Microsoft Fundraising & Engagement Retirement: What You Need to Know
Navigating the retirement of Microsoft Fundraising & Engagement with SylogistMission CRM
As the co-builder of Microsoft Fundraising & Engagement, the announcement of its retirement hits close to home. We believe it’s our responsibility to our partners in this space, today’s customers, and those contemplating the Microsoft platform for their future, to be clear where we stand and how we serve.
No one is better positioned to support Microsoft partners, consultants or customers than SylogistMission CRM to help figure out the best path forward.
Since 2016, we’ve been the experts in donor management and fundraising on Dynamics 365 Online, and in 2020 we built Fundraising and Engagement with Microsoft. We know it better than anyone, which is why we’re here to support this ecosystem as best we can.
SylogistMission CRM has an in-app migration for Fundraising and Engagement customers.
Our in-app migration allows nonprofits to retain the existing investment in their Fundraising and Engagement data. Data migration is often the most lengthy and complicated part of adopting a solution – with our in-app migration this investment can now be retained as we seamlessly transition the data in a way which SylogistMission CRM can consume.
SylogistMission CRM offers much more than Fundraising and Engagement.
Since 2020, we’ve continued to innovate, building robust functionality on Dynamics 365 and the Common Data Model for Nonprofits to support mid-sized to enterprise nonprofits with sophisticated fundraising and financial operations.
Our product is built on Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise and is not dependent on the Fundraising and Engagement solution. It’s our assumption some (not all) of the custom functionality partners have built for nonprofits already exists out-of-the-box with SylogistMission CRM along with net new features and functionality they wish Fundraising and Engagement had.
We’re a product company which serves nonprofits and our commitment to the sector is stronger than ever.
Since day one, SylogistMission CRM has relentlessly pursued a singular purpose: to accelerate the momentum of nonprofits’ fundraising operations so they can advance their mission and make a difference in the world.
For customers thinking about where they go next, we understand stability and peace-of-mind are paramount. We remain committed to serving nonprofits on Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform alongside our sister product SylogistMission ERP. And as part of the Sylogist family, our products are continuously invested in as we serve over 2,000 customers today and aspire to serving thousands more with partners around the world.
Microsoft is still the best home for nonprofits mission-critical operations.
Back in 2016, we had a choice as to what platform we would select as the foundation for SylogistMission CRM (previously known as MISSION CRM) and we chose Microsoft. There was no Common Data Model for Nonprofits, there was no Cloud for Nonprofits – but we believed in the interoperability it provided, the efficiencies it yielded, and the fact Microsoft R&D would generate ‘platform gold’ nonprofits could leverage across their mission-critical organizations.
All of those positives remain today on the platform – data interoperability and fluidity is unparalleled, productivity tools have been supercharged with Copilot, and the promise of what AI can do to support nonprofits is yet to be realized. No one is investing as much as Microsoft in the nonprofit sector.
There are many informative blogs on this topic – including those from Build Consulting, Heller Consulting and threshold.org which are worth reading.
For those organizations who took the leap of faith and bet on Microsoft, you have still made a sound, long-term decision. In the short-term, there undoubtedly will be trying times and challenging conversations – Microsoft is trying to provide as many options as they can through its ISVs like SylogistMission CRM and SI partners to help you assess and figure out the best path forward on the platform.
If you’re a partner, consultant or customer and have questions, we’re happy to help – please reach out via our website.
