RNID Case Study - Dynamics Platform Optimisation

Facing a challenge with their CRM ahead of a major fundraising campaign, RNID partnered with Understanding Solutions to stabilise their system within 10 weeks - restoring campaign capability and delivering a strategic roadmap for long-term success.

The Challenge the Client faced

RNID’s fundraising CRM (Dynamics) was struggling to support even basic operational requirements. Marketing campaigns couldn’t be segmented effectively, and poor data migration, low data quality, and inconsistent business process mapping compounded the problem. The client faced a hard deadline for their September fundraising campaign, yet the system in its current state simply wasn’t fit for purpose. They needed a partner who could not only fix immediate issues but also help them envision a sustainable, long-term solution.

Understanding Solutions' Approach

Understanding Solutions rapidly deployed a team of five consultants to tackle both the urgent operational issues and the longer-term strategic needs. The engagement began with a deep-dive analysis to understand exactly why the CRM was failing. Our team identified the root causes: data quality gaps, incomplete migration processes, and misaligned business workflows.

From this, we designed a dual-track approach. In the short term, we focused on creating a functional CRM that could execute marketing campaigns within the tight 10-week window. This involved cleaning and segmenting data, reconfiguring the system to meet campaign requirements, and implementing interim solutions to ensure immediate usability.

In parallel, we built a strategic roadmap for RNID’s fundraising systems, detailing the steps required to transform Dynamics into a platform that could reliably support campaigns and scale over time. The roadmap included process improvements, system optimisations, and recommendations for data governance and ongoing management.

Throughout the project, our team placed a strong emphasis on knowledge transfer and upskilling. Comprehensive functional documentation, step-by-step guides, and process diagrams were developed so RNID’s internal teams could continue to operate and improve the system independently after our consultants rolled off.

The Outcome

Within just 10 weeks, RNID transitioned from being unable to send campaigns to running fully functional marketing campaigns aligned with their immediate fundraising goals. The CRM was operational, data was accurate, and processes were clearly documented, giving the team confidence to manage future campaigns.

Beyond the immediate results, the strategic roadmap delivered a clear vision for the evolution of their fundraising systems. RNID’s internal team was upskilled, equipped with documentation and processes, and empowered to take ownership of their CRM going forward.

The engagement exemplified Understanding Solutions’ ability to deliver rapid, practical outcomes while building long-term capability. RNID didn’t just receive a working CRM—they gained a sustainable system, an actionable roadmap, and a team confident in its ability to manage and evolve the platform independently.