Creating a Realistic Timeline: What to Expect During a Raiser's Edge to Salesforce Migration

By Ohana Focus Team

Migrating from Raiser's Edge to Salesforce is a significant undertaking for any nonprofit organization. While the promise of enhanced functionality, better integration capabilities, and improved donor management is compelling, the journey requires careful planning and realistic expectations. One of the most critical factors in a successful migration is understanding how long the process will actually take.

Why Timeline Planning Matters

Underestimating the time required for a CRM migration can lead to rushed decisions, inadequate testing, staff burnout, and potentially compromised data integrity. Conversely, overly conservative timelines can create unnecessary delays and prolonged periods of uncertainty for your team. A realistic timeline helps you allocate resources appropriately, maintain stakeholder confidence, and ensure a smooth transition that doesn't disrupt your fundraising operations.

The Typical Migration Timeline: 4-9 Months

Most Raiser's Edge to Salesforce migrations take between four and nine months from initial planning to go-live. However, this range can vary significantly based on several factors, including your organization's size, data complexity, customization needs, and available resources.

Here's what you can expect during each phase of the migration process.

Phase 1: Discovery and Planning (4-8 Weeks)

The foundation of any successful migration is thorough discovery and planning. This phase involves understanding your current state, defining your future state, and mapping out how to get there.

Key Activities:

• Conducting a comprehensive audit of your Raiser's Edge database, including custom fields, reports, and processes

• Documenting current workflows and identifying pain points

• Defining business requirements and success criteria for the new system

• Assembling your project team and identifying key stakeholders

• Selecting a Salesforce implementation partner (if applicable)

• Creating a detailed project plan with milestones and dependencies

During this phase, you'll need to make critical decisions about what level of customization you'll require. Don't rush this phase. The decisions you make here will affect the entire project timeline and your long-term success with Salesforce.

Phase 2: Design and Configuration (6-12 Weeks)

Once you have a clear plan, the design phase focuses on translating your requirements into a Salesforce solution. This is where your new system begins to take shape.

Key Activities:

• Designing your Salesforce data model and mapping Raiser's Edge fields to Salesforce objects

• Configuring user roles, profiles, and security settings

• Building custom objects, fields, and page layouts

• Creating automation using flows, process builder, or Apex triggers

• Designing and building reports and dashboards

• Planning integration with other systems (email marketing, payment processors, etc.)

The complexity of this phase depends heavily on how much you want to customize Salesforce versus adopting out-of-the-box functionality. Organizations with highly customized Raiser's Edge databases should expect this phase to take longer, as translating complex legacy processes into Salesforce requires careful thought and often involves

process re-engineering.

Phase 3: Data Migration and Testing (6-10 Weeks)

Data migration is often the most time-consuming and technically challenging phase of the project. Your donor data is the lifeblood of your organization, and ensuring its accuracy and integrity in the new system is paramount.

Key Activities:

• Data cleansing and deduplication in Raiser's Edge

• Developing data migration scripts and ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes

• Conducting multiple test migrations to identify and resolve issues

• Validating data accuracy and completeness after each test migration

• Mapping and migrating historical gift data, relationships, and interactions

• Handling complex scenarios like merged records, custom fields, and coded values

Plan for at least three to four test migrations before your final production migration. Each iteration will uncover issues that need to be resolved, from duplicate records to data formatting problems to business logic that doesn't translate directly. Many organizations underestimate the time needed for data cleansing, which can add weeks to the timeline if your Raiser's Edge database has accumulated significant inconsistencies over the years.

Phase 4: Training and Change Management (4-8 Weeks)

Technology migration isn't just about moving data; it's about people. Your staff needs adequate time to learn the new system and adjust their workflows. This phase often overlaps with data migration and testing.

Key Activities:

• Developing training materials and documentation

• Conducting role-based training sessions for different user groups

• Creating a sandbox environment for hands-on practice

• Identifying and training system administrators and power users

• Communicating changes and timelines to the broader organization

• Gathering feedback and addressing concerns

Consider offering multiple training sessions and creating video tutorials that staff can reference after go-live. The investment in thorough training will significantly reduce post-migration support issues and improve user adoption.

Phase 5: Go-Live and Stabilization (2-4 Weeks)

The go-live phase is when you actually make the switch from Raiser's Edge to Salesforce as your primary CRM. However, going live doesn't mean the project is complete.

Key Activities:

• Executing the final data migration during a planned downtime window

• Conducting final validation checks

• Transitioning users to the new system

• Providing intensive support for the first few days and weeks

• Monitoring system performance and user adoption

• Addressing urgent issues and making minor adjustments

Plan for a stabilization period of at least two to four weeks after go-live when your team will be in intensive support mode. Schedule your go-live during a relatively quiet period in your fundraising calendar to minimize disruption.

Factors That Can Extend Your Timeline

Several factors can add time to your migration project:

Data complexity: Organizations with decades of donor history, extensive custom fields, or complex relationship structures will need more time for data migration and testing.

Integration requirements: If you need to integrate Salesforce with multiple other systems (email platforms, event management, accounting software), each integration adds time and complexity.

Customization scope: Heavy customization or the need to build custom applications will extend the design and configuration phase.

Resource availability: Limited availability of key staff members or delays in decision-making can slow progress across all phases.

Change management challenges: Organizations with limited technology adoption history may need more time for training and change management.

Budget constraints: Operating with a smaller budget may mean relying more on internal resources, which can extend timelines if those resources are managing other responsibilities simultaneously.

Factors That Can Accelerate Your Timeline

Conversely, several factors can help you move more quickly:

Clean, well-organized data: If your Raiser's Edge database is already well-maintained with minimal duplicates and consistent data entry practices, data migration will be faster.

Willingness to adopt standard processes: Organizations that are open to adopting Salesforce best practices rather than replicating every legacy process can move through design and configuration more quickly.

Experienced implementation partner: Working with a partner who has completed multiple Raiser's Edge to Salesforce migrations can significantly reduce trial and error.

Dedicated project resources: Having team members who can focus primarily on the migration rather than juggling it with other responsibilities keeps the project moving forward.

Clear decision-making authority: A project sponsor with the authority to make timely decisions prevents bottlenecks during the design phase.

Building Buffer Into Your Timeline

Even the best-planned migration will encounter unexpected challenges. Build buffer time into your overall timeline to account for:

• Unexpected technical issues during data migration

• Staff turnover during the project

• Extended decision-making processes

• Discovery of previously unknown data quality issues

• Learning curve adjustments

• Necessary scope changes

A good rule of thumb is to add 15-20% buffer to your initial timeline estimate. This cushion helps you absorb delays without missing critical deadlines or forcing rushed decisions.

Phased Approach vs. Big Bang Migration

One way to manage timeline and risk is to consider a phased approach rather than migrating everything at once. For example, you might:

1. Migrate core donor and gift data first, with limited customization

2. Add advanced features and integrations in a second phase

3. Migrate historical data and archive systems in a final phase

A phased approach can reduce the complexity of each migration cycle and allow staff to adjust gradually to the new system. However, it also extends the overall timeline and requires maintaining dual systems for a longer period.

Creating Your Organization's Timeline

To create a realistic timeline for your migration, start by assessing these key questions:

• How many constituent records do you have in Raiser's Edge?

• How complex is your data structure (custom fields, coded values, relationships)?

• What's the current quality of your data?

• How much customization do you need in Salesforce?

• What integrations are required?

• Do you have internal Salesforce expertise, or will you need a partner?

• How much time can key staff members dedicate to the project?

• What's your budget for the migration?

Based on your answers, work with your implementation team to create a detailed project plan with specific milestones. Review the plan regularly and adjust as needed based on actual progress and emerging challenges.

The Bottom Line

A Raiser's Edge to Salesforce migration is a significant investment of time and resources, but with proper planning and realistic expectations, it's absolutely achievable. Most organizations should plan for a timeline of four to nine months, with larger or more complex organizations potentially needing up to a year. Remember that the goal isn't just to complete the migration quickly—it's to complete it successfully. A well-executed migration that takes an extra month or two is far better than a rushed project that compromises data integrity or leaves staff unprepared to use the new system effectively.

Your migration timeline should balance ambition with realism, urgency with thoroughness, and efficiency with quality. By understanding what to expect at each phase and building an appropriate buffer into your schedule, you'll set your organization up for a smooth transition and long-term success with Salesforce.

The investment of time you make in planning and executing your migration properly will pay dividends for years to come in the form of better donor relationships, more efficient operations, and enhanced fundraising capabilities. Take the time to do it right, and your organization will reap the benefits of a powerful, modern CRM platform that serves your mission effectively.