In Use:
“Giving is deeply personal. Technology should support that and traditional software isn’t designed to do that,” explains Noah Barnett, CMO of Virtuous. Virtuous offers nonprofit organizations the ability to connect with their donors through online fundraising and marketing automation. The CRM’s backend dashboard allows charities to follow their donors giving journey while their analytics component, Signals allows nonprofits to gain much needed insight on who their donors, how they are giving, why they are giving, and how best to engage with them.
The platform can cost as little as $250 a month and is geared towards middle-to-large nonprofits between the $2M- $11M mark although Barnett notes it’s not so much the size of the nonprofit – but what their growth objectives are.
Technology Used:
Like many software companies today, Virtuous is a cloud-based platform. According to Barnett and Director of Customer Experience, Jeffrey Jacobs; being a cloud-based software makes them more accessible for all users. They add that it offers an additional layer of security.
Virtuous is positioned as a “Best in Breed” software which means their platforms and services are considered best-in-class. Nonprofits shouldn’t solely rely on Virtuous for all of their technology needs – a mindset that many softwares share. According to their website, Virtuous points out that charities should never “feel handcuffed to a single system.” While having an “all-in-one” software may seem like a great idea – many times it’s too good to be true – leaving companies feeling gypped when the software they purchase cannot “do it all.” Because of this, Virtuous offer numerous integrations with companies like Mailchimp, Quickbook, Hubspot, and Eventbrite.
Ease of Use:
As the Director of Customer Experience Jacobs understands that that the task of migrating from one CRM to another can be daunting. That’s why they like to give a white glove approach to onboarding. Each new account is assigned to a data migration project manager, a support specialist and access to documentation that will make their migration easier.
Recap:
When it comes down to it Virtuous is a nonprofit CRM platform. Barnett likes to think that charities initially purchase Virtuous for the CRM, but once they see the value within their automation and integration tools they stick around. Virtuous boasts a 10% increase in donations and a 12% increase in donor retention rate for their customers.
Advantages:
- They are more than just a CRM – they have services and platforms that include analytics, automation, and online fundraising tools
- Integrations with numerous software such as Workday, WordPress, and Google
- Ability to customize the donor experience
- User interface is easy to navigate
Disadvantages:
- Customer service is only online
- The reporting features could be expanded upon to make it easier for customers to understand customer engagement
My Opinion
Barnett told me that one of Virtuous’ goals in 2021 is to focus on “listening really well” to their customers. From comments on G2; a peer-to-peer review site, and Softwareadvice.com; it seems like they’ve already accomplished this goal. Customers appreciate Virtuous’ dedication to their customers and the numerous updates and improvements they’ve made throughout the years. For instance, back in May 2019 a review on Softwareadvice.com stated that while Virtuous is “fantastic” he would love to see an integration with Zapier, an automation platform that lets companies connect their apps and automate workflow. Today, the CRM integrates with Zapier.
Back in 2018, I thought that Virtuous was a great place to start for any medium-to-large nonprofit looking to utilize a CRM. Based on the continued positive feedback – I still believe this.
