Let us start with a brief clarification of terms. CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. In British English, you might call it a system for managing customer relationships, but in a fundraising and membership organisation, it is really about much more than customers. It is about all the relationships that matter to your organisation.
A CRM system should gather and organise your central data on members, donors, supporters, volunteers, leads, and other contacts so that you can understand, retain, and develop your relationship with them.
You could almost describe it as an extended friendship book: a place where you keep the most important details about the people who have a connection with you, and with whom you want to maintain that connection.
This is a vital point. Your CRM system should contain the relationships you want to keep and develop and nothing else. Many challenges arise when a CRM system is used over time for more purposes than it was actually designed for.
Start with the Strategy, Not the System
Choosing a CRM system is a major decision for any organisation working with members, donors, supporters, or volunteers. It is not simply a technical matter. It is about relationships, data, workflows, and your ability to develop fundraising and member services effectively.
Whether you are choosing a CRM system for the first time or considering switching your current solution, the first step should be strategic.
Start by asking yourselves:
- Which relationships do we have today that we wish to retain and develop?
- Which relationships are most important to us right now?
- Where do we see the greatest potential?
- Are there new target groups or relationship types that will become important to us in the coming years?
These might be members, regular givers, one-off donors, volunteers, businesses, trusts and foundations, campaign participants, leads, or people who have signed a petition. Think broadly. Today’s lead could be tomorrow’s regular donor.
Once you have a clear picture of which relationships the CRM system needs to support, it becomes much easier to assess which features, integrations, and workflows you actually need.
Gain an Overview of Your Data
Once the strategic part is in place, you can start looking at your requirements from a more technical perspective.
At this stage, you should map out what data you have on your various contact groups and where that data currently resides. Many organisations have data spread across multiple systems. This might include payment gateways, web forms, website systems, marketing automation tools, membership lists, Excel spreadsheets, analytics tools, or legacy databases.
At the same time, many contacts will fall into multiple categories. For instance, a person might be a regular giver, have made one-off donations, taken part in a campaign, signed a petition, and be subscribed to your newsletter.
Your CRM system must be able to support this complete picture. To the donor or member, you are experienced as a single organisation, regardless of where or how they have been in touch with you. Therefore, your internal data should be seamlessly connected too.
Are Your Needs Really as Unique as You Think?
Once you have an overview of relationships, data, and workflows, it is time to evaluate potential solutions.
One of the key questions is whether your needs require a bespoke solution, or if you can use an off-the-shelf product built specifically for fundraising and membership organisations.
Many organisations have a unique cause. However, the workflows are often identical: most need to manage members, donations, recurring payments, campaigns, consents, communications, reporting, and system integrations.
Therefore, you can save a significant amount of time and money by choosing a CRM system already developed for organisations like yours.
Systems such as Ivaldi, Donorfy, Collect, and Servl.ly are examples of CRM solutions built for fundraising and membership organisations. When evaluating these platforms, investigate which problems they were originally designed to solve and the types of organisations they typically serve.
If their existing clients resemble your organisation, there is a good chance the solution will be a strong fit for you too.
When Off-the-Shelf Is Not Enough
There are, of course, organisations for which an off-the-shelf solution is not the right path.
Some have highly complex workflows, bespoke data models, or the need for a solution built closely around the organisation’s proprietary processes. In these cases, many Nordic organisations opt for platforms like Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, or the European platform Odoo.
The advantage of these solutions is their flexibility. They can be tailored very precisely to your requirements and workflows. The drawback is that they demand more from you as an organisation. Implementation typically takes longer, requires clearer scoping, and can become expensive if requirements and responsibilities are not clearly defined from the outset.
It is comparable to going to a bespoke tailor. The outcome can be excellent, but only if you know what you need and have the right advice guiding you.
Regardless of which path you choose, it is essential to consider integrations from the start. Payments, web forms, and data flows are core elements of fundraising and member service. At OnlineFundraising, we help organisations with this exact piece of the puzzle, ensuring your CRM system works in harmony with the solutions handling your donations, membership payments, and sign-ups.
Ready to Go? Talk to Multiple Suppliers
You know your requirements and whether you need a bespoke solution—so let’s get started! Well, hold on a moment. It is easy to get impatient, but your groundwork is not quite finished yet.
You should go on a few “vendor dates” and speak to several suppliers—ideally three or more. This is not just to compare prices, but to understand differences in approach, support, implementation, integrations, and experience with organisations like yours.
Choosing a supplier who already works with fundraising or membership organisations often gives you a partner who understands your day-to-day reality. That can make a huge difference, both during set-up and in the daily operation of the system.
A good place to start is looking at suppliers who already have experience with fundraising and membership organisations in the Nordic region. You are also welcome to reach out to OnlineFundraising if you need advice on which CRM systems best suit your needs, and how payments, forms, and integrations should be designed alongside your choice of CRM.
A top tip: Call two or three organisations similar to yours and ask which solution they use. Fundraisers are usually keen to share knowledge, and these conversations often provide a more honest picture than a sales pitch alone.
Five Tips for First-Time CRM Buyers
1. Define your primary purpose
Start by defining what you are fundraising for, which relationships you want to develop, and how the CRM system should support your fundraising, member service, and communications.
2. Consolidate and clean up your data
Audit your existing data—in spreadsheets, for instance—and take the time to clean it up. The better your data quality is from the start, the smoother your implementation will be.
3. Map out your workflows
Document the processes you spend the most time on. Which tasks do you repeat frequently? Which are the most complex? These are the key scenarios your new CRM system must handle effectively.
Keep in mind that a new system also opens up new possibilities, so stay open to adjusting certain workflows to make the most of what the new software offers.
4. Check references
Speak to other organisations using the system. Ask about user-friendliness, implementation, support, and the supplier’s understanding of fundraising and membership work.
5. Factor in support and training from day one
Investigate how support operates. Can you get assistance in Danish or another Nordic language? How are new staff onboarded? And how will you ensure the system continues to be used correctly in the long run?
Five Tips for Switching CRM Systems
1. Be clear about what is not working today
Is the problem the software itself? Lack of support? Poor integrations? Or has your organisation evolved to the point where your current setup no longer aligns with your strategy?
2. Choose a solution that fits your daily operations
Usability matters immensely. Even with automation, manual tasks will remain in member service, communications, fundraising, and reporting. The system must support the work you actually do.
Remember that a new system brings fresh opportunities, so remain open to adapting certain workflows to leverage those features.
However, avoid over-customising everything. It is often better to adapt a few processes to fit a solid standard system than to build an expensive, complex solution around outdated workflows.
3. Get your data in order
Take the time to ensure your data model supports your needs both now and in the medium to long term. Make sure you have the ability to segment by the parameters you want to use to build stronger donor relationships.
Data migration is often one of the most critical phases of a CRM switch. Create a plan alongside your supplier—and potentially an external partner—who can assist with data cleanup, structuring, and transfer.
4. Keep your wider software ecosystem in mind
A CRM system does not necessarily need to do everything. Consider which tasks are best handled by specialized tools, such as marketing automation platforms, analytics tools, payment solutions, or form builders.
5. Compare pricing based on your specific requirements
Pricing structures vary significantly from system to system. Comparing base prices alone rarely yields a true picture. Define your requirements and request quotes based on actual usage, required integrations, support levels, and future development.
The Right CRM System Should Elevate Your Relationships
Ultimately, choosing a CRM system is about more than software. It is about how you want to manage relationships, data, and organizational growth.
The right CRM system can provide better overview, stronger member services, more relevant communications, and a solid foundation for your fundraising. However, it requires starting in the right place: with your relationships, your data, and your workflows.
If you feel uncertain about the strategic or technical aspects, seeking assistance early in the process is money well spent and can save you from costly mistakes down the line.
At OnlineFundraising, we work closely with fundraising and membership organisations across the Nordics. We assist with payments, forms, and integrations so your CRM system connects seamlessly with the rest of your digital fundraising setup.
You are always welcome to reach out to us for guidance on selecting the right CRM solution, or on how your current system can better integrate with your fundraising efforts.
