Top Challenges 

• Bringing together siloed teams. 

• Saving staff hours of time on manual tasks. 

• Cleaning up years of bad data. 

• Identifying lapsed donors who were slipping through the cracks.

The Virtuous Difference

• Integrating siloed teams through a CRM built for collaboration. 

• Saving 15-20 hours per week using automation workflows in Virtuous.

• Increased data health by cleaning up 20K non-essential contacts.  

• Recovered $15K through reporting. 

Moving From a One-Person CRM to a Team Effort

Prior to switching to Virtuous, United Way of Central Illinois found themselves stuck in a nonprofit CRM built around one super user. This caused bottlenecks in their workflows and placed inequitable amounts of responsibility on one person’s shoulders. When this staff member took a day off or had to pour time into other projects, other staff became limited in their own work. 

This limitation also created silos across teams, as members of other departments could not access the CRM or easily view the data stored there.

When looking for a new CRM, United Way of Central Illinois decided to prioritize collaboration across teams, recognizing its impact on organizational efficiency and communication. With Virtuous, they brought their development, marketing, and finance teams together with shared access to the same data and tools, breaking down the departmental silos that had previously hindered transparency and coordination. 

How Reporting Helped Identify Lapsed Donors and Recover $15k

With their whole team now enjoying access to accurate, real-time data, United Way of Central Illinois was able to generate more precise reports, surfacing gaps in donor activity and uncovering missed revenue opportunities. These insights empowered them to re-engage lapsed supporters and recover funds that would have otherwise fallen through the cracks.

One report that proved especially beneficial was their lapsed pledge payment report, which provided a clear view of which pledges had been fulfilled and which still needed attention. With this data, they reached out personally to those donors who had not fulfilled their pledges, building stronger relationships and uncovering blind spots in their fundraising. 

After using this report for just two months, United Way of Central Illinois caught many small errors that were costing them: missing payroll deductions and even a donor who was giving to the wrong “United Way.” 

Ultimately, they recovered $15,000 that would have otherwise gone unnoticed and written off as uncollectible. With the help of Virtuous reporting, they also cut their outstanding uncollected pledges in half, from $160,000 to under $80,000.

Saving 15-20 Hours a Week With Automation Workflows

United Way of Central Illinois used reporting to save potentially lost funds, but when it came to saving time, they fully embraced automation workflows. 

In Virtuous, automation workflows allow users to create a series of automated steps or actions, reducing the amount of manual tasks necessary to complete a workflow. 

Prior to using this feature, United Way of Central Illinois held regular staff meetings regarding their routine workflows. Once they started with Virtuous, they held one initial meeting to set up the automation workflows and found they no longer had a need for these recurring staff meetings. 

Now, their staff saves 15-20 hours a week using Virtuous. 

One automation workflow in particular that has led to positive donor interactions is their thank-you automation, which goes out to donors as soon as a gift is processed and doesn’t require a person to do all the manual work of moving through each step. 

They receive regular donor responses to these communications, expressing gratitude for the prompt acknowledgment of their gift and for the invitation to join the mission. 

Increasing Data Cleanliness by Removing 20K Non-Essential Contacts

One other challenge United Way of Central Illinois wanted to address was cleaning up years of data. When they moved to Virtuous, they discovered 20,000 contacts who were either duplicates or unnecessary. 

By removing these unengaged contacts, they enabled more accurate reporting and ensured their messages consistently reached the right people.

Now, they use the data health tool in Virtuous to get a quick pulse on data hygiene and take recommended actions for continuous data health. 

Let Your Staff “Do What They Were Hired to Do”

The right nonprofit CRM should make a difference in your team’s everyday routines. 

Whether recovering potentially lost funds using accurate reporting or saving hours each week by minimizing manual tasks, Virtuous CRM+ can free up your staff to do what they were hired to do: build deeper relationships with donors. 

To see our CRM in action, schedule a demo now.