Modernizing Digital Fundraising, Alumni Engagement, and CRM Infrastructure
Overview
An alumni house corporation, in the higher education space, engaged DGC for a pro bono project to help modernize its digital presence, improve its fundraising infrastructure, reduce technology costs, and prepare for a more connected approach to alumni and donor management.
As a Revenue Operations and GTM consultancy, DGC supported the organization across website development, donation infrastructure, technology evaluation, and CRM implementation. The work created a foundation for more effective fundraising, alumni engagement, reporting, and future automation.
The Challenge
The organization’s website, donation experience, alumni engagement technology, and data processes were not yet connected through a unified operating model.
The organization needed to:
Establish a modern and credible website
Make it easier for visitors and alumni to contribute
Evaluate whether its alumni engagement technology was cost-effective
Prepare to centralize alumni information in an industry-specific CRM
Create a scalable foundation for future fundraising and engagement programs
The project required a website redesign and aligning the organization’s digital experience, revenue processes, technology stack, and data strategy.
DGC’s Role
DGC served as the project’s RevOps and GTM consultant, supporting the organization through:
Website strategy and development
Donation workflow design and implementation
Technology and vendor evaluation
Cost-reduction analysis
CRM implementation
Website-to-CRM integration
Stakeholder consultation and project coordination
Approach
1. Modernized the digital experience
DGC designed and launched a new website to provide the organization with a more professional, accessible, and maintainable digital presence.
The website was structured to help key audiences quickly find information about the organization, the house, alumni engagement, and giving opportunities.
The new site also created a stronger foundation for future measurement and integration by providing a centralized digital destination for member activity.
2. Improved the donation experience
DGC embedded donation forms directly into the website to create a clearer path from visitor interest to contribution.
This reduced the friction between discovering the organization and taking a revenue-generating action. It also established a more consistent digital fundraising experience that can be measured and improved over time.
The donation workflow provides a foundation for tracking:
Donation form visits
Form completions
Conversion rates
Campaign performance
Donor acquisition and engagement
Website activity associated with giving
3. Evaluated alumni engagement technology
DGC consulted with the organization on its alumni engagement technology needs and helped evaluate alternative providers.
The recommendation focused on the organization’s operational requirements, expected value, ease of use, and long-term fit.
The selected direction is expected to reduce platform costs by approximately 50%, creating meaningful savings for the organization while supporting its broader alumni engagement goals.
Result: Identified an alumni engagement solution projected to reduce technology costs by approximately 50%.
4. The CRM foundation
The organization is actively in the process of onboarding an industry-specific CRM to centralize alumni, donor, and member information.
DGC is helping plan how information from the new website and donation workflows will connect to the CRM. This includes:
Member and donor data structure
Required contact fields
Website and donation-form data flows
Segmentation requirements
Data ownership and source-of-truth decisions
Future reporting needs
Potential automation opportunities
Onboarding and adoption requirements
The goal is to move the organization toward a more connected operating model in which digital activity, donations, alumni engagement, and reporting can be managed through coordinated systems.
Technology and Data Architecture
Current state
The organization previously operated with separate components for:
Website content
Online donations
Alumni engagement
Member information
Reporting and follow-up
This created an opportunity to improve consistency, visibility, and operational efficiency.
Target state
The planned operating model connects:
Website and donation forms → CRM → Alumni engagement workflows → Reporting and analysis
This structure will allow the organization to develop more reliable member records, reduce manual processes, and create a foundation for future communication and fundraising automation.
Results
The project has produced the following outcomes:
Launched a new website
Embedded donation forms into the website
Created a clearer digital path to contribution
Evaluated alumni engagement technology
Identified a solution projected to reduce platform costs by approximately 50%
Established a roadmap for onboarding an industry-specific CRM
Defined the direction for connecting website, donation, alumni, and constituent data
Created a foundation for future reporting, segmentation, and automation
Additional performance metrics will be added as data becomes available, including:
Website traffic and engagement
Donation-form conversion rate
Donation volume and value
CRM records migrated
Manual processes eliminated
Time saved through system integration
Adoption of the new CRM and engagement platform
Business Impact
The project created value across three areas:
Revenue infrastructure: The organization now has a more direct and measurable path from website engagement to donations.
Cost efficiency: The recommended alumni engagement solution is projected to reduce technology costs by approximately 50%.
Operational scalability: The CRM implementation plan provides a foundation for better constituent data management, reporting, segmentation, and future automation.
Rather than treating the website, donation process, engagement platform, and CRM as separate projects, the work connected them as components of a broader revenue operations system.
Lessons Learned
This project reinforced that RevOps principles apply beyond traditional SaaS or commercial sales environments. Nonprofit and membership-based organizations also need connected systems, clear lifecycle processes, reliable data, measurable conversion paths, and technology decisions tied to business outcomes.
The work required balancing strategic planning with hands-on execution, including:
Translating organizational goals into system requirements
Evaluating technology based on value and operational fit
Designing a practical digital conversion path
Planning data movement between platforms
Managing implementation sequencing
Distinguishing immediate improvements from longer-term infrastructure
Conclusion
By modernizing the website, improving the donation experience, identifying a lower-cost alumni engagement solution, and planning the transition to an integrated CRM, the organization is moving toward a more scalable revenue and member management model.
The project demonstrates how a focused RevOps engagement can help a resource-constrained organization improve its digital experience, reduce costs, and establish the systems needed for sustainable fundraising and alumni engagement.
