Forward-thinking advancement teams are modernizing their CRM ecosystems to better support alumni engagement, fundraising performance, and institutional growth.
A CRM implementation isn’t just a tech upgrade—it’s a strategic opportunity to transform how your institution builds relationships, manages data, and drives philanthropic outcomes. Drawing from our experience leading CRM strategy and implementation projects across higher ed, we’ve developed this guide to help advancement leaders navigate change with clarity and confidence.
Rather than replicating legacy systems, this is your chance to reimagine how advancement operates. With the right approach, your CRM can become a catalyst for innovation, efficiency, and deeper constituent engagement.
Assess Your Needs
Start by identifying the core functionalities your advancement office requires. These may include:
Understanding these needs will help you build a roadmap that aligns with your institution’s advancement strategy. For a deeper look at how we approach this, explore our CRM implementation services for Salesforce.
Budget Beyond the Basics
CRM implementations in higher ed often span multiple fiscal years and touch many departments. Budgeting should account for:
Consult peer institutions and vendors to benchmark realistic costs. Don’t underestimate the investment required to drive adoption and long-term success.
Get Aligned On Goals & Success Metrics
Your CRM should support broader institutional priorities—whether that’s increasing alumni participation, launching a capital campaign, or improving donor retention.
Bring together advancement leadership, IT, and institutional research to define success metrics. These might include:
This alignment ensures your CRM investment delivers measurable impact.
Establish a Clear Decision-Making Process
CRM decisions often involve advancement, IT, finance, and executive leadership. Define:
A transparent governance model helps avoid delays and ensures buy-in across campus.
Data is the lifeblood of advancement. Before migrating to a new CRM, assess:
Avoid the temptation to move everything “just in case.” Focus on clean, actionable data that supports strategic engagement.
Use this transition to establish or refine data governance—clarifying who owns what data, who can update it, and how it’s used across systems. Learn more about our approach to data services for higher ed.
CRM implementation is a cross-functional effort. Your team should include:
Each brings a unique lens to the project. Their collaboration ensures the CRM reflects real-world workflows and institutional priorities.
Lead with strategy: Technology should serve your advancement goals, not the other way around.
Support your team: Change is hard. Invest in training, communication, and empathy.
Think long-term: Build for flexibility and future growth, not just today’s needs.
Clean your data early: Don’t wait until go-live to address quality issues.
Review contracts carefully: Understand what’s included, what’s extra, and what’s missing.
Engage stakeholders: Their insights will surface blind spots and strengthen adoption.
Heller Consulting helps colleges and universities implement CRM systems that support advancement success. From strategy and planning to implementation and change management, we bring deep expertise in higher ed technology ecosystems.
Explore how we support education clients and let’s work together to build a CRM that powers your institution’s mission and strengthens alumni and donor relationships.
