With so many Query types to use in Virtuous, it can sometimes be a bit confusing. This article will cover what the Project Donor Query type is and how it behaves differently from a Gift Query or a Contact Query. As a reminder, Projects track the destination of a gift, like a restricted use.
In general, the Project Donor Query will allow you to zero in on a specific Project or selection of Projects. Cumulative statistics available in a Project Donor Query function slightly differently.
Building a Project Donor Query
When building a Project Donor Query there are a few best practices to keep in mind to be sure you are finding the right selection of data you're looking for.
- If you do not specify any Project references in your query, Virtuous will approach this as a search for donors who have ANY Project designations associated with their Gifts.
- Project fields DO NOT carry through "or" statements. If you are building a query with multiple sets of criteria, be sure to specify any Project Names, Codes, or IDs necessary in each phrase.
Fields Available and Definitions
First Gift Amount - The dollar amount of a Contact’s first gift designated toward a specific project, based on their giving history. It may not be the gift with the earliest date overall.
First Gift Date - The gift date of a Contact’s first gift designated toward a specific project, based on their giving history. It may not be the gift with the earliest date overall.
Last Gift Amount - The dollar amount of a Contact’s most recent gift designated toward a specific project, based on their giving history. It may not be the gift with the latest gift date in their history overall.
Last Gift Date - The gift date of a Contact’s most recent gift designated toward a specific project, based on their giving history. This may not be the gift with the latest gift date in their history.
Life to Date Giving to Project - A Contact's total dollar amount given to a specific Project.
Life to Date Gift Count to Project - A Contact’s total number of gifts designated toward a specific project, over their entire giving history with your organization.
Year to Date Giving to Project - A Contacts total dollar amount (or other currency) of all gift splits designated to a specific project in the current calendar year.
Year to Date Gift Count to Project - A Contact’s total number of gifts designated to a specific project in the current calendar year. This total will include any and all gifts, including $0 gifts, non-cash gifts, and reversing transactions.
Rolling Year Giving to Project - A Contact’s total dollar (or other currency) amount of gift splits designated toward a specific project received from a Contact within the last 365 days.
Rolling Year Gift Count to Project - A Contact’s total number of gifts designated toward a specific project received from a Contact within the last 365 days.
Fiscal Year to Date Giving to Project - A Contact’s total dollar (or other currency) amount of all gifts designated toward a specific project in the current fiscal year. The fiscal year start date must be set correctly in your organization settings in order to use this value.
Fiscal Year to Date Gift Count to Project - A Contact’s total number of gifts designated toward a specific project in the current fiscal year. This total will include any and all gifts, including $0 gifts, non-cash gifts, and reversing transactions. The fiscal year start date must be set correctly in your organization settings in order to use this value.
Last Year Giving to Project - A Contact’s total dollar amount of all gift splits designated toward a specific project in the previous calendar* year.
Last Year Gift Count to Project - A Contact's total number of gifts designated toward a specific project in the previous calendar* year. This total will include any and all gifts, including $0 gifts, non-cash gifts, and reversing transactions.
Second Last Year Giving to Project - A Contact's total dollar amount of all gift splits* designated toward a specific project in the calendar* year two years ago. As an example, if it's currently 2024, Second Last Year will be 2022.
Second Last Year Gift Count to Project - A Contact's total number of gifts designated toward a specific project in the calendar* year two years ago. This total will include any and all gifts, including $0 gifts, non-cash gifts, and reversing transactions. As an example, if it's currently 2024, Second Last Year will be 2022.
Third Last Year Giving to Project - A Contact's total dollar amount of all gift splits* designated toward a specific project in the calendar* year three years ago. As an example, if it's currently 2024, Second Last Year will be 2021.
Third Last Year Gift Count to Project - A Contact's total number of gifts designated toward a specific project in the calendar* year three years ago. This total will include any and all gifts, including $0 gifts, non-cash gifts, and reversing transactions. As an example, if it's currently 2024, Second Last Year will be 2021.
Project Donor Query vs Gift Query
While there are many similarities between a Project Query and a Gift Query, let's take a look at an example of when a Project Donor Query would be a better fit. If you want to find a list of all the Contacts who have consistently donated to your "Youth Services" Project over the past 12 months, a Project Donor will allow you to access that list in a more efficient manner than using multiple Gift queries and nesting them into a complex Contact query.
In the example below, a Project Donor query only requires two lines to find a list of Donors who have given at least 3 gifts to the "Healthy Kids USA" Project over the past 12 months from this exact date.
Project Donor Query vs Contact Query
Similarly, a Project Donor query and Contact Query offer specific benefits and differ notably. If you want to find a list of Contacts that have given a cumulative total to a specific Project, then a Project Donor query will be necessary. In a Contact Query, the cumulative statistics available are inclusive of all giving. In a Project Donor Query, you have the additional flexibility to specify the qualifying selection of gifts by adding Project attributes.
In the example below, a Project Donor Query only requires two lines to find a list of Donors who have given a cumulative total to the specific Project of $5000 or more in the current year.
From the results page of a Project Donor query, you can export data into a CSV for use outside of VCRM . Additionally, you can nest a Project Donor Query into a Contact query to be used across your database. To learn more about nesting queries, check out this Support Article.