What's New in NPOconnect

As part of our ongoing efforts to increase security, we will begin enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA) when signing in to NPOconnect using Blackbaud ID (BBID) on April 22, 2024.

What should you expect when signing in?

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) helps us to increase security by requiring you to identify yourself with two or more pieces of evidence. When MFA is enforced in NPOconnect, you will need to provide a unique confirmation code along with your Blackbaud ID (BBID) email address and password during sign-in. Starting April 22, you’ll be prompted to set up your preferred method for receiving this code – either through mobile authenticator app or SMS text message.

Why are we requiring MFA?

This extra layer of security means that even if someone obtains your email address and password, they still need a confirmation code to access sensitive data and account information through your Blackbaud ID.

Note: For more information, see the Set Up Multi-Factor Authentication and Manage Multi-Factor Authentication resources in our Help Center.

The My Account area has been updated to show your name and email address without requiring you to navigate to your Blackbaud ID (BBID) account to view this information, as shown below. These fields are read-only and can only be changed in your Blackbaud ID account.

You can still update your phone and job title on the My Account page in NPOconnect. To change your other details, you must navigate to your Blackbaud ID account. Click on the Update profile button at the top of the My Account page to open it in a new tab. Any changes made to your Blackbaud ID account will be reflected the next time you log in to NPOconnect.

Note: For more information, see Update Your Name, Email Address, and Password in Blackbaud ID.

You can now easily view an organization’s revocation status by clicking on the Current US State Revocations link in the public nonprofit search. This link will only appear if there are current, active revocations for this organization. The Revocation List window that appears shows the state revocation lists the organization has been found on, their status, the date this information was last updated, and other details.

We’ve updated the email titled Take action: Your organization appears to not be in “good standing” in Californiato include your nonprofit’s Registration ID alongside the nonprofit name, as shown below. This helps you to verify the organization in question, especially if you’re a Nonprofit Administrator for more than one nonprofit organization.

Note: As a reminder, this email is sent to nonprofit organizations found on one or more of California’s revocation lists. Per California Assembly Bill 488 (CA 488), your nonprofit cannot make charitable donations to or receive funds from California residents until resolved. For more information, see California Assembly Bill 488: Impact to Charitable Organizations or California Assembly Bill 488: FAQs for Nonprofit Admins.

If you encounter an issue when trying to remove your nonprofit’s banking information, you’ll now be presented with a detailed error message about why this action couldn’t be taken. When clicking on the Remove bank information link, you’ll now see more guidance for the following scenarios:

• If your bank information has already been submitted and approved, you’ll be prompted to edit your banking details instead.

• If you’re registered as a Nonprofit Administrator, you’ll be notified that your role doesn’t allow you to delete banking information. We recommend you either edit your banking details or contact the NPOconnect Support team to remove the information.

Data imports for the following Registration Authorities have been refreshed to ensure this information is up to date in NPOconnect and across the YourCause platform:

• US Schools

• US School Districts

• New Zealand Nonprofits

• Ireland Charity Regulator

• Ireland Ministry of Education

Note: To view the processing schedules for all Registration Authorities, see How often is nonprofit data updated?.

• The Proof of Identity article for Nonprofit Administrator registration has been renamed Acceptable Documents for Proof of Identity based on user feedback.

We’ve updated the language on the Sign In and Create Account pages in NPOconnect to provide more clarity when connecting your account to Blackbaud ID (BBID). When signing in to NPOconnect, please keep the following in mind:

• Are you creating a new NPOconnect account? Your NPOconnect email address will be the same as your Blackbaud ID email address. If you’re using an existing Blackbaud ID account, ensure the email address associated with it is the one you want to use for your organization’s NPOconnect account.

• Were you invited to join NPOconnect via email? The email address for your Blackbaud ID account must match the email address used for your invitation email to properly connect to your organization.

• Are you trying to sign in to an existing NPOconnect account? The email address you enter on the Sign In page of NPOconnect must match your Blackbaud ID email address.

Note: For more information, see our Blackbaud ID (BBID) Authentication resources.

To ensure how we display dates is consistent and user friendly for all locales, we’ve updated the vetting expiration date on the Vetting tile so that it’s formatted as Month-Day-Year – for example, March 20, 2024. Previously, this date appeared as Day-Month-Year (e.g., 20-03-2024).

The YourCause and NPOconnect client guide is now available in the NPOconnect Help Center. If you've included the PDF version of this resource in your email communications, all links should be updated to point to the updated article linked below.

https://webfiles.blackbaud.com/files/support/helpfiles/npoconnect/content/npo-yourcause-and-npoconnect.html

Note: This guide introduces organizations to the YourCause Nonprofit Platform, including how NPOconnect helps them manage their nonprofit profile. It can be used to educate potential Nonprofit Administrators on how to register with NPOconnect so their organization can receive funding.

• Several software packages utilized by the NPOconnect framework have been upgraded in this release, including upgrading to Angular v16.

• We’ve updated our process for returned checks to ensure that a nonprofit’s Eligible for Giving status is not automatically revoked (i.e., set to No) if there’s been no response to outreach.

• The Download My Data tool in My Account no longer requires you to reenter your password to view and export your account information. Since your account is verified through Blackbaud ID (BBID), you’ll now automatically see this information when launching the tool.

As part of our ongoing efforts to increase security, Blackbaud ID (BBID) was enabled for all NPOconnect users on February 4, 2024. When signing in to NPOconnect, you’ll now be redirected to your Blackbaud ID account to log in rather than entering your email address and password on the NPOconnect Sign In page.

Note: For more information, see Blackbaud ID (BBID) Authentication for NPOconnect.

The Nonprofit Platform Service Inquiry form has been redesigned to offer better guidance when contacting the NPOconnect Support team, including links to Help Center resources you may find helpful for the support reason selected. This form can be accessed from the Email option on the Sign In page of NPOconnect as well as in the Help and Support > Contact Us area after logging in.

Note: As part of this update, the URL for this form has changed to https://nonprofit.yourcause.com/support-request. Please update any bookmarks to point to this new link.

When setting up and updating your nonprofit’s banking information in the Administration > Disbursement Information area of NPOconnect, we now automatically return the bank name when you enter the routing number. If no bank is found for the routing number, you’ll be prompted to enter its full legal name in the Bank Name field. This allows you to validate that the legal name of your bank is correct and helps to further streamline the setup process.

Note: For more information, see Set Up ACH Direct Deposit or Update Banking Information for ACH Direct Deposit.

Tip: Click on the new How to identify your Routing Number and Account Number link next to the Routing Number field to view an example check with these attributes highlighted.

Previously, you could only be removed from your organization’s NPOconnect account by another Nonprofit Admin. With this release, you can now remove yourself by clicking on the x icon in the User Management area.

Note: This is only available to users in the Administrator role. If you’re a Manager, you’re still required to have a Nonprofit Admin remove you from the organization. For more information, see Remove Users.

Warning: If you’re the only active Nonprofit Admin, removing yourself will leave your organization without someone to manage it. We recommend that you invite a new admin prior to removing yourself.

As part of our ongoing efforts to increase security, Blackbaud ID (BBID) was enabled for all NPOconnect users on February 4, 2024. When signing in to NPOconnect, you’ll now be redirected to your Blackbaud ID account to log in rather than entering your email address and password on the NPOconnect Sign In page.

Note: For more information, see Blackbaud ID (BBID) Authentication for NPOconnect.

As a result of implementing Blackbaud ID (BBID) for NPOconnect, you will now manage the email address, password, and name associated with your NPOconnect account in your Blackbaud ID account. For more information, see Update Your Name, Email Address, and Password in Blackbaud ID.

As part of our ongoing efforts to improve usability, create a state-of-the-art login experience, and increase security, NPOconnect is upgrading authentication by moving all users to Blackbaud ID (BBID) starting February 4, 2024. You can learn more about this new authentication process in Blackbaud ID (BBID) Authentication for NPOconnect.

Note: There is no preemptive action you need to take before Blackbaud ID is enabled. This update is for awareness only.

This release includes additional validation for file types. All areas that allow file uploads have been updated to verify that the file type selected is allowed. If it isn’t supported, a notification will appear prompting you to upload the recommended file type.

Note: For more information, see Guidelines for File Uploads and Attachments.

Nonprofit contacts can now opt-out of continued outreach for Vetting Request emails that are associated with a processing partner, such as CanadaHelps.

As part of our ongoing efforts to improve usability, create a state-of-the-art login experience, and increase security, NPOconnect is upgrading authentication by moving all users to Blackbaud ID (BBID) starting February 4, 2024. You can learn more about this new authentication process in Blackbaud ID (BBID) Authentication for NPOconnect.

Note: There is no preemptive action you need to take before Blackbaud ID is enabled. This update is for awareness only.