The New York Climate Exchange (NYCE), a climate nonprofit with about 20 staff, kept donors in DonorPerfect, prospects in spreadsheets and everyone else in a HubSpot portal set up without a plan, so a leadership request for prospects meant a scramble. Growth rebuilt HubSpot around how NYCE works and moved in the donor records from DonorPerfect, which NYCE had retired in May. Less than four months after kickoff, all staff were trained on one system for donors, partners and programs.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Client | The New York Climate Exchange (NYCE) |
| Industry | Nonprofit: a climate organization with a consortium of 48 corporate, academic and community partners |
| Company size | About 20 staff |
| Location | Governors Island, New York |
| HubSpot | Sales Hub Professional, Marketing Hub Starter and Content Hub Starter, with Enterprise Core Seats |
| Started from | A year-old HubSpot portal with no data model, and donors in DonorPerfect |
| Growth's work | HubSpot re-implementation, DonorPerfect migration and staff training |
| Timeline | Kickoff in May 2026; all-staff training on September 1, 2026 |
| Result | One system instead of two |
Why did The New York Climate Exchange need one system?
NYCE had used HubSpot since March 2025 and held about 7,000 contacts in it, but no one had designed the portal. "We never really went through a data mapping process," said Helene Hetrick, Director of Communications. That cost NYCE in three ways. It paid for and kept up a second system, DonorPerfect, for its donors. Prospect lists lived in spreadsheets, so a request from leadership meant a scramble. And some donor records had to stay private from most staff.
What changed for NYCE?
NYCE now runs partners, programs and donors in one HubSpot portal.
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Systems | HubSpot and DonorPerfect | HubSpot only. DonorPerfect retired in May 2026 |
| Donor records | In DonorPerfect | In HubSpot. Anonymous gifts are visible only to finance and executive leadership |
| Prospects | In spreadsheets | In HubSpot as contacts and companies, on one list |
| Programs | No records of their own | One record for each program, and a dashboard |
"Growth Operations have been fantastic partners for our organization. They have worked with significant flexibility for our team and in a timely manner."
How did Growth rebuild HubSpot for a nonprofit?
NYCE compared partners verified by HubSpot and chose Growth, an Elite HubSpot Solutions Partner accredited in CRM Implementation and CRM Data Migration. Growth kicked off in May 2026 and built the portal around how NYCE works: partners, programs, people and gifts.
- A Programs custom object and an Advancement Opportunities pipeline.
- The DonorPerfect migration: individuals to contacts and organizations to companies, without overwriting HubSpot data. Gifts came in as deals from a file NYCE's finance team prepared.
- Restricted access to anonymous gifts and sensitive gift details, for finance and executive leadership only.
- Training for the core team in August and all staff on September 1, with guides and import templates.
For HubSpot teams
- Hubs and tier: Sales Hub Professional, Marketing Hub Starter and Content Hub Starter, with Enterprise Core Seats.
- Started from: a portal in use for a year with no data model; donors in DonorPerfect.
- Migration: DonorPerfect to HubSpot.
- Built: Programs custom object, Advancement Opportunities pipeline, restricted access to anonymous gifts, Microsoft Teams integration.
- Partner: Growth Operations Firm, Elite HubSpot Solutions Partner.
- A good fit for: nonprofits and partner networks on Professional or Starter hubs that need a custom object, donor privacy or a move off a nonprofit CRM.
Questions about this project
How long did The New York Climate Exchange's HubSpot rebuild take?
Less than four months. Growth kicked off with NYCE on May 14, 2026, trained the core team in August and trained all staff on September 1, 110 days after kickoff.
Can a nonprofit move from DonorPerfect to HubSpot?
Yes. NYCE retired DonorPerfect on May 28, 2026, before the migration ran, and Growth loaded its final export into HubSpot: individuals became contacts and organizations became companies. The gifts came in as deals from a gift file NYCE's finance team prepared, and anonymous gifts are visible only to finance and executive leadership.
Does a nonprofit need an Enterprise hub for a custom object?
Not NYCE. Its Programs custom object and team-based access run on Sales Hub Professional, Marketing Hub Starter and Content Hub Starter with Enterprise Core Seats, without a full Enterprise hub.
Running HubSpot for a nonprofit that outgrew its first setup? Book a consultation with Growth. More from Growth: How to avoid nonprofit CRM implementation failures.