FAQs

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system in the context of Development and higher education is a strategic technology platform designed to manage and enhance relationships with a wide range of constituents, including alums, donors, prospective donors and other supporters of the institution. Unlike traditional CRMs, a CRM for development is specifically tailored to support the unique goals of the institution. These goals often include fundraising, alum engagement, stewardship and campaign management. 

A CRM implementation involves selecting, setting up and integrating CRM software into our operations. This includes evaluating our needs, installing and configuring the system and training staff to use it effectively.

DASH (Donor and Alum Services Hub) is our new, modern technology ecosystem that will replace legacy systems like Colleague, iModules and the Volunteer Hub for managing constituent information, giving and alum engagement. DASH offers centralized communications, built-in reporting and a comprehensive view of each constituent. Learn more about DASH’s goals and success measures here.

DASH will provide best-in-class tools for MHC staff and volunteers to improve access to information, constituent insights and the effectiveness of engagement activities. This will help us better engage, track and steward our alums, donors and volunteers.

The project team is converting relevant information from Colleague Advancement to DASH. Discretion has been applied around how much data to bring over in terms of data relevancy and recency. Integrations from other systems will ensure that information from Colleague, Workday, and other applications also keep data in DASH up to date and accurate.

In addition to the conversions from Colleague to Workday and DASH, the College is in the process of redefining their data archival and data retention policies. LITS will survey the campus to discuss with various units the data points necessary to store in a future data warehouse following the decommissioning of Colleague in 2027.

The Salesforce Governance Team is prioritizing data privacy and security. They are working closely with the project team to ensure all community data is protected and the right people are able to see the right data at the right time.

Yes, possibly! The listed governance and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) show the formal structure of the DASH project, but many users are involved beyond those listed. You can provide your voice in the Readiness surveys that will be released in May, September and January. You can also reach out to dash@mtholyoke.edu to learn more about how to get involved.

Training for DASH will happen for College Relations, Alum Association, Admission and Art Museum staff in September and October 2025. Save-the-dates for training will be sent over the summer.

Training for the Career Development Center and the President’s Office will happen in the spring semester. More information will be shared in early 2026. 

Training for volunteers will happen in Fall 2025 or Winter 2026, depending on their volunteer role. 

We are targeting a launch of core systems in late October 2025, with a second phase of functionality live in February 2026.

To view recordings of previous demos, please click here.

If you would like to request a roadshow for your team, please email dash@mtholyoke.edu and we can work with you to schedule one!