Our History
Virtuous is the result of a fascination with generosity and a determination to solve very specific problems that nonprofits face.
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Gabe Cooper knew that generosity was powerful. He had worked at a nonprofit earlier in his career, and seen the transformative power of generosity in the hearts of givers. By the time he founded his software and development company, Brushfire Interactive, he’d already been thinking about the potential of generosity to change the world for quite awhile.
The team at Brushfire served both for-profit and nonprofit clients, but they soon discovered a significant difference between them, and a real problem.
Brushfire’s for-profit clients had modern technology. They were able to adapt to changes in the tech landscape to quickly take advantage of advances in personalization and responsiveness. They could build relationships, offer meaningful individual experiences, and delight their customers. Meanwhile, nonprofits were using clunky legacy solutions that made it difficult to even pull reports or get insight into basic data. The organizations who were doing the most good in the world were the least able to connect with constituents and build authentic relationships.
“We could see the rest of the world moving on. Nonprofits were already lagging, but when we looked at the trends in personalization, it became clear that if something didn’t change, they were going to be further and further behind,” says Gabe.
They decided to create a new CRM for nonprofits. Unlike the systems that came before it, this new platform would be designed specifically to prioritize the personalization and responsiveness modern donors expected. It would give nonprofits an innovative system that helped them prioritize relationships and spend more time on what mattered.
While they were building Virtuous, the team was also clarifying the philosophy behind it: responsive fundraising. Responsive fundraising puts the donor at the center of fundraising and grows giving through personalized donor journeys that respond to the needs of each individual. The responsive approach builds trust and loyalty through personalized engagement.
Responsive fundraising is an answer to the generosity crisis of the last decades. It helps nonprofits engage with low and mid-level donors in a way that was only available to major donors before. “It’s what a lot of fundraisers always felt, but didn’t have a word for, or a way to do,” says Gabe.
Virtuous helps nonprofits increase generosity by serving all of their donors, no matter their gift size. It streamlines their work, eliminates tedious back-office tasks, and re-centers the relationships and connections that matter most. “People thought all they wanted was a CRM that wasn’t awful. In the end, that wasn’t actually what they wanted. They wanted a whole new, better approach to fundraising,” says Gabe. “Virtuous makes that possible.”