How Northern Nevada HOPES Raised $36M in 2 Years

“I’ve been in a lot of different platforms over the years. I’ve been in fundraising for 20 years, managing databases, and I find that Virtuous really is the easiest [platform]…I love that they’re always on the front end of integrating new technologies into their system.”
— Sarah Peters, Director of Philanthropy Operations, Northern Nevada HOPES

Top Challenges Before Virtuous

Antiquated, access-based system
Relying on Excel spreadsheets for data management
No ability to do wealth screening
Could not keep track of data needed for a capital campaign
Siloed team with no shared platform

What They Accomplished (With Help From Virtuous)

Raised $36 million in two years through a capital campaign
Built a brand new 43,000 sq. ft. clinic in an area of their community considered a healthcare desert
Expanded services into addiction medicine and behavioral health programs
Created intentional, deeper relationships with major gift donors
Unified the team on one shared platform, eliminating silos
Moving into Virtuous Analytics for customized reporting

“[When] we onboarded with Virtuous, [we were] moving into a capital campaign, and we [used Virtuous CRM+] to do gift ask pipeline work and moves management. And as a result of all of that, our team was able to raise over $36 million in two years.”
— Sarah Peters, Director of Philanthropy Operations, Northern Nevada HOPES

Raising $36 Million With Virtuous

Northern Nevada HOPES was preparing to launch a capital campaign to build a brand new 43,000 sq. ft. in an area of their community considered a healthcare desert, which is located adjacent to the largest emergency shelter in the country

The team needed a platform that could support wealth screening, moves management, and data tracking at the level a capital campaign demands. Their previous system, an access-based database supplemented by Excel spreadsheets, was not equipped for the job.

With Virtuous CRM+, the team leaned heavily on the gift ask pipeline and moves management features to prospect donors, track engagement, and close major gifts. The result: $36 million raised in just two years.

Deeper, More Intentional Donor Relationships

Sarah’s team has used Virtuous to build more intentional donor relationships by:

Focusing on major gift donors with personalized engagement
Moving from broad organizational updates to deliberately educating donors on specific programs and services they care about

“Virtuous’s impact on our donors and supporters has allowed us to deepen relationships while being intentional in educating them on the work that we’re doing and the programs that we offer to our community.”
— Sarah Peters, Director of Philanthropy Operations, Northern Nevada HOPES

Breaking Down Silos With a Shared Platform

Before Virtuous, the team at Northern Nevada HOPES was siloed.

Now, the entire team operates on one platform where everyone can see each other’s work. Having a responsive nonprofit CRM as the single source of truth has been transformative.

“[Virtuous] allows all of us to be in one platform and we can each see all the work that we’re doing. Especially when we’re talking about major gifts and moves management, that has been a game changer for us.”
— Sarah Peters, Director of Philanthropy Operations, Northern Nevada HOPES

The gift entry team and major gift officers can now see gifts coming in and easily sync that information, eliminating the back-and-forth searching that used to slow the team down.

Reports That Reach Beyond the Fundraising Team

Sarah’s team relies on Virtuous gift reports to give leadership real-time visibility into incoming gifts:

Reports are shared internally and with their CEO
Tracking the right fundraising KPIs has aligned the entire organization around fundraising performance

They’re now moving into Virtuous Analytics to:

Build customized reports that are easier for non-fundraising team members to digest
Pair reports with CRM analytics so every stakeholder gets the data they need

Ready to see what Virtuous CRM+ can do for your organization? Schedule a CRM+ demo.

Want deeper insights across your team? Get a tour of Virtuous Analytics.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Northern Nevada HOPES choose Virtuous?

“We were in a really antiquated system, like access-based, kind of making Excel spreadsheets. And we were getting ready to move into a capital campaign, and we did not have the ability to really do some of that wealth screening work and keep track of the data in the system. So that was one of the moving points as to why we chose Virtuous.”

— Sarah Peters, Director of Philanthropy Operations, Northern Nevada HOPESs

How has Virtuous impacted donor relationships?

“Virtuous’s impact on our donors and supporters has allowed us to deepen relationships while being intentional in educating them on the work that we’re doing and the programs that we offer to our community.”