Implementing new constituent relationship management (CRM) software for your nonprofit is a major milestone. Whether it’s your first CRM or a more robust system to scale with your organization’s growth, your new CRM will help you streamline your operations and manage your donors more effectively—ultimately allowing you to do more for your mission.
But once you’ve put in the work to compare the top CRMs, evaluate your priorities, and choose the best system for your nonprofit, what comes next? The answer is implementation, a process in which you set up, customize, and migrate data to your new CRM.
CRMs are complex systems that need to be implemented strategically, which can feel overwhelming for any organization. To help you navigate this change, this guide will walk through four key steps you can take to simplify the process.
1. Make the right preparations.
Choosing and purchasing new software is only the beginning. Think about it this way: You can’t move to a new apartment or home without first packing up your stuff and furniture and cleaning your old space. Similarly, you shouldn’t move to a new CRM without making a few essential preparations.
Get ready for a successful implementation by taking the following steps:
- Evaluate your needs. Determine if your team has enough technical expertise to handle the implementation or if you should hire a third-party expert. Think about the integrations and apps you’ll need to implement, as well. For example, if you’re implementing Salesforce, you might explore resources like Double the Donation’s list of top Salesforce apps to discover new add-ons you can use to build out your system.
- Outline your goals, priorities, & budget. Clearly outline your goals and priorities for the implementation. Do you need to have the software up and running by a certain date? Is your matching gift tool or donation processor the most important integration to tackle? Additionally, set your budget for an implementation partner’s services if you don’t have an internal team capable of managing the move.
- Give special consideration to your recurring donors. It is important to consider the transition of this special group of loyal donors into your new CRM, especially if your number of recurring donors is considerable. You do not want to lose them just because you’re changing CRM’s. Check out this post about this topic and give yourself as much time as possible to transition.
- Clean up your data. Moving to a new CRM involves migrating large amounts of sensitive data. Anything you can do now to clean up that data will make the process easier and more successful. Remove outdated information, delete duplicate data points, and correct any inconsistent formatting, such as using both St. and Street for donor addresses. But, be mindful when considering donor gift recency. Too often we fundraisers remove donors too soon. We recommend keeping donors who have at least had one action in the past 10 years.
- Prep your team for the transition. Make sure all relevant staff members are aware of and ready for the transition to your new CRM. You might send out an organization-wide announcement about the implementation or request feedback from certain staff members about any concerns they may have. Stay positive, and emphasize the benefits this new system will have on your nonprofit’s ability to further your mission.
Some nonprofits will have more work to do than others. If this is your first CRM, for example, you may need to spend weeks or even months cleaning and consolidating data from numerous spreadsheets. Rest assured that the work you put in now will pay off significantly when the implementation is complete.
2. Choose an implementation partner.
If you’ve decided that you need to hire an expert to implement the software for you, start researching your options. Redpath’s CRM implementation guide recommends working with a consultant who specializes in the CRM you’re implementing to avoid the risks of data loss (and thus possible fundraising revenue lost) and technical issues you might face by performing the implementation on your own.
Explore potential partners’ websites to learn about their experience, specialties, and approaches. The right consultant will take time to understand your organization’s unique needs and technical history before creating a thorough implementation plan to guide you through the transition. They should also outline a timeline for the implementation and clarify your team’s responsibilities during the process.
Once you’ve chosen an implementation partner, discuss your needs and goals with them upfront. For instance, you might stress how important it is that your new system integrates with the top online donation tools or tell them that you have a large team that needs training in the new CRM. And if you have a (substantial) number of recurring donors, make sure your partner has experience with that transition.
3. Configure the platform for your needs.
Your implementation partner will set up the system and configure it based on your stated needs and goals. This is often a months-long process that might involve:
- Creating custom record types and data fields to align with the specific information you need to track.
- Configuring the CRM’s dashboards so your team can easily see your most important data at a glance.
- Setting up automated workflows, such as a process for reaching out to new and possibly existing recurring donors.
- Integrating your CRM with other tools, like your accounting software or prospect research database.
- Creating user permissions and security settings to keep donors’ sensitive data safe and private.
Once everything is in place, your implementation partner should test the functionality to ensure your new system is working smoothly. They’ll spend some time performing any necessary fixes and completing additional rounds of testing. When everything is working correctly, you’ll move on to the next phase of the implementation process: data migration.
While your implementation partner should take the lead on both platform configuration and data migration, your team will likely have some responsibilities. Make sure to discuss exactly what you need to do with your partner, and ask any questions you may have early on so everyone is on the same page.
4. Keep lines of communication open.
Finally, it’s important to maintain open and consistent communication throughout the implementation process. There are multiple parties involved and it’s a major change for your nonprofit, so some people are bound to have questions and concerns.
Make sure you’re communicating effectively with both:
- Your implementation partner: Schedule regular check-in meetings with your implementation partner so that both parties stay up-to-date on progress, concerns, and any issues that may arise. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and emphasize your nonprofit’s needs.
- Your staff: Keep staff updated on the progress of the implementation and open the floor for questions. For instance, your marketing staff might have questions about how this change will affect communications with donors. Explain that your new CRM will simplify donor outreach by showing them how they can easily create donor segments and automate email series to recurring donors.
You may be wondering if you should announce this change to your donors as well. While it’s not a crucial step since it won’t affect donors directly, you might discuss this internal change in your annual report or a blog post on your website. And you may need to communicate the change to your donors as they may see some new information on their statements. Stick to the basics, highlighting only that your organization moved to a new system that will allow you to save money to better serve beneficiaries and connect with donors.
With a new, powerful CRM system at your fingertips, your nonprofit will be able to deliver better results more efficiently. However, there’s bound to be a learning curve after the implementation is complete, so don’t feel discouraged if you don’t see results right away. Focus on your outlined goals and support your staff throughout the transition. In time, your new system will transform your organization for the better.
