We are upgrading our platform to the vendor’s latest release before we launch. It makes good business sense to implement with the most current application suite in place.
We are nearly finished configuring the system and plan to begin quality checks and hands-on user testing this summer. At this point we will design and deliver experiential training based on role. Report development and enhancement will continue through implementation.
Ellucian Advance and EverTrue will be read-only at 5 p.m. ET on October 14. We will be in a blackout period until the following week. There will be more information coming about data management during this period. The week of October 20 everyone will begin working from Advancement CRM. On-site support and training will be available at Old Ivy Hall ongoing throughout this phase.
When we launch, you will have role-based CRM access, including integrated analytics, prospect mapping and trip planning, event management, in-app wealth screening, and our new mobile application.
No, Ellucian Advance becomes read-only beginning October 15, 2025. Some users will have access to Advance for reporting until it is officially sunset in 2026.
To learn more about the training plan and currently available training, visit and bookmark this web page CRM Training and Resources (https://hub.advancement.virginia.edu/subpage/crm-training-resources)
By the end of July, we will know if we have any critical issues that would prevent us from launching. If we are unable to guarantee a successful launch will occur before November 1, then we will delay until late January 2026.
Sign up for training opportunities, clean up data in Advance, and stay up to date via the Hub.
Email AdvancementCRM@virginia.edu and UATSC@virginia.edu. Also check out the CRM Transformation Project page of the Hub.
We are all busy! This is a major change that will impact everyone's work, so you should be paying attention to any and all messaging regarding Advancement CRM. Attend all relevant trainings and information sessions to start gearing up for this transition. The earlier you start preparing for this change, the better.
You can expect more targeted, role-based trainings in the coming months, beginning in Summer 2025. In the meantime, refer to the Hub for training resources that will help you to get familiar with the new system.
Monitor all project communications (email, this site, Take 5) for project and training updates. Attend Basecamp. Learn the new lingo (nomenclature resources are on the training site). Attend Community of Practice meetings to learn what might be changing regarding policy and / or practice in the future state. Make sure everything that should be in Advance is in there, not in shadow databases, so that your data will convert to the new system (contact AdvancementCRM@virginia.edu if you wish to discuss specifics).
See more FAQs below about Training, and stay updated on learning opportunities by reading the Take 5 newsletter weekly and bookmarking and visiting these pages on the Advancement Hub regularly:
CRM Transformation Project (https://hub.advancement.virginia.edu/subpage/crm-training-resources)
CRM Training and Resources (https://hub.advancement.virginia.edu/subpage/crm-training-resources)
Advancement Community Events (https://hub.advancement.virginia.edu/events)
This project is guided by the vision of OneUVA and also takes into consideration the broad range of user perspectives and requirements across our community. We will continue to engage business partners and stakeholders across Grounds to participate in scoping work, testing periods, feedback, communication, and adoption of and socializing new business processes. All stakeholders are welcome. Have specific ideas? Please contact us: AdvancementCRM@virginia.edu
Our go-live plan takes into account the current campaign and regular fiscal year end gift processing, accounting, and reporting work. As we get closer to the Fall 2025 cutover, we will communicate any blackout periods, down time, or shut-off plans. If you have annual work processes that we need to know about, please contact AdvancementCRM@virginia.edu.
The work we are doing now is to get us to a system cutover in Fall 2025, at which time you will shift your work processes to the new system. After a period of stabilization, we will further develop and enhance the CRM and related business process in order to continuously improve your work experience. You will experience many changes in how you work -- many good changes! But we do not expect to unleash the full power of every Advancement CRM feature in Phase 1. Remember, we are making this change to support you for the long term, and the work of developing UVA's new advancement database of record does not end at go-live.
Advancement CRM is an online platform. We will show you how to access the system when the time is right and will maintain up-to-date information here. If you participate in Basecamp (hands-on training) activities between now and go-live, follow instructions provided to you there, but understand this is a sandbox (i.e., test environment) and not the environment you will be working in once we go live.
Closer to the cutover date we will provide guidance on how best to prepare for the transition week. Be sure to attend the Summer Week of Learning, as there will be timely information shared there.
One of the opportunities this project provides is to re-examine and refresh our business practices to take advantage of what our new CRM offers in the context of our community culture. As part of this project, SMEs engaged with building our new system are also developing recommendations for new business practices. Our CoPs and leadership will play a key role in finalizing and communicating these. Some recommendations may be implemented prior to CRM implementation and some will be launched with the new system.
Yes, we recognize that users in many advancement roles may need to file contact reports.
Two important things to know about attachments: attachments are not searchable, and Salesforce costs increase as data storage increases. Attachments in Advancement CRM will include: formal, written proposals; gift agreements; and limited research items. Existing documents in Advance will be migrated to Advancement CRM.
Moving forward, correspondence should be copied and pasted into the contact report form so that it is searchable within the system. Existing attachments on Advance contact reports will archived and reviewed for importance; they may end up being moved into our official document archive, but not by go-live.
The new data warehouse will not be a repository for attachments.
Yes, the Salesforce mobile app works with Advancement CRM.
Yes, permissions will be assigned by role. With Advancement CRM we have much more refined permissioning and security capabilities, allowing us to restrict access to any data that should not be available to all users.
Artificial intelligence is not the primary focus for Phase 1. While some AI features may be available, other AI products will not be activated at go-live. Our initial priority is converting and stabilizing our new database of record. However, AI will play a significant role in the future. We are closely monitoring the capabilities of both Salesforce's and Kindsight's AI offerings as well as their development plans. We will assess tools based on their effectiveness, impact, and security. Stay tuned for more updates on this.
Data in Salesforce are structured differently than in Advance. Since the new data structure requires some focused time to learn, we recommend reviewing some of the resources from Salesforce.
Create a Salesforce Trailhead account here: https://hub.advancement.virginia.edu/subpage/salesforce-trailhead-uva-t…; and start with the Data Structure Overview learning module: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/users/taratelfair/trailmixes/data-structure-overview
Advancement CRM will replace Advance as the advancement database of record. There will be certain exceptions where supplemental data provided by vendor partners is housed in their tools. This project also involves selection of new reporting tools and building a data warehouse that will support information delivery, reporting, and analysis. Just like today there will be different levels of access to data, based on role, and we will develop a data dictionary to support your work.
Ensuring timely integration of data sources is crucial, which is why we selected Salesforce. Our primary goal for go-live is to establish integrations that replace existing data loads to the database of record. Following this, we will look at integrating with other systems. We are committed to providing the best tools and resources for your work, and a key aspect of this is whether a tool or resource has (or will develop) an 'out of the box' integration with Salesforce. We anticipate improved and more timely data integration in the new system, which will enhance data quality and decision-making.
We plan to have an integration ready at go-live to extract the data from the same extension that feeds the consolidated bio updates data from Marketing Cloud, keeping the experience the same for all current end users. These data will be sent into Interims via Boomi, go through the rules and matching process, and then into Advancement CRM.
Advancement CRM is a new data repository and the data have a different structure; that means we have to build new reports. Data analysts from across Grounds have been learning the new structure and have vetted our new data warehouse. They also have been learning, evaluating, and making decisions about information delivery and reporting tools. They have worked directly with stakeholders to fully understand all of our needs and they continue to develop the new reports.
There will be several information delivery methods in the future state. Some native reporting is available within the platform, and we plan to keep Tableau. Like the rest of this project, reporting is an iterative process. We understand that having adequate reporting at go-live is imperative, and we are committed to providing essential reports.
To get started learning about Lightning Reports:
- create a Salesforce Trailhead account (https://www.trailhead.salesforce.com)
- link to the UVA Trailmix page (https://hub.advancement.virginia.edu/subpage/salesforce-trailhead-uva-trailmixes)
- start with UVA Info Delivery 101: Lightning Reports & Dashboards (https://trailhead.salesforce.com/users/taratelfair/trailmixes/lightning-reports-dashboards).
Work with your staff / your supervisor to prioritize this work including attending CRM-related sessions that are relevant to your work. Monitor this website for updated training recommendations, modules, videos, and other materials. We will provide recommended learning paths and guidance by role. Training will be available well in advance of the cutover to Advancement CRM, with increasing frequency of necessary trainings closer to that date. To learn more, visit and bookmark this page CRM Training and Resources (https://hub.advancement.virginia.edu/subpage/crm-training-resources)
Refer to the Training sub-page on this site for ready to use reference materials and user guides: https://hub.advancement.virginia.edu/subpage/crm-training-resources.
Refer to the Training sub-page on this site for ready to use reference materials and user guides: https://hub.advancement.virginia.edu/subpage/crm-training-resources.