Nonprofits can greatly benefit from using Microsoft Power Platform connectors in Copilot Studio. These connectors act as proxies or "wrappers" around APIs, enabling Microsoft Copilot Studio, Microsoft Power Automate, Microsoft Power Apps, and Azure Logic Apps to interact with various apps and services. By using connectors, nonprofits can streamline their operations, automate workflows, and enhance their engagement with stakeholders.
What Are Power Platform Connectors?
Connectors allow you to access a wide range of services, both within and outside the Microsoft ecosystem, to perform various tasks automatically. These connectors are categorized into:
- Standard Connectors: Included with all Copilot Studio plans (e.g., SharePoint).
- Premium Connectors: Available in select Copilot Studio plans.
- Custom Connectors: Enable connections to any publicly available API for services not covered by existing connectors.
Integration with Copilot Studio
Microsoft Power Platform connectors are essential tools that extend the functionality of Copilot Studio agents by connecting to various external services and applications. This integration allows nonprofits to create more dynamic, responsive, and useful agents tailored to their specific needs and processes.
You can call connectors as connector actions in your agent, from an Action node in conversational topics, and through cloud flows as actions or within topics.
Adding a Connector Action
- Select Add Node: On the authoring canvas, click the Add node (+) icon.
- Choose Connector: In the node selection window, select Call an action > Connectors (preview), and search for the connector you want to add.
- Configure Inputs and Outputs: Set up the required and optional inputs and outputs for your experience.
By default, the connection is configured to use user credentials. For more information about supported authentication modes, see the section on configuring user authentication for actions.
Using Connectors with Agent Author's Credentials
Connector actions require valid credentials. By default, these actions ask users to provide their credentials for the associated service when invoked. To use the agent author's credentials or a proxy account's credentials:
- Configure Authenticated Channel: Set up your agent to use an authenticated channel.
- Add Connector Action: Add a connector action to your agent as a plugin action and configure it.
- Set Authentication Method: Go to the connector action properties and under End user authentication, select Agent author authentication.
- Publish and Test: Publish the changes and test the experience in the Test your agent pane or your desired channel.
Sharing Connections
To share your connection with others:
- Navigate to PowerApps: Go to make.powerapps.com.
- Select Connections: In the left navigation bar, select Connections.
- Share Connection: Choose the connection, click Share, search for the desired user, and select them.
- Set Permissions: Under Permission, next to the user, select Can use + share.
Practical Applications for Nonprofits
- Automated Donor Management: Use connectors to integrate with CRM systems like Dynamics 365 or Salesforce to automate donor communications and manage donor data efficiently.
- Volunteer Coordination: Connect to scheduling tools and communication platforms to streamline volunteer sign-ups, scheduling, and notifications.
- Event Management: Integrate with event management services to automate the planning, coordination, and follow-up for fundraising events.
- Resource Allocation: Use connectors to manage and track resources, ensuring they are allocated efficiently to various projects and initiatives.
- Social Media Engagement: Connect to social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to automate posts, track engagement, and respond to inquiries.
By leveraging Power Platform connectors, nonprofits can enhance their operational efficiency, improve stakeholder engagement, and focus more on their mission-driven activities.
