Building a Power App with SharePoint: An Overview

 ➡️ Next: Setting Up Your SharePoint List

Welcome to the first blog in our series walking nonprofit teams through understanding how to build a Power App using SharePoint as the backend. In the Series Introduction blog, we covered what you can expect to learn throughout this journey — from setting up SharePoint lists to customizing your Power App and beyond. If you haven’t read that yet, I recommend starting there to get a full picture of the series and its goals. 

Whether you're trying to replace spreadsheets, streamline internal processes, or create a lightweight application that works seamlessly within your Microsoft 365 environment — this guide is for you.

We’ll break everything down step-by-step in a way that’s accessible to those without a developer background, focusing on real-world nonprofit scenarios.

This first post will give you an overview of why Power Apps + SharePoint is a smart combination for nonprofits, some of the things to watch out for, and what to expect in the rest of this series.

Why Use SharePoint and Power Apps Together?

There are many no-code and low-code tools out there, but for nonprofits already using Microsoft 365, this combo has some big advantages.

💰 Cost and Licensing Advantages

If your nonprofit already has Microsoft 365 through a donation or nonprofit license, you likely already have everything you need to get started:

• SharePoint Online is included with most Microsoft 365 nonprofit plans.
• Power Apps for Microsoft 365 allows you to build canvas apps that connect to SharePoint Lists without needing premium Power Apps licenses.

This means you can often build simple internal tools — like intake forms, event trackers, request systems, or contact databases — without paying extra for software.

🔗 Deep Microsoft 365 Integration

Power Apps and SharePoint are both Microsoft products, which means they work beautifully together out of the box. Some examples:

• Your app can use Azure AD login to show users only their data.
• SharePoint security settings can control who can read or edit what.
• You can embed your Power App directly on a SharePoint page or Teams tab.
• Files, calendars, and Outlook-based automation (via Power Automate) are all easily connected.

This makes it much easier to deploy tools within your existing ecosystem.

🔐 Easy Permission Control for Non-Technical Users

SharePoint permissions are very customizable, yet easy to manage once you get the hang of it. For example:

• You can create a SharePoint List where staff can submit requests but not edit each other’s.
• Supervisors can get extra edit/view access — without editing Power App settings directly.
• You don’t need IT staff to control who sees what — just basic SharePoint admin know-how.

This lets your team manage sensitive data access without complicated role-based systems.

🧱 Simple List Structure with Room to Grow

SharePoint Lists are essentially Excel spreadsheets with superpowers. They give you:

• Columns for different data types (text, dropdowns, people fields, dates, etc.)
• Built-in version history
• Attachments
• Easy filtering and sorting
• Views for different user roles or purposes

And while they’re simple to set up, you can scale them up over time — connecting them to automation (Power Automate), dashboards (Power BI), and more.

Common Pitfalls and When Not to Use SharePoint

This combination isn’t perfect for every use case. Here are a few things to watch out for:

• Complex relational data? SharePoint Lists don’t work well for apps with deeply connected tables like you’d see in a CRM. Dataverse is better for those.
• High-volume apps? SharePoint Lists have a 5,000-item view threshold and slower performance at scale. Consider performance and filtering strategies.
• Need for public access? SharePoint + Power Apps is great for internal tools. If your audience is external (like a volunteer signup form for the public), you’ll need a different approach.
• Mobile limitations? Power Apps can be mobile-friendly, but design carefully — SharePoint-connected apps often need tweaking for mobile usability.
• Watch for delegation warnings. SharePoint has limitations when it comes to how Power Apps can filter, sort, or retrieve large datasets (called “delegation limits”). For most simple apps, this won’t be a problem — but it’s good to design with it in mind. We’ll touch on this later in the series.

Still, for internal tools used by staff or trusted volunteers, this setup offers an unmatched combination of power and affordability.

What’s Next in This Series?

In the next post, we’ll begin building your app by setting up your SharePoint List. That list will serve as your app’s “database,” and how you structure it upfront will shape what’s possible later on.

Here’s a sneak peek at what’s ahead:

Upcoming blogs:

• 🗂 Creating Your SharePoint List – how to structure your list for Power Apps
• 🧩 Building the App with Power Apps – connecting your list and designing the layout
• ⚙️ Permissions & Publishing – controlling access and rolling it out to users

Each blog will include screenshots, plain-language tips, and walkthroughs that align with the accompanying video series — which we’ll link to as it’s released.

Final Thoughts

Power Apps + SharePoint offers a low-cost, scalable, secure way to build apps that work for your nonprofit team — especially if you’re already in the Microsoft ecosystem.

Even if you’ve never built an app before, this series will help you get from idea to launch, one step at a time.

Let’s build together!

📚 Explore the Series
Series Introduction

An Overview of the SharePoint/PowerApps Combination

Setting Up Your SharePoint List

Building Your Power App