As 2026 begins, the “New Year” brings more than just a date change; it brings a psychological reset. For organisations, particularly those in the non-profit and social impact sectors, January is a season of momentum. It is a time to move from the frantic year-end appeals into a period of reflection, strategy, and, most importantly, refinement. That’s why there is no better time to look under the hood of your organisation’s engine room: The CRM.
A CRM should never be a static digital filing cabinet; it should be a dynamic reflection of your charity’s mission. If your CRM isn’t evolving alongside your goals, it’s not just holding you back, it’s costing you opportunities. Here is how to conduct a high-level review to ensure your systems meet your requirements for the year ahead.
Reviewing Your CRM for the Road Ahead: A Strategic Guide
1. The AI Horizon: Practicality Over Hype
As the calendar turns, the “New Year” brings more than just a change in date; it brings a psychological reset. For organisations, particularly those in the non-profit and social impact sectors, January is a season of momentum. It is a time to move from the frantic year-end appeals into a period of reflection, strategy, and most importantly refinement.
There is no better time to look under the hood of your organisation’s engine room: The CRM. A CRM should never be a static digital filing cabinet; it should be a dynamic reflection of your charity’s mission. If your CRM isn’t evolving alongside your goals, it’s not just holding you back, it’s costing you opportunities. Here is how to conduct a high-level review to ensure your systems meet your requirements for the year ahead.
2. Multi-Dimensional Thinking: People Are Not Rows in a Spreadsheet
One of the most common pitfalls in CRM management is a “one-dimensional” coding structure. In the modern landscape, your supporters are complex.
A single individual might be a regular donor, a dedicated weekend volunteer, and the CEO of a company that provides corporate sponsorship. If your CRM treats these as three separate entities or worse, forces you to choose just one “type” you’re losing the full picture of their value.
Review your People Coding. Ensure your system allows for a multi-dimensional view of the supporter. When you recognize that a volunteer is also a potential major donor, your engagement strategy shifts from transactional to relational.
3. Financial Alignment: The Granularity Gap
One of the most common pitfalls in CRM management is a “one-dimensional” coding structure. In the modern landscape, your supporters are complex.
There is a delicate dance between the CRM and Finance systems. They should be “aligned,” but they should not be identical.
A common mistake is trying to force the CRM to hold the exact same coding as the General Ledger in your finance software. This often leads to a system that is too rigid for marketers and too complex for fundraisers.
- In the Finance System: You might simply need a line item for “Regular Giving” to satisfy accounting and audit requirements.
- In the CRM: You need granularity. You need to know if that gift came via Direct Debit, Payroll Giving, or a Standing Order. More importantly, you need to know which specific activity or campaign attracted that gift.
Review your financial coding this month. Ensure the CRM provides the behavioral detail you need to measure ROI, while still rolling up into the structural categories your finance team requires for their month-end reports
4. The “Duplication” Dilemma: Measure to Manage
Duplication is the “dirty secret” of almost every database. It erodes trust, wastes postage, and creates a poor supporter experience.
The biggest mistake organisations make is ignoring duplication because they feel they can’t “solve it all in one day.” Data cleansing is a marathon, not a sprint. This year, shift your focus to measurement. Even if you cannot merge every duplicate record by Friday, you must be able to measure the rate of duplication. By quantifying the problem, you can track your progress. A 5% duplication rate is a challenge; an unknown duplication rate is a risk.
4. The “Duplication” Dilemma: Measure to Manage
Duplication is the “dirty secret” of almost every database. It erodes trust, wastes postage, and creates a poor supporter experience.
The biggest mistake organisations make is ignoring duplication because they feel they can’t “solve it all in one day.” Data cleansing is a marathon, not a sprint. This year, shift your focus to measurement. Even if you cannot merge every duplicate record by Friday, you must be able to measure the rate of duplication. By quantifying the problem, you can track your progress. A 5% duplication rate is a challenge; an unknown duplication rate is a risk.
6. Tools for the Journey: The CRAFT Platform
Reviewing an entire CRM ecosystem can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to do it in a vacuum. We have built tools specifically designed to help organisations navigate these hurdles without reinventing the wheel.
Our CRAFT platform is a dedicated hub featuring a plethora of resources. Whether you are looking for templates to help with process reviews or guides on how to structure your multi-dimensional coding, CRAFT is designed to tackle these “simple but vital” tasks.
Furthermore, if you are concerned about the “Measurement” aspect of your data, you can use our Data Quality App. By running your data through the app, you can get an immediate, objective look at how “good” or “bad” your data health truly is. It provides the baseline you need to start your New Year improvements with confidence.
Start your review today. Visit www.actuallydata.net/craft to access the resources and tools mentioned above.