and loaded.
• Training and adoption: the difference between a system people use and one that decays.
• Integrations: accounting, payment gateways, email and event tools.
• Ongoing administration: someone must own the org after go-live.
• Add-ons and extra licences: anything beyond ten seats, at the nonprofit rates above.

Our complete guide to Salesforce for NZ nonprofits covers that journey. For the numbers, SAASKOOL's nonprofit packages are fixed price with a 15% Pledge 1% discount already applied: Foundation NZ$3,500, Impact NZ$8,500 and Transform from NZ$18,000, with nonprofit fractional admin from NZ$1,200 a month. Our nonprofits practice also files the Power of Us application at no cost, alongside a free 60-minute call, whether or not you engage us further.

Already on NPSP? The free NPSP checklist shows how much of it you use. Wondering what "Agentforce" in the bundle name means for a small charity? See our Agentforce use cases for nonprofits.

One honest note: with three staff, a working spreadsheet and nothing to fundraise, free licences are not a reason to start a CRM project; the implementation is real money and real staff time.

Common Power of Us Mistakes

Mistake	Why it hurts	Do this instead
Applying before charity registration is complete	There is nothing to attach	Register with your charities regulator first (Charities Services in New Zealand)
Applying under the wrong entity	One donation per organisation, verified against your tax number and documents	Apply as the entity that holds the registration
Picking a bundle before deciding NPSP vs Agentforce Nonprofit	Different data models; switching later is a re-implementation	Make the product decision first
Nobody named as system administrator	The org has no owner from day one	Name the admin in the application and give them time
Assuming implementation is included	The donation is licences, nothing else	Budget for setup, migration and training

Frequently Asked Questions

Which organisations qualify for the Power of Us Program? Organisations 'recognized as a charitable, nonprofit, educational, or social change organization in the country where you are located'. For New Zealand, Salesforce lists 'Registration with NZ Charities Commissioner, Articles and Memorandum of Association' (in practice, your Charities Services registration and governing documents); for Australia it lists 'ACNC Registration or DGR'. Hospitals, health practices, health insurers, inpatient facilities, chambers of commerce and trade associations are excluded, and Salesforce decides eligibility at its sole discretion.

Do the 10 free Salesforce licences expire? No. Salesforce's help article states the donated licences 'are free of charge and do not expire, however, they are subject to Salesforce's Master Subscription Agreement as well as product specific legal terms'. It is one donation per organisation.

Should we pick Nonprofit Cloud or Sales and Service licences? For most organisations starting fresh, the Agentforce Nonprofit bundle (formerly Nonprofit Cloud), because that is where Salesforce's nonprofit development now happens. Choose Sales and Service with NPSP if you have NPSP experience in-house or depend on tools that only integrate with NPSP. NPSP 'remains fully supported' but is at what Salesforce calls 'End of Innovation'.

How long does Power of Us approval take? Salesforce's pages give three answers as at September 2026: 'up to three days', 'up to 3 business days' and 'up to 2 weeks'. Plan for two weeks. Charity registration is the longer wait; Charities Services says applications 'may take up to 12 weeks or longer to assess'.

What does the free donation not include? Implementation, data migration, training, integrations, ongoing administration, add-ons and any licences beyond the ten. Additional Nonprofit Cloud licences list at US$60 (Enterprise) and US$100 (Unlimited) per user per month, billed annually, as at September 2026.

Can we apply before our charity registration is approved? We do not recommend it. Salesforce asks for recognised charitable or nonprofit status in your country, which for New Zealand means charity registration, and Charities Services says you can operate as a charity while you wait, with registration backdated to your application date if you met the requirements. Get registered first; Power of Us approval then takes days or weeks, not months.

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If you are a registered charity and have not claimed the Power of Us donation, that is the first thing to fix. SAASKOOL files the application at no cost as part of every nonprofit package, or talk to us and we will start with the free 60-minute call.