1. Home
  2. Donor Management Software
  3. Slate for Advancement Reviews
  4. User Review of Slate for Advancement
Advancement solution set to dominate the Magic Quadrant.
April 03, 2023

Advancement solution set to dominate the Magic Quadrant.

Lloyd Lentz | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Slate for Advancement

Slate for Advancement is our primary CRM, it manages our Alumni and Donor constituent data. It is the primary Fundraising software, allowing for Major Giving fundraising cycle (portfolio management, moves management, proposal pipeline, etc.). It is our gift and payment processor. It also is the primary outreach tool, providing email, texting, and voice outreach for our alumni and donor base. Also, the event management tool that allows us to manage 100-200 high-touch events per year, with outreach, RSVPs, check-in and more.
  • Email & Outreach
  • Event Management
  • Portfolio Management
  • Donor Relations
  • SMS Texting
  • Refined Business Intelligence tools
  • Complex Donor Segmentation reporting & querying
  • Individualize customer support
  • Data integration
  • Giving Platform
  • CRM
  • Customizable Portals
  • Reduced peripheral systems
  • Reduced redundant data integration needs
  • Simplified Data Entry, transitioned 1FTE to other more valuable use of time.
  • Reduced annual software license cost by 5X

Do you think Slate for Advancement delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Slate for Advancement's feature set?

Yes

Did Slate for Advancement live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Slate for Advancement go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Slate for Advancement again?

Yes

What features/functionality pushed your team to select Slate for Advancement?
The main winning aspect from our perspective was that all touch points of the donors record would be managed, maintained, updated in one location. We would not be reliant on a third-party vendor for main aspect like e-mail or texting or calling or payment processing. Slate for Advancement has an approach to technology that is embracing of our modern world of technology that I have not seen in other vendors.

What lessons learned can you share?
Any migration for your CRM is a huge change management project. If you don't have a strong project manager onsite then consider bringing one in as a consultant.

If you could make the decision again, would it be the same one?
Absolutely

What peripherals were you able to replace with the Slate solution (giving portal, events mgmt, etc)?
Our institution was a little bit different where we had already built out custom solutions for our alumni portal our event management and our honor roll of giving. Being able to replace those with a platform that's supported by a vendor and has a large community of knowledge base that can be leaned on was huge and another main consideration in moving to slate.

For us one of the main selling factors was the depth and willingness of the community to support the rest of us in the effort of making slate for advancement successful in our institutions. And this continues to be the case to this day.

Using Slate for Advancement

100 - Advancement, Admissions, Alumni Engagement and cross campus collaborators
4 - Advancement Services
  • Advancement
  • Fundraising
  • Alumni Engagement
  • Alumni Directory
  • Class Agent Tool
  • Prospect Management
  • Day of Giving
  • Reunion Event Management
  • Complex Event Management
  • Donor Reporting
Perfect tool for our institution and it only keeps getting better.

Slate for Advancement Support

The community of users within Slate for Advancement is the main selling point. If you are new to a CRM where you have full control of every aspect of its setup and implementation, you are advised to find a reliable Preferred Partner that can help you navigate the infinite number of choices for implementation.
ProsCons
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Support understands my problem
Poor followup
Not kept informed
Escalation required
Difficult to get immediate help
Slow Initial Response
Not available
Yes - Sometimes almost immediately. Sometimes they will linger unanswered for years.
The founder and CEO will occasionally show up in discussion forums or personally reply to your public feedback post. He is exceptionally brilliant, and while he sometimes does not fix the issue how it was initially brought up, will provide context and plans for its broader and more complete resolution.