How Habitat for Humanity Transformed Global Fundraising Operations with Strategic Cloud Partnership

Executive Summary 

Habitat for Humanity International, a global nonprofit dedicated to building homes and hope in communities worldwide, faced critical infrastructure challenges that threatened their ability to scale their collaborative fundraising model. By partnering with Concourse for managed cloud hosting of their CRM system, they transformed from fragmented operations to a unified, efficient fundraising powerhouse that now serves over 40 affiliate organizations with seamless data integration and collaborative marketing campaigns. 

The Hero: Habitat for Humanity International 

Habitat for Humanity International operates with a clear mission: helping families build and improve places to call home, believing that housing plays a critical role in strong and stable communities. Headquartered in Americus, Georgia, the organization operates in more than 70 countries with funding from individual donations, philanthropic foundations, corporations, civic groups, and local ReStores. 

At the heart of their operations is Jay Merchant, Associate Director of Digital Fundraising Platforms, who oversees the organization’s CRMs. 

The Vision: Unified Collaborative Fundraising 

Habitat's ambitious goal was to revolutionize how they approach fundraising by bringing affiliate data into one centralized system, enabling unified marketing campaigns across multiple markets. Rather than having duplicate marketing efforts where donors receive separate communications from both local affiliates and Habitat International, they envisioned a collaborative model. 

"One of the reasons for bringing the affiliate data in is so that we can market to them as one big company... versus the local markets marketing to their people and then us marketing to those same people," Merchant describes. 

The Problem: Infrastructure Limitations Threatening Growth 

Technical Challenges 

Before partnering with Concourse, Habitat faced several critical infrastructure problems: 

• Lack of CRM Expertise: Their previous hosting provider "did not know CRM, so they were truly just hosting our servers and they would do whatever we ask... but it didn't make sense because they didn't have the expertise of a DBA". 

• Resource Drain: Internal teams were constantly firefighting database issues instead of focusing on strategic development work. 

• Scalability Concerns: With plans to integrate dozens of affiliate organizations, their existing infrastructure couldn't handle the anticipated data volume growth. 

• Database Performance Issues: Expensive in-house DBAs spent much of their time troubleshooting things like long-running queries, resulting in sub-optimal performance. 

Business Impact 

These technical limitations created significant business challenges: 

• Inefficient duplicate marketing campaigns to the same donors 

• Team resources tied up in database management instead of strategic development 

• Risk of system failures during critical fundraising periods 

These issues resulted in an inability to fully execute their collaborative fundraising vision. 

The Guide: Concourse as Strategic Partner 

Why Concourse Was Chosen 

Habitat conducted a formal RFP process, evaluating multiple providers. Concourse stood out for several key reasons: 

1. Deep CRM Expertise: Unlike generic hosting providers, Concourse brought specialized knowledge of CRM systems and nonprofit fundraising operations. 

1. Recommended by Trusted Advisors: Their CRM consultants steered them toward Concourse based on proven expertise. 

1. Superior Control and Security: Concourse offered the right balance of access and security controls for Habitat’s sophisticated operation. 

Partnership Philosophy 

What distinguishes this relationship is Concourse's approach as a true partner rather than a vendor. "For us you are a trusted partner, not just a vendor. We couldn't do it without you hand in hand," emphasizes Merchant. 

The Plan: Comprehensive Migration and Optimization Strategy 

Phase 1: Infrastructure Migration 

The migration process, while challenging, was handled with dedicated support from Concourse's team. 

Phase 2: Database Optimization and Control Implementation 

Concourse implemented proper database management controls while maintaining necessary access for Habitat's sophisticated team: 

Phase 3: Scalability Preparation 

With affiliate data integration planned, Concourse proactively managed database sizing and performance optimization to handle significant data volume increases. 

The Results: Transformational Success 

Operational Excellence 

Minimal Downtime: "The amount of downtime we've had with you all has been absolutely minimal... we've had very, very little down time. It's amazing and it's been so important." 

Rapid Issue Resolution: Merchant noted that when problems do arise, resolution is swift.  

Strategic Focus Shift 

"Now we can actually concentrate on the real work." 

Moving to Concourse’s managed private cloud hosting freed up Habitat’s resources from having to worry about constant database management to being able to concentrate on development, and do higher value work, such as affiliate data integration and management, advanced segmentation and tagging systems, and relationship mapping for complex donor hierarchies. 

Business Impact: Collaborative Fundraising Success 

Pilot Program Results 

• Pilot program started with 9 markets, with expansion to 40+ affiliates in the first full year 

• 40 more affiliates slated to join based on proven results 

• Measurable increase in donations through unified marketing campaigns, which eliminate donor confusion 

Technical Excellence 

• Database size successfully managed despite significant growth from affiliate integrations 

• Streamlined operations with proactive monitoring and maintenance 

• Enhanced security through proper access controls 

• Rapid problem resolution through expert database administration 

Avoiding Failure: The Cost of Not Acting 

Had Habitat attempted to manage this infrastructure internally, the costs would have been prohibitive: 

"We'd have to have an expert... we'd have to have the environment- all the servers involved and technical knowledge to manage those servers... we'd have to have a DBA or two DBAs... I don't think we could afford that internally and maintain it internally." 

The risks of the status quo included continued resource drain on strategic initiatives, higher long-term costs of internal infrastructure management, potential system failures during critical periods, and ultimately an inability to execute on the collaborative fundraising vision. 

The Partnership Advantage: Why This Relationship Works 

Collaborative Approach Based on Mutual Respect and Understanding 

The partnership is built on mutual respect for expertise and shared commitment to Habitat's mission. Team members from both organizations have even participated in Habitat builds, creating deeper understanding of the mission. 

Proactive Support 

Rather than reactive problem-solving, Concourse provides proactive monitoring, optimization suggestions, and strategic planning for growth. 

Call to Action: Transform Your Operations 

Habitat for Humanity's success demonstrates how the right technology partnership can transform organizational capabilities. If your nonprofit or organization faces similar challenges with: 

• Complex database management requirements 

• Need for specialized CRM expertise 

• Growth initiatives requiring scalable infrastructure 

• Desire to focus internal resources on mission-critical work 

Consider how a strategic partnership with Concourse and its proven CRM hosting expertise could accelerate your organization's impact. 

Looking Forward: Continued Growth and Innovation 

With their infrastructure foundation solidly established, Habitat continues to expand their collaborative fundraising model. Each successful integration proves the value of their unified approach, attracting more affiliates and demonstrating measurable improvements in fundraising effectiveness. 

"Every year the plan is to expand the collaborative fundraising model... we're adding more and more affiliates," Merchant explains. This growth is sustainable because they have the right infrastructure partner supporting their vision. 

The partnership between Habitat for Humanity and Concourse exemplifies how strategic technology partnerships can enable mission-driven organizations to focus on what they do best: changing lives and building communities. 

For organizations considering similar transformations, the lesson is clear: the right partnership doesn't just solve technical problems—it unlocks strategic capabilities that drive mission success.