Fundraising vs. Investors vs. Deals: What's the difference?

The Fundraising module is exclusive to LP CRM. It is not available in Deal CRM configurations.

A fundraising record represents a single LP opportunity in a specific raise — one investor's journey through your fundraising pipeline for a given fund. It answers the question: where does this LP stand in our current raise?

Here is how the three related record types differ:

<table style="width:100%; border-collapse:collapse; font-family:'Plus Jakarta Sans', sans-serif;"> <thead> <tr style="background:#f0f0f0;"> <th style="text-align:left; padding:10px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">Record Type</th> <th style="text-align:left; padding:10px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">What it represents</th> <th style="text-align:left; padding:10px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">Typical use</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">Fundraising</td> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">An LP opportunity in a specific raise</td> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">Track where an investor stands in your current fund pipeline</td> </tr> <tr style="background:#fafafa;"> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">Investor</td> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">A fund, entity, or institution (LP)</td> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">Track the organization and its long-term relationship</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">Deal</td> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">A company investment opportunity</td> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">Track deal flow — available in Deal CRM, not LP pipeline</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

Navigating the Fundraising module

To access Fundraising, navigate to:

Carta CRM › Fundraising

The module opens to the All stages view — a table of all fundraising records in your workspace. The record count appears next to the label. Use the left sidebar to switch between pipelines, reports, and stage filters. Use the Columns and Filters controls on the right edge to customize your layout and narrow results.

Left sidebar

The left sidebar is organized into three sections:

Pipelines: Named fundraising pipelines your firm has set up — for example, "Fund III" or "Secondaries." Pipelines are configured during implementation, not created by default. Click the coin-stack icon next to the module title to add a new pipeline.
Reports: Saved custom views with applied column sets and filters. Each report shows a record count. Reports are user-created, not default.
By stage: Stage-level filters with record counts. Click a stage to narrow the table to that stage only. Stage names and order are firm-configured.

Two separate + actions

Coin-stack icon (top of module, next to module title): Opens the Add pipeline flow to create a new named pipeline.
+ Add button (top right of main table): Creates a new individual fundraising record.

Other navigation elements

Search bar: Search by keywords across fundraising records. Results update in real time.
Columns (right edge): Show, hide, or reorder fields in the table.
Filters (right edge): Narrow the table by field value — stage, fund, owner, or any custom field your firm has configured.
Three-dot menu (⋮) top right: Access view-level actions including download options.
Save as Report: Saves the current column and filter configuration as a named report in the left sidebar.

Adding a fundraising record

To add a fundraising record:

Go to Fundraising: Select Fundraising from the left navigation.
Click + Add: Select the button in the top right. A modal will open.
Search and select an investor: Type the investor's name to search your existing Investor records. Select the matching investor from the dropdown. If no record exists yet, create the Investor record first, then return to add the fundraising.
Select a stage: Required. This will automatically default to the first stage in your pipeline — update it if you need a different starting stage.
Complete additional fields: Fill in any custom fields your firm has configured — fund, commitment amount, owner, and others depending on your implementation.
Save: Saving is automatic. Click View fundraising to open the full record, or Close to return to the list.

Editing a fundraising record

To edit a fundraising record:

Open the record: Go to Fundraising and click the fundraising row to open the full record.
Click any field to edit: Fields are inline-editable. Click a value to enter edit mode — no separate Edit button required.
Make your changes: Update any field across any section — stage, custom fields, owner, comments, and more.

Changes save automatically as you edit — there is no Save button on the record.

Record structure

The fundraising record is organized into tabs across the top: Fundraising, Notes, Tasks, Attachments, and Activity. The Fundraising tab contains the field sections your firm has configured — common sections include Fundraising Info, Fundraising Commitment, Fundraising Progression, Ownership Detail, and Comments. The Stage field appears in the top right of the record header as a dropdown — you can update it directly from there.

Fundraising fields reference

Carta CRM organizes fundraising data into native fields built into every LP CRM workspace and custom fields configured by your firm during implementation.

Native fields

These two fields are available on every fundraising record without any configuration required.

<table style="width:100%; border-collapse:collapse; font-family:'Plus Jakarta Sans', sans-serif;"> <thead> <tr style="background:#f0f0f0;"> <th style="text-align:left; padding:10px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">Field</th> <th style="text-align:left; padding:10px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">Description</th> <th style="text-align:left; padding:10px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">Notes</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;"><code>name</code></td> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">The fundraising record identifier.</td> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">Required. Often follows a firm-defined naming convention (e.g., FR-0072640).</td> </tr> <tr style="background:#fafafa;"> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;"><code>stageId</code></td> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">The current stage of the fundraising in your pipeline.</td> <td style="padding:9px 12px; border:1px solid #ddd;">Required. Auto-defaults to the first stage. Stage names are firm-configured. The Dead stage cannot be deleted.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

Custom fields

All other fields on a fundraising record are custom — configured by your Implementation Manager during setup. Common examples include fund, fund close, commitment amount, primary contact, owner, sub-doc status, jurisdiction, foreign investor, effective date, high water stage, reason for decline, and comments. What appears on your records depends on how your workspace was set up.

Fundraising Module: How to Track, Manage, and Organize Your LP Pipeline in Carta CRM