4-Week Study Plan for the Salesforce NP-Con-101 Certification Exam

The Salesforce Certified Nonprofit Cloud Consultant certification has been renamed to the Salesforce Certified Nonprofit Success Pack Consultant (NP-Con-101). Despite the updated title, the exam still evaluates your ability to implement and configure solutions for nonprofit organizations using Salesforce’s Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP).

If you’re preparing for the NP-Con-101 exam, having a structured study plan can help you stay focused and reduce the overwhelm. This 4-week study plan is designed to help you pass the certification efficiently even if you're balancing a full-time job or client projects.

What You Need to Know Before Starting

• Exam Code: NP-Con-101
• Target Audience: Salesforce consultants, administrators, or nonprofit professionals with 1+ year of experience
• Exam Duration: 105 minutes
• Number of Questions: 60
• Passing Score: 67%

The exam covers areas like domain knowledge, solution design, implementation strategies, and analytics specific to nonprofit use cases.

Week 1: Understand the Exam and NPSP Basics

Goals:

• Get familiar with the Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP)
• Review the official exam outline and objectives
• Explore basic features like Accounts, Contacts, Households, Donations, and Recurring Donations

Focus Areas:

• NPSP Data Architecture
• Account Model (Household vs. One-to-One)
• Primary objects and relationships

Tasks:

• Read through NPSP documentation on Salesforce Help
• Practice in a free Salesforce trial org with NPSP pre-installed
• Take 10–15 free NP-Con-101 practice questions to assess your starting level

✅ Week 2: Dive Into Program and Fundraising Management

Goals:

• Understand core nonprofit operations within Salesforce
• Learn how to manage Programs, Campaigns, and Fundraising Lifecycles

Focus Areas:

• Engagement Plans
• Levels and Opportunities
• Campaign Influence and GAU Allocations

Tasks:

• Build out sample Campaigns and Programs in your dev org
• Use reports and dashboards to track fundraising metrics
• Review 15–20 more NP-Con-101 exam questions to reinforce concepts

Week 3: Automation, Reporting, and Data Management

🎯 Goals:

• Learn how nonprofits automate and manage internal processes using Salesforce tools
• Get comfortable with reporting, dashboards, and maintaining data quality
• Reinforce your understanding of nonprofit-specific automation and analytics strategies

📚 Focus Areas:

• Process Builder and Flow: Automate thank-you messages, engagement reminders, and task assignments
• Reports and Dashboards: Track donation trends, fundraising performance, campaign influence, and donor retention
• Data Management Tools: Practice using Data Import Wizard, NPSP Data Importer, and deduplication tools to maintain clean, reliable data

✅ Tasks for This Week:

1. Set up an automated thank-you email using Flow when a new donation is recorded
2. Build nonprofit dashboards that display real-time KPIs for development teams and board reporting
3. Practice importing data into your dev org using NPSP Data Importer
4. Test deduplication rules to prevent duplicate contacts or accounts in your CRM
5. Continue working through Free Salesforce Certified Nonprofit Success Pack Consultant (NP-Con-101) Exam Questions to solidify key concepts and stay aligned with the actual exam structure

Platforms like Study4Exam provide updated and realistic practice questions that reflect the tone, complexity, and style of the real NP-Con-101 exam. Use these regularly to identify weak areas, improve your speed, and simulate exam-day conditions all without additional cost.

Week 4: Review, Test, and Fill in Knowledge Gaps

Goals:

• Solidify understanding of all domains
• Simulate real exam conditions
• Target weak areas with focused practice

Focus Areas:

• All domains with extra attention to Integration and Analytics
• Governance and data security in nonprofit settings
• Real-world scenarios and use cases

Tasks:

• Take a full-length practice test
• Review all incorrect answers and revisit those topics
• Use flashcards, mind maps, or quick sheets to reinforce key facts
• Complete a final round of free NP-Con-101 exam questions

🎯 Final Tips for Success

• Stick to your weekly goals and consistency beats cramming.
• Use hands-on practice in a Salesforce NPSP environment real-world familiarity is key.
• Focus on understanding, not just memorizing. The NP-Con-101 exam tests applied knowledge.
• Practice answering questions under timed conditions to simulate test day pressure.