For most of its history, the MS Society of Canada operated with three distinct components—fund development, programs and services, and research—each functioning in isolation. As David Arbuthnot, VP of Shared Services, noted, “never shall they meet.” This compartmentalization resulted in data silos that created barriers, particularly impacting the organization’s development efforts. “People experience the MS Society in a number of roles and channels. It is not helpful to pigeonhole people and only see them in one light,” David stated.

In 2015, the leadership of the MS Society of Canada identified data integration as a strategic objective. This transition involved moving from multiple systems to a singular, cohesive solution. Benefactor Group Principal Steve Beshuk led the project to define the organization’s business needs, software requirements, and the processes that the new system would need to support. The project included a rigorous selection process, scripted vendor demonstrations, due diligence, facilitated stakeholder review meetings, a final presentation, and vendor negotiations. Ultimately, the MS Society chose to migrate to an industry-leading technology platform.

After selecting the appropriate system and positioning the organization for success, the real work of merging data and systems commenced—a time-consuming process requiring significant financial investment. The transition demanded ongoing commitment to the overarching goals and strong support from leadership.

“The change management challenge will always be there,” David remarked. “But at the executive team level, we try to demonstrate the value. And we have seen success—when we first integrated members into the database, everyone immediately saw the benefit of seeing members and donors at the same time.”

Members and donors do not view themselves as separate entities; they see themselves as individuals who care about the MS Society. By developing systems that encouraged staff to adopt this perspective, the MS Society moved beyond merely discussing donor centricity to actively implementing it. As one interviewee described, “We’re in a constant improvement process, a constant skill refinement. We’re inching toward Eureka.”