Modernizing Fundraising Operations to Support Ambitious Growth

Ambitious philanthropy is driven by clear leadership, disciplined execution, and fundraising systems designed to scale.

The Douglas Foundation has set its sights on leadership in mental health philanthropy. Benchmarking itself with leading hospital foundations in Canada and major mental health institutions, the Foundation established aggressive growth targets. To support that trajectory, the organization modernized its fundraising operations with SimpliPhi.

About the Douglas Foundation

The Douglas Foundation supports the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, funding patient care, research, education, and training that advance mental health outcomes in Quebec and across Canada. The Foundation’s leadership team is focused on building fundraising capacity that reflects the importance of mental health within the broader healthcare ecosystem.

“Our goal is to make mental health philanthropy impossible to ignore by funding care and research that changes lives, and by building a foundation that leads with clarity, credibility, and bold growth.” - Laura Fish, President and CEO of the Douglas Foundation.

A Strategy Built for Ambition 

In September 2024, the Douglas Foundation completed a strategic planning exercise designed to align its long-term vision with operational readiness. The Foundation is pursuing its most ambitious endeavour to date, and is planning its first major campaign, reflecting its commitment to strengthening its leadership position in mental health philanthropy.

Momentum was already visible. After raising $7 million in cash the previous year, the Foundation had already reached that level again by January. With a fiscal year ending March 31 and an annual goal of $9 million, the organization is now expecting to approach $10 million by year-end.

That growth is reinforced by flagship initiatives that continue to expand in scale and impact. The 11th edition of Open Minds raised a record-breaking $1,030,000, marking the second consecutive year of record results. Since its launch in 2017, the event has mobilized nearly $4.5 million in support of mental health research and care, supported by a strong network of corporate partners and community leaders.

At the same time, the Foundation’s 2025 Annual Campaign demonstrates its commitment to public engagement and digital visibility, combining strong storytelling with broad outreach across channels.

For the Douglas Foundation, sustaining this trajectory requires fundraising systems that can support growth, reinforce accountability, and enable confident decision-making at every level.

Choosing the Right Platform and Partner

To support its growth strategy, the Douglas Foundation selected Raiser’s Edge NXT as its core fundraising CRM. For implementation, the Foundation partnered with SimpliPhi, bringing deep nonprofit data expertise and a structured, best-practice approach.

SimpliPhi’s role extended beyond technical execution. The partnership focused on aligning data structure, workflows, and reporting with the Foundation’s strategic objectives, ensuring the system could scale alongside future campaigns and leadership expectations.

“Having SimpliPhi made life so easy. They mapped our data and made our conversion smooth. This migration was very professional.” - Natacha Lachaine, Director, Major Gifts and Planned Giving

• The modernization effort reshaped how fundraising teams work together day to day. Raiser’s Edge NXT became the shared system for prospect management, stewardship, annual campaigns, and events.

“There are no more Excels, it makes our meetings so much more efficient and so much clearer.” - Natacha Lachaine, Director, Major Gifts and Planned Giving

• Training and adoption from SimpliPhi were designed to build confidence quickly. Clear ownership and hands-on enablement helped teams integrate the platform into daily workflows.

“It’s been three months… and it’s becoming much more natural to use, and it’s such an upgrade. SimpliPhi's team is not only responsive and present but also solution-driven, which I greatly appreciate. They leverage their experience to provide recommendations based on past successes and best practices. I truly value this approach.” - Alexandre Chamberland, Annual Fund and Digital Fundraising Manager

• Achieving critical visibility into performance was a key requirement for leadership.

“Our CEO is happy with the visibility of our KPIs. She can just click, and all the numbers are ready to be presented for the board.” - Natacha Lachaine, Director, Major Gifts and Planned Giving

What This Enables Next

Thanks to SimpliPhi’s CRM conversion, implementation, and training support, the Douglas Foundation is positioned to:

• Expand major gift prospecting and pipeline development
• Strengthen stewardship and donor engagement strategies
• Grow recurring giving and campaign sophistication
• Support future large-scale and multi-year campaigns
• Maintain transparency and accountability across leadership and governance
• Scale flagship events like Open Minds with structured sponsor management, donor tracking, and post-event stewardship built directly into the CRM

Book a Discovery Call

Interested in building a fundraising system that supports your organization’s ambitions? Book a discovery call with SimpliPhi to explore how a clean implementation and expert guidance can help your team move faster with confidence.