Virtuous CRM’s approach to Responsive Fundraising through managing data and in-app marketing all in one means it has tools to support everyone’s work at your organization, regardless of their role. Creating habits or daily activities in Virtuous will help streamline the work of the whole team, improve communication, and enhance relationships with supporters. This resource of daily best practice habits compiles tools and processes within Virtuous to incorporate into your routine. These recommended activities will provide your team with tips and resources to manage tasks like donor engagement, fundraising and financial reporting, data entry, and marketing analysis.
As the daily activities in Virtuous required for your role may differ from other staff, we’ve created guidance based on the type of work you do. From the list below, select the role most related to your specific job to jump to the corresponding guidance for daily activities in Virtuous.
Database Administrator
As a Database Administrator, you probably wear quite a lot of hats! Between data entry, reporting and analysis, and database hygiene, you need to be able to complete a variety of tasks efficiently! Here are some recommended best practice daily activities in Virtuous CRM for managing gifts, data hygiene, and reporting and analysis.
Gift Management
Depending on your organization, part of your role as the database administrator may include Gift processing in Virtuous. As new Gifts affect reporting and data hygiene, we recommend starting here in your daily activities in Virtuous:
- Review Processed Batches for Online Gifts in the Import Tool: If you are using an integrated giving platform, like Virtuous Giving or RaiseDonors for example, your online Gifts will be processed and bundled in the Import Tool nightly. We recommend reviewing any processed Imports, ensuring all Gift and Contact data is correct, and importing the batches daily. Learn more about the Gift and Contact Import Tool here.
- Manually Create Import for Offline Gifts: If you have check, cash, or other offline gifts, we recommend that you create an Import and manually enter these gifts daily through the Import Tool, as well. Learn more about entering a Gift here.
- Run Receipting: Sending out Receipts promptly after a Gift is made is important in building trust with your donor. After Importing Gifts, sending out Receipts should be part of your daily routine in Virtuous. Learn more about Receipting Gifts here.
Data Hygiene
Ensuring your database is clean and up-to-date will improve relationships with donors through better segmentation and help the rest of your team be successful. Ensuring your database is clean includes:
- Review the Data Health Tool: Running the Data Health Tool regularly will allow you to find and merge duplicate Contacts and identify bad mailing addresses, incomplete phone numbers, and undeliverable email addresses. Learn more about the Data Health Tool here.
- Review Organization SOPs: Maintaining up-to-date internal processes to ensure custom data (Tags, Custom Field, Note Types, Task Types, etc) are organized and being utilized appropriately will also improve accuracy of donor information and consistency in the CRM. Learn more about documenting internal SOPs here.
Reporting and Analysis
Having a clear understanding of financial health and donor health is important to successful DBAs. Reviewing some of the Virtuous Dashboard Widgets, Best Practice Queries, and Standard reports below will give you a solid picture of trends for your fundraising success.
1. CRM and Responsive Dashboard Widgets: Dashboard Widgets will get you quick stats and overviews of your fundraising success without having run more detailed Reports. Some Dashboard Widget we recommend Database Admin add to their Dashboards include:
- Giving Overview
- Recent Gifts
- Yearly Giving
- Donor Retention
- Recently Lapsed and Acquired
Learn more about all of the Dashboard Widgets here.
Additionally, DBAs may choose to review the Responsive Dashboard as part of their daily process. Each widget on the Responsive Dashboard gives you a glimpse into how responsive your organization is - whether through giving trends, donor retention, or even digital engagement. Learn more about the Responsive Dashboard here.
2. Best Practice Queries: Virtuous has a variety of already built queries that pull lists of Contacts to help your organization understand a few different donor segments. For organizations or users new to Virtuous, we recommend starting with the Best Practice Queries found in the Query tool. Learn more about the Query tool here.
A few Best Practice Queries that a Database Admin may want to review include:
- Lapsed Donor: Contacts who currently have the Lapsed Donor system Tag, meaning they have not made a financial gift to your organization in at least 12 months OR they have an active pledge or recurring gift with at least one past due payment. Learn more about the Lapsed Donor Tag here.
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First-time Donor: Contacts who have recently made their first financial gift to your organization.
Last Year But Unfortunately Not This Year: Contacts who made at least one financial gift in the previous calendar year and have not yet made a financial gift in the current calendar year.
These Queries are a good starting place but may need to be further modified to meet the needs of your organization. We recommend making a copy of any of the Best Practice Queries before you modify them.
3. Standard Reports
Similar to the pre-created Best Practice Queries, Virtuous has a variety of readily available Reports to view and download data on Giving, Donor Health, Projects, Campaigns, and more! Some Standard Reports we recommend Database Admin run include:
- Activity Report: Keep an eye on the touch points and engagement with donors from your team. Learn more about the Activity Report here.
- Major Donor: A quick list of all Contacts that match your set Giving criteria. Learn more about the Major Donor Report here.
- Rolling 12 Month Report: Compare giving in the last year by the previous year. Learn more about the Rolling 12 Month Report here.
4. Custom Queries and Reports
You may find that the Best Practice Queries and Standard Reports are a good starting point but require modification. Building Custom Queries and Reports opens opportunities for variety of other Contact- or Gift-related data or a variety of other data points to be reported on and run automatically.
- Donors This Year Query: One custom Query a DBA may need to run includes a list of active donors, who've given in the past 12 months. Running a Contact Query with Last Gift Date Overall given On or After One Year Ago will provide a list of all active donors.
- Gifts by Year Report: Similarly, DBAs may want to look at giving statistics through a Custom Gift Report over the past few years. Running a Custom Gift Report that groups by Gift Year and aggregates the data by Count will give a visual on the trend of giving.
Fundraiser
As a fundraiser, managing relationships with your donors is your top priority. Ensuring you have a solid foundation in those relationships often begins with understanding your donor’s engagement with the organization. So, between prioritizing your outreach, logging your touchpoints, and researching your supporters, here are some best practice activities in Virtuous all focused on more efficiently building personal relationships.
Relationship Management
Staying on top of your touch points with your engaged supporters is best managed by Tasks in Virtuous. We recommend starting each day by reviewing your Task assignments:
1. Review Tasks and Create Notes
- Prioritize and Complete Tasks on the Task Board. Learn more about managing Tasks here.
- Use Personalized Email Templates. How Do I Send an Email Using a Personalized Email Template?
- Create Notes from Completed Tasks. Learn more about completing Tasks here.
2. Review Best Calls to Make and Thank You Calls List on Dashboard
- Create new Tasks for outreach. Learn more about Best Calls to Make list here.
Pipeline Management
If you manage a portfolio of major donors, we recommend that you track solicitations through the Gift Ask Pipeline. Once the Pipeline is customized with statuses that correspond to progress your organization determines and the Gift Asks are created for the associated donors, we recommend your daily process with the tool includes:
1. Review Portfolio View: Reviewing your Portfolio will give you statistics on recent Giving from your assigned portfolio, upcoming Gift Asks, and a quick list of all the Contacts assigned to you. This will help keep track of which donors you need to thank or which donors need to be considered for a new Gift Ask. Learn more about your Portfolio here.
2. Review Gift Ask Pipeline: Keeping track of the progress of Gift Asks will involve:
- Moving Asks to updated Statuses
- Creating Tasks to manage open Gift Asks in each status
- Reviewing any Goals set for you specifically or for the overall team
Learn more about the Gift Ask Pipeline here.
Reporting and Analysis
Knowing your donors giving history and trends will help you make the right asks. Reviewing some of the Filters, Standard Reports and Dashboard widgets will give you a better understanding of the financial contribution of some of your more engaged donors!
1. Contact Filter and Map
Virtually every page in Virtuous has a Filter for you to pull a quick list. For example, on the All Contacts page, you'll find a filter on the left-hand side of the screen to search for parameters beyond what is searchable from the Search Bar at the top of the screen. Use the Actions button in the top right to download this Filtered list. Learn more about Filters here.
On the same page, you'll find a Map tab at the top to use additional Filters, search for a specific address, and pull a list of Contacts within the Map range. Learn more about the Map Filter here.
2. Dashboard Widgets
Dashboard Widgets will get you quick stats of Giving and Pipeline success in a glance. Some Dashboard Widget we recommend Fundraisers add to their Dashboards include:
- Recent Gifts
- Gift Ask Pipeline Forecast
- Gift Ask Pipeline Overview
3. Standard Reports
Virtuous has a variety of already created reports to help you identify new prospects, determine outreach, and understand Giving trends for your donors. Some Standard Reports we recommend for fundraisers include:
- Lapsed Donors: This is a quick list to show you who has lapsed in the past 6 months. Learn more about the Lapsed Donor Report here.
- Major Donors: A quick list of all Contacts that match your set Giving criteria. Learn more about the Major Donor Report here.
- New Donors: A quick list of all First Time donors within a specific time period. Learn more about the New Donors Report here.
- Organization Group: A high level summary or additionally a detailed list of Gifts, Notes, and Contacts (depending on your input) for Organization Groups. Learn more about the Organization Group Report here.
Finance User
For accountants, bookkeepers, and other finance-focused users, managing the financial health of your organization is the top priority. Between monitoring the budget, preparing financial reports, and tracking fundraising success, Virtuous has a few recommendations for daily activities:
Gift Management
Depending on your organization, part of your role as the finance user may include Gift processing in Virtuous. As new Gifts affect reporting and overall data hygiene, we recommend starting here in your daily activities in Virtuous:
1. Review Processed Batches for Online Gifts in the Import Tool: If you are using an integrated giving platform, like Virtuous Giving or RaiseDonors for example, your online Gifts will be processed and bundled in the Import Tool nightly. We recommend reviewing any processed Imports, ensuring all Gift and Contact data is correct, and importing the batches daily. Learn more about the Gift and Contact Import Tool here.
2. Manually Create Import for Offline Gifts: If you have check, cash, or other offline gifts, we recommend that you create an Import and manually enter these gifts daily through the Import Tool, as well. Learn more about entering a Gift here.
3. Run Receipting: Sending out Receipts promptly after a Gift is made is important in building trust with your donor. After Importing Gifts, sending out Receipts should be part of your daily routine in Virtuous. Learn more about Receipting Gifts here.
Reporting and Analysis
As monitoring the financial health of your organization is the most important task for finance users, we recommend reviewing the following Standard Reports, suggested Custom Reports and Queries, and Dashboard Widgets:
1. Reconciliation Reporting
For organizations using Virtuous Giving or RaiseDonors, reconciling bank deposits with online gifts is likely an important part of the Finance users's job. The Online Giving Dashboard provides a few different reports to pull Payout information. Learn more about Reconciliation here.
2. Dashboard Widgets
Dashboard Widgets can provide an immediate view of Giving and fundraising success in a glance. Some Dashboard Widget we recommend financial users add to their Dashboards include:
- Giving Overview
- Recurring Gift Fulfillment
- Yearly Giving
Additionally, Fundraisers users may choose to review the Responsive Dashboard as part of their daily process. Each widget on the Responsive Dashboard gives you a glimpse into how responsive your organization is - whether through giving trends, donor retention, or even digital engagement. Learn more about the Responsive Dashboard here.
3. Standard Reports
Virtuous has a variety of already created reports to help you identify Giving trends based on Project totals, Campaign success, and Recurring Gift payments.
- Project Summary: A high-level financial report of a single Project or group of Projects. Learn more about the Project Summary Report here.
- Campaign Giving: A detailed view on funds raised from a specific Campaign or all Campaigns within a set time period. Learn more about the Campaign Giving Report here.
- Campaign Summary: A high-level summary of funds raised by Campaign Communications for a specific Campaign or all Campaigns within a set time period. Learn more about the Campaign Summary Report here.
- Recurring Gift Aging Report: A detailed report of donors with past due Recurring Gift payments. Learn more about the Recurring Gift Aging Report here.
4. Custom Reports
There may be more types of reports you need to see beyond the Standard Reports. Or even have Reports scheduled to run and send. Building Custom Reports opens opportunities for variety of other Gift-related data to be reported on and run automatically, including Grants, Gift Asks, Pledges, and Recurring Gift schedules. Two Custom Reports we recommend creating and scheduling include:
- Gifts Past 7 Days: Frequently finance users want to see detailed reports of recent Gifts. By running a Gift Custom Report that looks for Gifts Created On or After 7 Days Ago, you’re able to get a detailed list of recent Gifts with a visual if you choose.
- Monthly Gift Splits by Project: Another common Report finance users need to see is Gift Splits by Projects within a set time frame. Running a Custom Gift Split Report that Groups by Project Name and filters for a set time frame, say On or After 30 Days Ago will again give you a detail list of Project totals by month alongside detailed Gift Split information
Learn more about building Custom Reports here.
5. Queries
In addition to Custom Reports, you may choose to create custom Queries to build lists of the financial data you need to see.
- Daily Finance Run (Gifts Created Today): Finance users may need to see a daily list of the Gift created in Virtuous. While this can also be done with a Custom Report (like the Gifts Past 7 Days example above), pulling this data from a Query may be your preferred method. To do so, create a Gift Query with parameters that include Create Date After Yesterday.
Pro tip: Heart this Query so it will be accessible easily from your Favorite Queries on your Dashboard. Learn more about adding favorite queries to your dashboard here.
Learn more about building queries here.
Marketing User
For marketers, the key priority of your role is raising awareness and engaging supporters of your organization. Ensuring your outreach is successful and evaluating engagement afterwards will help
Task Management
Marketers may use the Tasks tool to stay on top of Campaigns and Email assignments. Within each Campaign Communication, you'll find a tab to create Campaign Tasks specific to your outreach. Additionally, Virtuous has pre-set Best Practice Tasks you can select when creating your Communication. Learn more about Best Practice To-Dos here.
Reporting and Analysis
1. CRM Dashboard Widgets
Dashboard Widgets can provide an immediate view of Email and SMS success in a glance. Some Dashboard Widget we recommend marketing users add to their Dashboards include:
- Email Send Comparison
- Email Overview
- SMS Overview
In addition to the CRM Dashboard, Virtuous has an entire Marketing Dashboard that you may choose to use instead. Learn more about the Marketing Dashboard Widgets here.
2. Standard Reports
- Rolling Twelve Month Email Activity Report: An overview of open rate vs click rate for email activity broken up by month. Learn more about the Rolling 12 Month Email Activity Report here.
3. Email Activity
Each email sent via Virtuous Marketing will have a set of data and analytics available to review. To access this selection of information navigate to Marketing > Email. From here, you will see some high-level statistics including Opens and Clicks.
But for more detailed information on specific emails, select the Actions drop-down menu and then select "Versions". Then select Actions once more and "Activity". Here you’ll find Unsubscribe rates as well as a detailed list of each Recipient, their Delivery Status, and whether they opened or clicked. Use the filter to the left to narrow this list.
Learn more about viewing Email Activity here.
4. A/B Test Results
In addition to general Email Activity Reports, if you are doing any A/B Testing in your Marketing Emails, you'll want to evaluate the results of the variables you're testing. This will help send more effective Emails in the future. To review A/B Test results, select the A/B Test Results tab in the Email Marketing tool.
Select the name of the Split Test to view more stats about the winning email.
Learn more about A/B Testing here.
5. Queries
Another option for reviewing Email Activity is through the Sent Email Query type. This Query type allows you to search for even more attributes on activity with Emails your organization has sent through Virtuous. For example, if you want to identify all Recipients who were sent “Welcome Email 1” and clicked on the URL with your blog, this Query can pull that list for an export.
Learn more about the Sent Email Query here.
5. SMS Activity
After sending SMS messages en masse or through Automation Workflows, it’s important to keep tabs on what SMS messages have been sent and to whom. Reviewing Sent SMS data can help you understand which recipients are receiving and engaging with your SMS Marketing.
Learn more about Sent SMS Message Data here.
6. Automation Engagement
Once you’ve built and started an Automated Workflow, you will want to keep an eye on it to ensure it continues to run smoothly and to see how the recipients of your actions are engaging with your marketing. Within every Workflow, there is an Engagement section where you can find some quick statistics about Email Activity, sent SMS, and Letters on Demand deliveries. Reviewing this information may also help you evaluate the quantity of outreach and the effectiveness of certain messaging.
To view Automation Engagement, select to View a specific Workflow. Then, at the top, select the Engagement Tab.
Use the drop down at the top to move between the Workflow Steps or select different Time Ranges. Scroll down to see how specific marketing is being received and how recipients are engaging.
7. Lead Form Responses
One way Responsive organizations survey their supporters and track interests is through Lead Forms. Collecting and reviewing Lead Form responses may be part of the Marketing User's role. This information may help understand Donor's communication preferences, potentially Marketing strategies, or other unique information to understand Donor engagement better.
If your organization is using Lead Forms, you're able to review submissions through the Individual Form Submission Query. This Query allows you to filter for specific forms, dates, or contacts to view the information the Individual submitted.