Your Relationships Are Leaking Money.
Find Out How Much.
A 12-week review that puts a dollar figure on your relationship gaps and hands you a sequenced plan to fix them.
The problem
Each relationship that slips through the cracks costs your mission money.
Each relationship that slips through the cracks costs your mission money.
A gift renewal misses the moment because nobody remembers where that conversation left off. A partner goes quiet and nobody notices for a month. The impact data takes a full day to pull together when the funders ask for it.
Not ready yet?
Get the free on-demand workshop instead.
Not ready yet?
Get the free on-demand workshop instead.
Get The Workshop
Why it exists
The setup that got you here won't get you further.
The setup that got you here won't get you further.
Spreadsheets, a shared inbox, and a couple of people who remember how things work. This common setup holds together when it only takes three or four people to carry the whole picture in their heads. But it doesn't scale.
That knowledge doesn't transfer when someone takes a week off or when they leave for good. Funders now expect clean outcomes reporting before they renew, not just simple activity counts. That puts revenue at risk.
Run your own numbers across the staff hours to work around the system, the wasted technology spend, and the relationship risk you're taking on. It often adds up to more than six figures per year.
The Relationship Architecture Review is how you find out exactly where your system breaks, and what it's costing you right now.
See What Its Costing You
How it works.
How it works.
01
Asynchronous Information Request
Asynchronous Information Request
Simple prompts your team responds to on their time, so live sessions start with context already built.
02
Discovery Sessions
Discovery Sessions
Structured interviews with the people who touch relationships day-to-day, tracing the full lifecycle from first engagement to the conclusion and reporting.
03
Root-Cause Analysis & Quantified Cost Accounting
We trace the symptoms back to structural causes like siloed data, processes that run on memory, and fragmented tools. Then we show you exactly how much it's costing your organization.
04
Relationship Architecture Workshop
A collaborative exercise to define the ideal future-state workflow for your chosen relationship track, without any constraints of your current system.
05
Sequenced Roadmap
Your plan that tells you what to build first based on the value and operational need alongside a clear switch or stay recommendation.
What changes
One word: Clarity.
1
What’s Actually Breaking
You stop guessing why relationships keep slipping through the cracks and get the specific cause: siloed data, a process that runs on memory, a tool that no longer fits how your team works.
2
What It’s Costing You
The sense that something’s being lost, in donor renewals, funder relationships, or staff hours, becomes a number. One you can put in front of your board.
3
What to Fix First
A sequenced roadmap, ordered by value and operational need, with fixed-bid budgets attached. The next decision is which phase to start, not where to begin.
What people are saying.
What people are saying.
Partnering with Dept.1 Solutions has changed how LegalCORPS understands its own work. For years our client data lived in too many places at once. They took the time to learn our process from the inside, then built a system that follows a client through every step of it, from the moment an intake form arrives all the way to resolution. It has been a genuinely collaborative partnership, and it has made us a better organization.
Jackie Craig
Strategic Engagement Director
Dept.1 Solutions has been amazing to work with, as a rare IT partner who pursues mission-driven work. The team are great listeners, learning about our mission and our social impact, then aligning systems to optimize our reach. Instead of simply working on the contract, Dept. 1 Solutions wants to see mission-aligned organizations thrive beyond the scope of the work at hand.
Seth Snyder
Executive Director
Our entire staff and board members have to report on the work they're doing. The problem was I was the one who had to enter all this data. Having a tool to do this is a great integration into our daily work.
Leika Pierre-Louis
Executive Director, Small Sums
Our database was confusing. The data that was there wasn't really helpful - it was a waste of time and resources. Now I have an accurate and helpful list that makes sense and can be much more strategic.
Ellen Walthour
Executive Director, Social Venture Partners Minnesota
We needed to think about what systems we needed in place in order to be successful. We came out the other side really having clarity on what the next steps we’re going to be.
Jennie Lynch
President, Kaleidoscope Learning
Having someone ask questions we wouldn't have considered - with expertise our team may not have… Dept.1 not only delivered on their promises but made us much more productive and reflective.
Julia Kallmes
Founder, Kaleidoscope Learning
We had some work done several years ago but we weren't getting all of the information we needed. We'd been dealing with this for about seven years. Now everything is aligned and synced together - it's been nothing but a pleasure.
Sarah Lewis
Program Specialist, LegalCORPS
I was in pure chaos mode. I wasn't sure what our priorities were to focus on. We went through all of my major concerns and walked through a timeline of priorities. It was very clear and very detailed.
Chrystal Fischer
Executive Director, Parenting with Grace
Partnering with Dept.1 Solutions has changed how LegalCORPS understands its own work. For years our client data lived in too many places at once. They took the time to learn our process from the inside, then built a system that follows a client through every step of it, from the moment an intake form arrives all the way to resolution. It has been a genuinely collaborative partnership, and it has made us a better organization.
Jackie Craig
Strategic Engagement Director
Dept.1 Solutions has been amazing to work with, as a rare IT partner who pursues mission-driven work. The team are great listeners, learning about our mission and our social impact, then aligning systems to optimize our reach. Instead of simply working on the contract, Dept. 1 Solutions wants to see mission-aligned organizations thrive beyond the scope of the work at hand.
Seth Snyder
Executive Director
Our entire staff and board members have to report on the work they're doing. The problem was I was the one who had to enter all this data. Having a tool to do this is a great integration into our daily work.
Leika Pierre-Louis
Executive Director, Small Sums
Our database was confusing. The data that was there wasn't really helpful - it was a waste of time and resources. Now I have an accurate and helpful list that makes sense and can be much more strategic.
Ellen Walthour
Executive Director, Social Venture Partners Minnesota
We needed to think about what systems we needed in place in order to be successful. We came out the other side really having clarity on what the next steps we’re going to be.
Jennie Lynch
President, Kaleidoscope Learning
Having someone ask questions we wouldn't have considered - with expertise our team may not have… Dept.1 not only delivered on their promises but made us much more productive and reflective.
Julia Kallmes
Founder, Kaleidoscope Learning
We had some work done several years ago but we weren't getting all of the information we needed. We'd been dealing with this for about seven years. Now everything is aligned and synced together - it's been nothing but a pleasure.
Sarah Lewis
Program Specialist, LegalCORPS
I was in pure chaos mode. I wasn't sure what our priorities were to focus on. We went through all of my major concerns and walked through a timeline of priorities. It was very clear and very detailed.
Chrystal Fischer
Executive Director, Parenting with Grace
Partnering with Dept.1 Solutions has changed how LegalCORPS understands its own work. For years our client data lived in too many places at once. They took the time to learn our process from the inside, then built a system that follows a client through every step of it, from the moment an intake form arrives all the way to resolution. It has been a genuinely collaborative partnership, and it has made us a better organization.
Jackie Craig
Strategic Engagement Director
Dept.1 Solutions has been amazing to work with, as a rare IT partner who pursues mission-driven work. The team are great listeners, learning about our mission and our social impact, then aligning systems to optimize our reach. Instead of simply working on the contract, Dept. 1 Solutions wants to see mission-aligned organizations thrive beyond the scope of the work at hand.
Seth Snyder
Executive Director
Our entire staff and board members have to report on the work they're doing. The problem was I was the one who had to enter all this data. Having a tool to do this is a great integration into our daily work.
Leika Pierre-Louis
Executive Director, Small Sums
Our database was confusing. The data that was there wasn't really helpful - it was a waste of time and resources. Now I have an accurate and helpful list that makes sense and can be much more strategic.
Ellen Walthour
Executive Director, Social Venture Partners Minnesota
We needed to think about what systems we needed in place in order to be successful. We came out the other side really having clarity on what the next steps we’re going to be.
Jennie Lynch
President, Kaleidoscope Learning
Having someone ask questions we wouldn't have considered - with expertise our team may not have… Dept.1 not only delivered on their promises but made us much more productive and reflective.
Julia Kallmes
Founder, Kaleidoscope Learning
We had some work done several years ago but we weren't getting all of the information we needed. We'd been dealing with this for about seven years. Now everything is aligned and synced together - it's been nothing but a pleasure.
Sarah Lewis
Program Specialist, LegalCORPS
I was in pure chaos mode. I wasn't sure what our priorities were to focus on. We went through all of my major concerns and walked through a timeline of priorities. It was very clear and very detailed.
Chrystal Fischer
Executive Director, Parenting with Grace
Partnering with Dept.1 Solutions has changed how LegalCORPS understands its own work. For years our client data lived in too many places at once. They took the time to learn our process from the inside, then built a system that follows a client through every step of it, from the moment an intake form arrives all the way to resolution. It has been a genuinely collaborative partnership, and it has made us a better organization.
Jackie Craig
Strategic Engagement Director
Dept.1 Solutions has been amazing to work with, as a rare IT partner who pursues mission-driven work. The team are great listeners, learning about our mission and our social impact, then aligning systems to optimize our reach. Instead of simply working on the contract, Dept. 1 Solutions wants to see mission-aligned organizations thrive beyond the scope of the work at hand.
Seth Snyder
Executive Director
Our entire staff and board members have to report on the work they're doing. The problem was I was the one who had to enter all this data. Having a tool to do this is a great integration into our daily work.
Leika Pierre-Louis
Executive Director, Small Sums
Our database was confusing. The data that was there wasn't really helpful - it was a waste of time and resources. Now I have an accurate and helpful list that makes sense and can be much more strategic.
Ellen Walthour
Executive Director, Social Venture Partners Minnesota
We needed to think about what systems we needed in place in order to be successful. We came out the other side really having clarity on what the next steps we’re going to be.
Jennie Lynch
President, Kaleidoscope Learning
Having someone ask questions we wouldn't have considered - with expertise our team may not have… Dept.1 not only delivered on their promises but made us much more productive and reflective.
Julia Kallmes
Founder, Kaleidoscope Learning
We had some work done several years ago but we weren't getting all of the information we needed. We'd been dealing with this for about seven years. Now everything is aligned and synced together - it's been nothing but a pleasure.
Sarah Lewis
Program Specialist, LegalCORPS
I was in pure chaos mode. I wasn't sure what our priorities were to focus on. We went through all of my major concerns and walked through a timeline of priorities. It was very clear and very detailed.
Chrystal Fischer
Executive Director, Parenting with Grace
We had some work done several years ago but we weren't getting all of the information we needed. We'd been dealing with this for about seven years. Now everything is aligned and synced together - it's been nothing but a pleasure.
Sarah Lewis
Program Specialist, LegalCORPS
Our entire staff and board members have to report on the work they're doing. The problem was I was the one who had to enter all this data. Having a tool to do this is a great integration into our daily work.
Leika Pierre-Louis
Executive Director, Small Sums
Our database was confusing. The data that was there wasn't really helpful - it was a waste of time and resources. Now I have an accurate and helpful list that makes sense and can be much more strategic.
Ellen Walthour
Executive Director, Social Venture Partners Minnesota
We needed to think about what systems we needed in place in order to be successful. We came out the other side really having clarity on what the next steps we’re going to be.
Jennie Lynch
President, Kaleidoscope Learning
Having someone ask questions we wouldn't have considered - with expertise our team may not have… Dept.1 not only delivered on their promises but made us much more productive and reflective.
Julia Kallmes
Founder, Kaleidoscope Learning
I was in pure chaos mode. I wasn't sure what our priorities were to focus on. We went through all of my major concerns and walked through a timeline of priorities. It was very clear and very detailed.
Chrystal Fischer
Executive Director, Parenting with Grace
I was in pure chaos mode. I wasn't sure what our priorities were to focus on. We went through all of my major concerns and walked through a timeline of priorities. It was very clear and very detailed.
Chrystal Fischer
Executive Director, Parenting with Grace
Having someone ask questions we wouldn't have considered - with expertise our team may not have… Dept.1 not only delivered on their promises but made us much more productive and reflective.
Julia Kallmes
Founder, Kaleidoscope Learning
We needed to think about what systems we needed in place in order to be successful. We came out the other side really having clarity on what the next steps we’re going to be.
Jennie Lynch
President, Kaleidoscope Learning
Our database was confusing. The data that was there wasn't really helpful - it was a waste of time and resources. Now I have an accurate and helpful list that makes sense and can be much more strategic.
Ellen Walthour
Executive Director, Social Venture Partners Minnesota
Our entire staff and board members have to report on the work they're doing. The problem was I was the one who had to enter all this data. Having a tool to do this is a great integration into our daily work.
Leika Pierre-Louis
Executive Director, Small Sums
We had some work done several years ago but we weren't getting all of the information we needed. We'd been dealing with this for about seven years. Now everything is aligned and synced together - it's been nothing but a pleasure.
Sarah Lewis
Program Specialist, LegalCORPS
Our entire staff and board members have to report on the work they're doing. The problem was I was the one who had to enter all this data. Having a tool to do this is a great integration into our daily work.
Leika Pierre-Louis
Executive Director, Small Sums
We needed to think about what systems we needed in place in order to be successful. We came out the other side really having clarity on what the next steps we’re going to be.
Jennie Lynch
President, Kaleidoscope Learning
Our database was confusing. The data that was there wasn't really helpful - it was a waste of time and resources. Now I have an accurate and helpful list that makes sense and can be much more strategic.
Ellen Walthour
Executive Director, Social Venture Partners Minnesota
Having someone ask questions we wouldn't have considered - with expertise our team may not have… Dept.1 not only delivered on their promises but made us much more productive and reflective.
Julia Kallmes
Founder, Kaleidoscope Learning
We had some work done several years ago but we weren't getting all of the information we needed. We'd been dealing with this for about seven years. Now everything is aligned and synced together - it's been nothing but a pleasure.
Sarah Lewis
Program Specialist, LegalCORPS
I was in pure chaos mode. I wasn't sure what our priorities were to focus on. We went through all of my major concerns and walked through a timeline of priorities. It was very clear and very detailed.
Chrystal Fischer
Executive Director, Parenting with Grace
Our entire staff and board members have to report on the work they're doing. The problem was I was the one who had to enter all this data. Having a tool to do this is a great integration into our daily work.
Leika Pierre-Louis
Executive Director, Small Sums
We needed to think about what systems we needed in place in order to be successful. We came out the other side really having clarity on what the next steps we’re going to be.
Jennie Lynch
President, Kaleidoscope Learning
Our database was confusing. The data that was there wasn't really helpful - it was a waste of time and resources. Now I have an accurate and helpful list that makes sense and can be much more strategic.
Ellen Walthour
Executive Director, Social Venture Partners Minnesota
Having someone ask questions we wouldn't have considered - with expertise our team may not have… Dept.1 not only delivered on their promises but made us much more productive and reflective.
Julia Kallmes
Founder, Kaleidoscope Learning
We had some work done several years ago but we weren't getting all of the information we needed. We'd been dealing with this for about seven years. Now everything is aligned and synced together - it's been nothing but a pleasure.
Sarah Lewis
Program Specialist, LegalCORPS
I was in pure chaos mode. I wasn't sure what our priorities were to focus on. We went through all of my major concerns and walked through a timeline of priorities. It was very clear and very detailed.
Chrystal Fischer
Executive Director, Parenting with Grace
Our entire staff and board members have to report on the work they're doing. The problem was I was the one who had to enter all this data. Having a tool to do this is a great integration into our daily work.
Leika Pierre-Louis
Executive Director, Small Sums
We needed to think about what systems we needed in place in order to be successful. We came out the other side really having clarity on what the next steps we’re going to be.
Jennie Lynch
President, Kaleidoscope Learning
Our database was confusing. The data that was there wasn't really helpful - it was a waste of time and resources. Now I have an accurate and helpful list that makes sense and can be much more strategic.
Ellen Walthour
Executive Director, Social Venture Partners Minnesota
Having someone ask questions we wouldn't have considered - with expertise our team may not have… Dept.1 not only delivered on their promises but made us much more productive and reflective.
Julia Kallmes
Founder, Kaleidoscope Learning
We had some work done several years ago but we weren't getting all of the information we needed. We'd been dealing with this for about seven years. Now everything is aligned and synced together - it's been nothing but a pleasure.
Sarah Lewis
Program Specialist, LegalCORPS
I was in pure chaos mode. I wasn't sure what our priorities were to focus on. We went through all of my major concerns and walked through a timeline of priorities. It was very clear and very detailed.
Chrystal Fischer
Executive Director, Parenting with Grace
Our entire staff and board members have to report on the work they're doing. The problem was I was the one who had to enter all this data. Having a tool to do this is a great integration into our daily work.
Leika Pierre-Louis
Executive Director, Small Sums
We needed to think about what systems we needed in place in order to be successful. We came out the other side really having clarity on what the next steps we’re going to be.
Jennie Lynch
President, Kaleidoscope Learning
Our database was confusing. The data that was there wasn't really helpful - it was a waste of time and resources. Now I have an accurate and helpful list that makes sense and can be much more strategic.
Ellen Walthour
Executive Director, Social Venture Partners Minnesota
Having someone ask questions we wouldn't have considered - with expertise our team may not have… Dept.1 not only delivered on their promises but made us much more productive and reflective.
Julia Kallmes
Founder, Kaleidoscope Learning
We had some work done several years ago but we weren't getting all of the information we needed. We'd been dealing with this for about seven years. Now everything is aligned and synced together - it's been nothing but a pleasure.
Sarah Lewis
Program Specialist, LegalCORPS
I was in pure chaos mode. I wasn't sure what our priorities were to focus on. We went through all of my major concerns and walked through a timeline of priorities. It was very clear and very detailed.
Chrystal Fischer
Executive Director, Parenting with Grace
Find out what it's costing you and leave with a plan on your own terms.
Find out what it's costing you and leave with a plan on your own terms.
Start Now
Frequently asked questions
Still have a question? Book an Intro Call.
The Review has five parts. Your team first answers a short information request on its own schedule. Five discovery sessions with the people who touch the relationship track day to day then map the lifecycle from intake through tracking, stewardship, and reporting. A root-cause and cost analysis traces the breakdowns to structural causes such as siloed data and processes that run on memory, and puts a number on what they cost. A Relationship Architecture Workshop defines the future-state workflow, segmentation, and ownership, independent of any single system. The roadmap closes the engagement, with fixed-bid pricing for each build phase.
The Review can be completed in as little as 4-5 weeks. Your team completes the information request, joins five 60-minute discovery sessions and the workshop, and names one point of contact for scheduling and decisions. The sessions are spread across the 12 weeks, and each one comes with preparation, so the work fits inside a normal week.
Each Review covers one track: donors and funders, partners and co-grantees, or program participants and clients. Many organizations start with donors and funders, where reporting pressure tends to be highest. The right starting point is the track where a breakdown would cost the most in funding, staff time, or a relationship you cannot afford to lose. Multi-track Reviews are available.
The cost analysis uses three categories and your own figures: staff hours lost to manual workarounds, platform spend compared with the features your team actually uses, and relationship and funding risk, including donor retention, grant renewals that depend on outcome data, and partner reporting exposure. The discovery sessions collect these numbers while the workflow gets mapped. The result is a figure specific to your organization that you can take to a board or funder. The size of that figure depends on where your current system breaks.
The Review fits a nonprofit whose donor, partner, or program data lives across systems that do not reconcile, with the full picture held in one or two people's memory. Dept.1 is a relationship systems and CRM consultant based in the Twin Cities, and the Review is the starting point for its work across donor and funder, partner and co-grantee, and program participant data. A common sign is a team of three or four people responsible for tracking most of the organization's relationships. Organizations usually begin when a board ask, a funder reporting requirement, a platform decision, or a staff transition makes a defensible plan necessary before any build spending is committed.
No. The workflow map, cost accounting, and roadmap belong to your organization and stand on their own. You can build the next phase with Dept.1, with another firm, or with your own staff. If you build with Dept.1, each phase is scoped and priced separately and approved independently, so nothing commits you to the full roadmap.
A single-track Review is fixed-bid at $12,000 to $15,000, scoped to the size and complexity of the track. You know the full cost before work begins, and a payment plan is available. Multi-track Reviews are scoped separately.
We'll tell you, and your report will recommend a Relationship Architecture Review: a deeper look across your whole organization before we propose anything to build. Your First Stop fee counts toward that too.