This playbook is a collection of best practices, resources, and general recommendations specifically designed for a typical Finance Team member. This guide will provide a high-level overview of the key tools available in Virtuous CRM to help you get started. 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
- Campaign and Project Overview
- The Flow of Money Using the Gift and Contact Import Tool
- Understanding the Selection of Gift Elements
- Accounting Platform Integrations
- Accessing and Reviewing Data
- Reconciliation
- Resources and Support
Campaign and Project Overview
As a quick summation, Campaigns and Projects function as the main structures to track and report on the effectiveness of your fundraising efforts and the resulting fund allocations, respectively. Read below to learn more about the use of each.
Virtuous Campaigns serve as the structure to track the various fundraising activities, including emails, events, mailers, and more. The Campaign structure consists of a three layer hierarchy with the most granular level being “Segments,” which are also referred to as “Motivation Codes” or “Solicitation Codes.”
The other side of the donation journey is tracking how incoming donations are being used (or designations). In Virtuous, the Project structure is used to track and define specific initiatives needing funding or broad buckets (like unrestricted funds). If your organization has a generally simple fund structure, you may only need one or two Projects to track incoming donations. If your organization has a complex set of fundraising needs, defining your Project structure may require a strategic approach.
The Flow of Money Using the Gift and Contact Import Tool
How a Gift record is entered and validated may differ depending on the Gift Type and manner of donation. It’s best to thoroughly review and document how your organization processes various types of Gifts typically received. The Gift and Contact Import Tool is the entry point for all Gift records.
- Online Giving (ACH, Credit, Debit, and more) - Incoming online Gifts submitted via an Online Giving Form will populate in the Gift and Contact Import Tool for review and approval.
- Offline Giving (Cash, Checks, In-Kind, Other) - Incoming offline Gifts are typically entered directly into the Gift and Contact Import Tool. This can be completed in-app manually 1-by-1 or by using a CSV import file to push a bulk selection of records when you have exported data from a non-integrated source.
Understanding the Selection of Gift Elements
Creating and managing Gifts and the associated details happens in and out of the Gift and Contact Import Tool. Below is a summary of the various elements that may be connected to a Gift record.
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Grants - The Grant tracking process is broken into two main parts, the “Grant” and the “Grant Payment.” Users can track the grant management process (Grants) and the Grant Payment (Gifts).
- The Grant will need to be created in the Grants module, outside of the Gift and Contact Import Tool.
- A Gift can be linked to a Grant after it has been imported.
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Pledges - A Pledge represents a commitment from a donor to give a specific sum of money over a set period of time. Like Grants, users can track the commitments themselves as Pledges and payments as Gifts.
- A new Pledge can be created in the Gift and Contact Import Tool.
- A Pledge Payment can be linked to a Pledge in the Gift and Contact Import Tool.
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Recurring Gifts - A Recurring Gift represents a donor's commitment to providing regular, ongoing support for your organization. Like Grants and Pledges, users can track the schedules as Recurring Gifts and payments as Gifts.
- A new Recurring Gift can be created in the Gift and Contact Import Tool.
- A Recurring Gift Payment can be linked to a Recurring Gift in the Gift and Contact Import Tool.
- To learn more about working with Recurring Gifts, check out this
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Planned Gifts - Sometimes called estate gifts, Planned Gifts represent a donor’s intent to provide for your organization as part of their estate planning. Like Grants, Pledges, and Recurring Gifts, users can track these commitments as Planned Gifts and payments as Gifts.
- The Planned Gift will need to be created from a Contact record, outside of the Gift and Contact Import Tool.
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Tributes - An option on a Gift record for a Donor to give in honor or in memory of someone or something.
- A new Tribute can be created in the Gift and Contact Import Tool.
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Premiums - A Premium is used to track any goods or service a Donor may receive in return for donating. Applying a Premium to a Gift typically impacts the tax-deductible amount of the Gift.
- A Premium will need to be created outside of the Gift and Contact Import Tool before applying to a Gift.
- Tax-Deductible/Non-Deductible - As a nonprofit organization, the majority of your incoming donations will be fully tax-deductible. Virtuous allows for tracking of Non-deductible funds alongside tax-deductible funds.
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Receipting - 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.
- A new Receipt Template will need to be created in the Receipting tool.
Accounting Platform Integrations
Virtuous CRM is a CRM platform that also stores giving data to help reconcile funds, while your Accounting platform will keep track of financial specifics like credit and debit footprints. Virtuous integrates with several popular accounting software platforms, but is not designed to replace them with accounting-specific functionality.
Best practice mapping is included in the respective Support Article content for each integration. You may find the final mapping needed for your organization deviates from the default mapping. Should this be the case, you always have the option of reaching out to the Virtuous team for tailored guidance.
Accessing and Reviewing Data
You may need to regularly access and review different selections of data. One or more of the following tools may fit best depending on your specific needs.
Filters
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.
Queries
As mentioned above, Queries can draw from multiple data types and be saved to be run again and again. Below is a quick summary of Query Types and the types of lists they’re best suited for.
- Gift Query - This Query type represents cash in hand through the Gift records created.
- Gift Split Query - This Query type represents cash in hand through the official Project Gift designations recorded. This is particularly handy for finding Project totals.
- Grant Query - This Query type represents Grant data such as upcoming Grant Payments as well as Grant statuses and other details.
- Pledge Query - This Query type represents Pledge data such as upcoming Pledge Payments as well as Pledge statuses and other details.
- Recurring Gift Query - This Query type represents Recurring Gift data such as upcoming Recurring Gift Payments as well as Recurring Gift statuses and other details.
- Planned Gift Query - This Query type represents Planned Gift data.
To review the full selection of Query content, check out this selection of Support Articles.
Reports
Standard Reports are available and serve an array of purposes. A few Standard Reports that typically apply to a Finance role are outlined below.
- Campaign Giving Report - This Report provides detailed data on funds raised for a specific Campaign or for all Campaigns within a specified period of time.
- Project Summary Report - This Report provides a quick, high-level financial view of a single Project or Group of Projects.
- Pledge Payment Report - This Report will give you a view of Pledge payments due in the upcoming month. This Report also includes options to refine your Report to specific Projects.
To review the full selection of Standard Reports, check out this collection of Support Articles.
Dashboards and Widgets
The last selection of information can be found via Dashboards and Widgets. Below are two specific Widgets that may provide valuable financial information at a glance.
- Recurring Gift Fulfillment - This Widget allows you to compare the difference between the amount of Recurring Giving income expected versus what has actually been received.
- Yearly Giving - This Widget will display monthly fundraising totals for the last two years.
Reconciliation
One of the most integral parts of managing the flow of money is the Reconciliation process to ensure that all platform fees and deposited funds balance appropriately.
- Bundles - Daily bundles of incoming online Gift records will be automatically pushed to the Gift and Contact Import Tool for review and approval.
- Online Giving Dashboard - This Dashboard provides a comprehensive view of all Online Giving transactions, including new Gifts, Recurring Payments, and more.
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Offline Gifts - Offline Gifts, once imported, can be pulled from a Gift Filter or Gift Query. You may consider a Batch Code for Gifts being entered in the same deposit.
- Batches - A Batch is a user-generated field that can help you organize groups of Gifts. For example: You can use the same Batch Code on a group of cash and check Gifts that were deposited into your bank account at the same time.
- Payouts/Settlements - The incoming funds deposited into your bank account are referred to as Payouts or Settlements.
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.
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