Fundraising and scouting knowledge literally opens doors. But all too often, this knowledge is hidden in individual heads, notes, emails or scattered lists. The new Spheriq contact management system makes the valuable pieces of the puzzle usable in the long term: contacts, assessments and previous interactions are retained centrally and linked. This creates the basis for professional relationship management, effective scouting and long-term fundraising success.
Institutional scouting and fundraising thrives on many small moments that are widely scattered in terms of time and personnel: a conversation on the sidelines of an event, a tip from a phone call, a photographed slide from a presentation, an earlier rejection with a valuable explanation. Finds such as the right contact person or a recommendation for a foundation (which may seem inconspicuous from the outside) can mean a breakthrough in institutional fundraising. Such key pieces of information come about selectively, often in passing and rarely from the same person. However, these very employees may soon no longer be part of the team – personnel changes are a reality in everyday non-profit life.
What is created in everyday life often goes unnoticed
The fact that such information remains scattered is not an oversight. It is in the nature of fundraising and scouting: relationships grow over time, responsibilities change, research is interrupted, finds emerge in different contexts. What appears to be a side note today may be the key to success in six months’ time – only then it is often no longer findable.
What’s more, many organizations work with a mixture of Excel lists, personal notes, emails, CRM entries and informal knowledge. This works as long as those involved are close enough to the action. But as soon as a project is resumed, a new person takes over or an organization comes back into focus years later, the crucial context is often missing: What did we already know? Who were we in contact with? And why did we not follow up at the time?
The right knowledge where it is needed
What is missing is the right instrument. A tool that supports you in collecting the pieces of the puzzle. And that creates a direct link between the constantly updated organizational knowledge and the additional knowledge of your team.
The new contact management closes this gap and is seamlessly integrated into Spheriq. It supplements continuously updated organizational information with knowledge that is only available internally: previous contacts, notes, assessments, information, as well as acceptances and rejections. Anyone researching an organization today, checking a list or calling up their profile will therefore not only see up-to-date basic information, but also their own relationship history with their own organization.
This turns selective fundraising and scouting information into networked knowledge that can be used in the long term. Even if the last contact was a long time ago, the new research builds on existing knowledge and relationships can be further developed in a targeted and professional manner despite personnel changes.
From practice for practice
Contact management is not a separate CRM that requires a lot of maintenance, but an additional level directly in the workflow of fundraisers and scouting funding organizations. For nonprofits, it becomes the lasting memory of institutional fundraising; for funding organizations, it supports far-sighted scouting.
The new function was not created on the drawing board, but in close collaboration with a good dozen experienced fundraisers and several actively scouting funding organizations. Many conversations revealed the same challenge: although valuable information is available, it is often documented locally, personally and therefore in isolation. This gave rise to the idea of directly linking research, relationship management and institutional knowledge so that relevant knowledge is not lost, but remains available throughout the organization and can be used in the long term.
Start small, gradually become a professional
Contact management begins with the first precise entry. Simply getting started is the best strategy here for once. Most organizations start where the action is: with ongoing research, a current funding request or the new scouting focus. Initial contacts, assessments and notes are now added directly to the platform, while older information is gradually integrated later (see workshop offer in the box). The structure is set up pragmatically and step by step in day-to-day work.
Contact management is now available for organizations with Starter level. It creates the basis for combining organizational information, research and internal team knowledge in a meaningful way. From September, additional professional tools will follow within the Pro level. These include reminder functions and intelligent lists that automatically link ongoing searches with already known organizations, assessments and contacts. Institutional knowledge is thus not only stored, but also made even more useful in everyday life.
Accompanied development Contact management
For organizations that want to transfer existing contacts, lists and fundraising information to the new contact management system in a structured way, Spheriq is offering the workshop series Accompanied Contact Management Development from July 2026. It helps you to systematically bring together scattered knowledge from Excel lists, Google Docs and other working documents and easily integrate it into your Spheriq contact management system.
The four stages of the offer:
- Clarify, view, align – clarify target image, data sets and use
- Transferring, organizing, building – bringing existing information into the new structure
- Introduce, classify, activate – transfer contact management and start using it
- Reflect, adjust, consolidate – evaluate initial experiences and hone working methods
Each stage corresponds to roughly one hour of online exchange. In between, the results are processed further. Included in the assisted contact management setup is also a basic package for the professional preparation of the data import by the Spheriq team.
