Mount Holyoke

The Executive Summary

Mount Holyoke College faced a critical inflection point: a “user-hostile” CRM environment and fragmented workflows were preventing fundraisers and alumnae leaders from accessing the wisdom hidden in their own data. By prioritizing organizational strategy and staff unification over a high-risk, $2M+ software replacement, Sage70 provided a roadmap to transform data into a strategic asset.

Project Impact Snapshot

• Strategic Pivot: Recommended against a premature CRM migration, saving millions in potential project failure.
• Operational Unity: Designed a plan to merge two fragmented data teams into a single, high-performance Data Services unit.
• Digital Modernization: Identified a path to replace failing engagement tools and automate manual “sweat and prayers” processes.

The Context & Conflict: The "Why"

Mount Holyoke College and its Alumnae Association (AAMHC) share a storied tradition of empowered volunteerism, yet their technological infrastructure had become a barrier rather than a bridge. The organizations were struggling with an aging CRM, Colleague Advancement, which gift officers found “strangely inscrutable” and unusable on mobile devices.

The “critical friction” wasn’t just the software; it was a “hair-raising” digital engagement platform (iModules) that forced staff into manual workarounds for signature events. Data was siloed, ownership was split, and decision-makers were flying blind without actionable insights.

The Sage70 Approach: The "How"

While many consultants might have rushed to recommend a shiny new Salesforce or Blackbaud implementation, Sage70’s diagnostic revealed that a new tool would only pave over existing structural defects.

• Strategic Realignment: We advised the College to keep its current CRM and instead invest in the “people and policy” layer.
• The Human Element: We proposed unifying the Advancement Services and Alumnae Information Services teams, which had been siloed by the organizational division between the College and the Alumnae Association. By creating a single address for all constituent data services, we removed the loops and bottlenecks that had plagued staff for years.
• Solution Architecture: Rather than a total system swap, we recommended “layering” contemporary tools—like EverTrue for fundraiser productivity and Business Objects for reporting—over the stable database of record.

The Impact:

The “Aha!” moment came when leadership realized that data governance and a corresponding organizational structure—not just a software license—were the keys to unlocking the College’s potential. The roadmap we developed enabled Mount Holyoke to launch its campaign with a data culture that is proactive, transparent, and deeply respectful of the alumnae it serves.