This playbook is a collection of best practices, resources, and general recommendations specifically designed for a typical Database Administrator (DBA) tasked with managing foundational settings and overall CRM features associated with your Virtuous CRM. As a DBA, you will have Admin level access to your entire instance. With such a wide scope of access, it's best to keep the number of Admin users to a minimum. Because Virtuous is a customizable platform, each organization can adapt settings to meet their unique needs, ensuring a tailored and impactful experience. Use this playbook as a roadmap to navigate the platform’s core features that may be relevant to your role.
Table of Contents
- Change Management
- Documenting Organization Processes
- Contact vs Individual
- Campaigns and Projects Overview
- Communications; Email, Direct Mail, and SMS
- Online Giving Solutions
- Gift Entry and Receipting
- Data Customization
- Complimentary Platforms and Integrations
- Permission Groups and Organization Groups
- Accessing and Reviewing Data
- Data Health Center
- Automation for Internal Purposes and External Communications
- Settings Overview
- Resources and Support
Change Management
If your organization is currently transitioning to Virtuous, consider reviewing our Change Management resources to keep your team aligned, as well as our recommended mapping from legacy platforms to Virtuous CRM to prepare for implementation.
Documenting Organization Processes
Every organization uses Virtuous differently according to their unique needs. With this in mind, we recommend documenting your unique processes and uses of Virtuous in detail to ensure continuity of operations.
Contact vs Individual
The selection of people, groups, businesses, and more that you regularly interact with will be stored in a Contact record with one or more Individuals within. This structure of Contact and Individual is central to tracking the different layers of relationships. Simply put, Contacts represent a tax entity and Individuals represent actual people.
Establishing and maintaining a set of rules for your Contact Name Settings will allow for uniformity across Contact records. This will also make merge tags more reliable for other members of your team.
To learn how to set your Contact Name Settings, check out this Support Article.
Campaign and Project Overview
As a high-level summation, Campaigns and Projects function as the tracking structures to track and report on the effectiveness of your fundraising efforts and the resulting fund allocations, respectively.
The Campaign structure serves as a flexible framework to track and report on various aspects of your fundraising efforts. Campaign Communications and Segments provide the tracking mechanisms to report on the effectiveness of each effort that makes up a complete Campaign. The Segmentation feature will provide the data you need for direct mail with granular grouping, which will enable you to create a range of messaging that reflects each group responsively.
The Project structure serves as a framework to track what your incoming funding will be used for. Just as it's important to tailor Campaign messaging to fit the audience, communications referring to a specific Project can be just as value-driven.
Communications: Email, Direct Mail, and SMS
Your organization can send and track a variety of marketing communications directly in the Virtuous app! This means you can deliver branded and personalized content that reflects different aspects of a Donors’ relationship with your organization.
- Email Marketing can be delivered directly in-app to supplement your strategy and deliver tailored messaging.
- Using a Personalized Email Template with our Email Sync feature can give you a starting point for the personalized emails you send directly to your supporters, which can then be tracked in the database.
- Delivering a Direct Mail piece can be an important part of a high impact multi-channel marketing strategy. Maintaining complete and accurate mailing address data is critical to the success of a Direct Mail piece.
- The third general channel of messaging available via the Virtuous platform is SMS messaging, otherwise known as text messaging. For an SMS to be successfully delivered, an Individual must have a Mobile Phone Number on file that has opted-in to receiving text communications.
Online Giving Solutions
Online giving solutions allow your organization to process credit cards, ACH, and other popular payment types, depending on the platform your organization is using (Virtuous Giving or RaiseDonors), and create giving forms and pages. Our giving solutions integrate with Virtuous CRM, so you can track these online donations alongside many other supporter actions.Your solution
For a step-by-step guide on setting upVirtuous Giving, check out this Support Article.
To get started with RaiseDonors, check out this Support Article.
For instructions on how to create a new Giving Form, check out this Support Article.
Gift Entry and Receipting
The Gift and Contact Import Tool serves as the main entry point for all incoming data. As this is the Gift and Contact Import Tool, both types of records may be created through the import process. This is also the place where records will be validated before being committed in the database.
To learn more about the Gift entry process, check out this Support Article.
Receipting is broken up into two general processes: Receipting Groups and Statements. Using the Receipting Group feature allows you to define specific criteria (via a Gift Query) that dictates which un-receipted Gift records qualify for which Gift Receipt Templates. Receipting Groups function on a single Gift basis while Statements give you the ability to summarize a selection of Gifts for one Receipt, commonly on an annual basis.
To learn more about the Receipting process, check out this collection of Support Articles.
Data Customization
Much of the creation and management of custom data falls under the umbrella of a DBA’s responsibilities. There are four main ways you can create Custom Data Types: Tags, Custom Fields, Custom Collections, and Organization Groups. When, why, and how to use each feature can influence the way it should be created and maintained.
Tags
Tags are tracked on the Contact level and should always be used to reference an entire Contact record. Typically use cases for a custom Tag are listed below.
- Contact Categories (e.g., Potential Major Donor, Lapsed Recurring Donor)
- Communication Preferences (e.g., Do Not Call, Do Not Contact)
- Receipting Preferences (e.g., Annual Statement Only, Do Not Receipt)
To learn how to create a new Tag, check out this Support Article.
Custom Fields
Custom Fields provide significantly more flexibility in the customization and use of new fields created. A Custom Field can be created on the list of Objects below.
- Contact
- Contact Individual
- Event
- Event Attendee
- Gift
- Gift Ask
- Grant
- Media Outlet
- Membership
- Planned Gift
- Pledge
- Premium
- Project
- Recurring Gift
- Volunteer Opportunity
To learn how to create a new Custom Field, check out this Support Article.
Custom Collections
A Custom Collection is a collection of several custom fields that allows you to track a series of entries. The most notable difference between a Custom Collection and a Custom Field is the ability to track historical entries; in contrast, a Custom Field can only hold one value at a time and does not maintain a history of the previous entries. A typical use of a Custom Collection is gathering survey submissions over time.
To learn how to create a new Custom Collection, check out this Support Article.
Complementary Platforms and Integrations
For many organizations Virtuous CRM is only one piece of a greater ecosystem of platforms that are used to manage all the various moving parts of their fundraising process. Each integration has its own approach and some integrations may call for a deeper dive into underlying data structures. As an example, when configuring Classy mapping, understanding how the Virtuous Campaign structure will be applied to your fundraising efforts will be crucial.
Be sure to review the integration best practices available in this collection of Support Articles.
Permission Groups and Organization Groups
As an Admin user, you have access to a selection of permissions limited to this user type.
To review the selection of Admin specific permissions, check out this Support Article.
Using Permission Groups and Organization Groups, you can strategically manage complex access needs.
- User Permissions dictate what areas of the platform a User can access and what level of access they have to view or edit different details across the entire platform. Permission Groups are intended to be built around a user type, like “Marketing User”, rather than per individual user. Permission Groups can be modified at any time.
- Organization Groups are used to manage which Contacts a User has access to.
To learn more about the various User Permissions you can modify, check out this Support Article.
To learn how to create an Organization Group, check out this Support Article.
Accessing and Reviewing Data
There is a wide selection of Reports and Widgets readily available that provide a detailed look into many areas of your organization. You can also create Custom Reports that allow for greater flexibility in what data is included and how it is being displayed.
Filters and Queries
You can find the Filter function available on the left-hand side of many pages across the platform. Filters are great for pulling a quick list of one data type for single-use; however, for lists that draw from multiple data types and/or may need to be pulled repeatedly, consider Queries below.
To review the full selection of Query content, check out this selection of Support Articles.
Standard Reports
Standard Reports are available by default and serve an array of purposes.
Custom Reports
Though the selection of Standard Reports available provides a quick manner of reporting, you may find your reporting needs call for a Custom Report. Beyond the flexibility of defining more specific attributes, a Custom Report can also be scheduled to be delivered to Team Members’ email inboxes on a recurring basis.
To learn more about creating a Custom Report, check out this Support Article.
For guidance on running and managing Custom Reports, check out this Support Article.
Virtuous BI
Beyond the native Reporting functionality readily available in-app, Virtuous BI is a business intelligence tool. This premium feature can equip your team with more flexible and deeper insight into your existing data.
To review articles covering the Virtuous BI module, check out this section of the Support Center.
Dashboards and Widgets
The last category of information to reference are Dashboards and Widgets, which appear on your home screen when you log in to the app. There are three different Dashboards pre-set to provide a wide selection of insight without much effort needed.
- CRM Dashboard - This Dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of information from across the CRM. With five categories of prebuilt Widgets including “Donor Insights” and “Pipeline”, there are many plug and play options to tailor a selection of Widgets to fit your reporting needs. This Dashboard also gives you access to turning a Custom Report into a Custom Widget, further expanding the possible value of information available.
- Marketing Dashboard - This Dashboard has a selection of Widgets covering content like Email Marketing, Online Giving, and more. The data presented here is already digested and displayed in easy to digest nuggets of information like “Email Click Comparison”, “Online Giving by Form”, and “New Online Recurring Giving.”
- Responsive Dashboard - This Dashboard displays a selection of fundraising metrics that can be directly impacted by the adoption of specific Responsive Fundraising strategies. A few of the high value Widgets like “Retention”, “Donor Lifetime Value”, and “Lapsed vs New” can be integral in keeping a close eye on key metrics while assessing and developing your fundraising strategies.
Best Calls to Make and Thank You Calls List
The main purpose of these two lists is to be a responsive fundraiser by offering the information you need to reach out to a Contact with confidence, whether that's to make a specific ask or thank them for a generous contribution they've made recently.
To learn more about the Best Calls to Make and Thank You Calls list, check out this Support Article.
Data Health Center
The Data Health Center provides four pages of information to manage and clean up your data. Responsive nonprofits rely on accurate data for segmentation and personalization in communication to donors.
- Merge Contacts - This tab searches through Contact records to find duplicates based on the qualifiers of Address, Phone Number, or Email Address.
- Addresses - This tab will identify incorrect addresses for attention.
- Phone Numbers - This tab flags improperly formatted Phone Numbers and duplicates.
- Email Addresses - This tab flags Email Addresses assumed as Primary for review or Email Addresses flagged as “Undeliverable.”
To learn more about working in the Data Health Center, check out this Support Article.
Automation for Internal Purposes and External Communications
Automation Workflows are a flexible and multipurpose tool that can execute a range of actions. A Workflow, at its most basic, is a script, or recipe, of Steps and Actions for Virtuous to perform automatically. Workflows may be either Contact-based or Individual-based, but never both.
To review the full selection of Automation content, check out this collection of Support Articles.
Settings Overview
As an Admin, you have the ability to establish and manage two sets of Settings.
- Organization Settings is where you'll set organization-wide rules as well as store your basic company information.
- Design Settings will allow you to lock in your Organization’s brand details like logo and colors.
Resources and Support
As you work in Virtuous, you may need additional guidance beyond this playbook. You have a handful of options to access further training and knowledge!
Support Center
The Virtuous Support Center is the central hub for all instructional documentation regarding how the platform functions, when to use each feature available, and a collection of best practices to lean on. When searching for content in the Support Center, it’s best to structure your inquiry as a question. Most articles are titled in question format, such as “How Do I Enter a Gift?”
Virtuous Training Academy
The Virtuous Training Academy is your one-stop shop for instructional videos structured in chronological order.
Chatting with Virtuous Tech Support
After reviewing the content available in the Support Center and Training Academy, you may need additional support on your specific use case. You can reach out to the Virtuous Tech Support team for one on one guidance.
For guidance on submitting a quality Support Ticket, check out this Support Article.
For directions on how to review your open Support Tickets, check out this Support Article.
Professional Services
Need hands-on help cleaning up your data? Virtuous Professional Services offers solutions to optimize your CRM data and improve data hygiene through deduplication, Pledge & Recurring Gift clean up, and data appends. These services are geared to improve your Donor Segmentation, streamline your marketing Campaigns, and ensure accurate reporting. Click here to learn more about our Professional Services offerings, or contact your Customer Success Manager to get started!