Virtuous Software - Phoenix, Arizona

Jonathan Romig

As a Development Manager, I use Virtuous daily. It shows real-time giving along with the big picture of how the year is progressing. It has all the basics (queries, reports, flexible forms, donor portals, receipting, campaigns, all sorts of data, etc.) but at its core, is built around stewarding each relationship with care, whether you give $5 a month of $50,000 a year. I've just started reading their founder's book, the Responsive Fundraiser, and am enjoying learning some of the the philosophy behind the software. It's very intentional, very thoughtful.

So I love the software, which brings an element of tech-nerdiness to fundraising, which I love. But I also appreciate the people at Virtuous. For being such a cloud-based organization, they are very relational, very human. Our account manager, Dana, is a great example of this. She takes the time to listen, to learn our needs, and to be super "responsive!" Thank you Dana for embodying the mission and purpose of Virtuous with how you go about your work. 5 stars all around!

P.S. And we recently got to meet Dana in person! See photo.

Recently finished: "Responsive Fundraising: The Donor-Centric Framework Helping Today's Leading Nonprofits Grow Giving by Gabe Cooper and McKenna Bailey." Found it very helpful as it explains the philosophy behind Virtuous CRM. I turned the chapter on "10 Principles of a Responsive Nonprofit" into a poster on my development office wall.

1. Relationships Matter
2. Test and Learn
3. Earn Trust
4. Social Generosity
5. Break Down Silos
6. Adapt Continuously
7. Say "thanks" 3x
8. The Why
9. Generosity is a gift
10. Amount does not equal passion

See second photo.

Isaac James

If you are interested in communicating effectively to your donors, DO NOT USE this program. Would give zero stars if possible. It is riddled with bugs, can't perform basic functionality that CRMs from the early 2000s could, and, as we just discovered, can't even fulfill year-end giving statement needs—mandated by law for all non-profits. Our team that vetted and implemented Virtuous to replace our old CRM has been fired, and we are currently being forced to use our old, outdated CRM in addition to tens of thousands of dollars of workarounds just to keep our donor marketing programs afloat.

R S

I have been engaged with Virtuous for a year and a half. We are now at the post-live stage of our conversion. Like many of their competitors (including the platform we left after three decades - Raiser's Edge) they have a slick sales approach and impressive process for closing the deal. They will tell you they have converted so many Raiser's Edge databases as a means to give you confidence in their abilities but once into the process they constantly refer to the complexity of the RE database and the many challenges it presents for actually converting your historic data into a usable form in Virtuous. Sadly, their product is just mediocre. There are so many shortcomings which seem to be present because they have leaned so far into their own philosophy of responsive fundraising they have overlooked the fact that many tried-and-true methods and maxims that are not dependent upon the digital realm do still create success and require attention, not to mention the fact that millions and millions of individual gifts arrive each year through more traditional means. Virtuous does not efficiently accommodate these gifts. They also lean heavily on the use of custom fields which are handy but should not have to be used to allow one to enter a check date - which is not a standard field in Virtuous gift processing. Similarly, the concept of a prospect manager or solicitor is also not accommodated within the program. These are just two examples of the inefficiencies you will face with this product. Take great care and be very thorough when considering the conversion of your gift data, especially if you come from a system with a very specific gift coding structure. This is especially true if you worked with integrated database and financial systems. They will promote the robust import and export capabilities. They are very limited. There really is no actual export function for delivery of ready-to-post or import-ready gift data to an external financial system. You can get basic gift data but, of course, that is not the same. Their support system is weak and like most of the industry they will bury you in articles. Support is managed by ongoing email exchanges and there is no central location to track this or system status. Maybe they will grow into their own self-promotion soon.

Also their current rating includes three top ratings from employees.

Kay Schwob

Great to meet some of the staff of Virtuous, our new CRM provider.

Jenna Van Rooy

Wyly Wade

Nicol Emerick