In Use:

Virtuous Giving offers nonprofits a way to personalize communications with their donors in order to increase giving. The software does this by tailoring automated messages and using data analytics that allow the nonprofit organization to know their donors on a personal level. Gabe Cooper, Virtuous CEO stated, “For us we want to use this new giving platform to give each donor a personal experience.” Cooper added that Virtuous wanted to, “Treat donors like people.” Each automated message aims to connect with each benefactor to not only thank them for their donation but keep them up to date on the charity itself. With Virtuous Giving, a nonprofit can send out “Thank you” emails; follow-up emails, and even phone calls to thank a donor. Because the online platform integrates seamlessly with Virtuous CRM, an organization can manage their contacts efficiently.

Another way that Virtuous Giving sets themselves apart from potential competitors is their “Smart Ask” tool. Along with the analytics and the CRM dashboard, the “Smart Ask” tool automatically shows donors suggested gift asks based on previous donations.  

Virtuous software starts at $199 per month with Virtuous Giving costing nonprofit organizations an additional $99 per month. While this may be too expensive for small nonprofits Cooper mentioned that it’s the medium to large nonprofits that can benefit the most out of the platform. Nonprofits with less than 100 donors can use Excel to keep track of donations.

Technology Used:

With any online giving platform the risk of identity theft is prevalent. Virtuous uses a secure and fully PCI compliant tool to process credit cards to keep all donor credit card information safe. Virtuous works with partners globally and donors have the ability to donate in multiple currencies.

It’s also important to note that Virtuous integrates with numerous apps from giving platforms to account platforms. A few of the notable integration applications are Hubspot, RedArc, and Hatch. It’s always recommended that a nonprofit inquires about possible integrations before purchasing Virtuous to ensure a smooth transition.  

Ease of Use:

It was important to Cooper and Virtuous that their software was easy to use.  Cooper stated, “We try to make our software easy enough to where it’s like any other consumer product that you can buy, jump in, and figure it out on your own.” As a customer, each nonprofit is matched with a Customer Success Coach. Through hands on coaching and quarterly calls nonprofits always have a person to turn to incase they have questions.

Recap:

While Virtuous’ CRM and marketing automation tool have been around for four years, their online donation platform, Virtuous Giving is only a few months old. In combination with an easy to use dashboard, Customer Success Coaches, and the ability to customize and personalize messaging; Virtuous Giving is already making a name for itself in the nonprofit community.

Advantages:

• Ability to customize and personalize messaging to garner a connection with donors
• In depth analytics such as predicted analytics and social analytics help tailor messaging to donors
• “Smart Ask” tool suggest a specific donation to benefactors based on pass giving
• Customer Success Coaches meeting quarterly with users to make sure their goals are being met

Disadvantages:

• Virtuous Giving is not a stand-alone application
• The online donation platform costs an extra $99 per month on top of $199/month

My Opinion:

There was no doubt in my mind that CEO Gabe Cooper was passionate about Virtuous’ new donation platform-Virtuous Giving. He seemed excited to have nonprofits use it and was happy with the feedback from those organizations who are already using the platform. Because Virtuous Giving is new it was hard to find reviews on the application itself. When reading G2 and Capterra reviews regarding Virtuous, it was hard to find a bad review.

Based on the amount of positive reviews, if a medium to large nonprofit is interested in a new CRM that offers in depth analytics and the ability to personalize messages; Virtuous software is a wise place to start.