The Challenge

Before switching to Virtuous, John 3:16 Mission was limited in how responsive they could be to their donors, and how efficient they could be in their processes.

Their previous software did not include email marketing tools, leaving them dependent on a third-party resource.  Likewise, they had one receipt template, without personalization or customization. 

Viewing metrics and progress was complicated, too. “Pre-Virtuous, there were a lot of stumbling blocks that made it hard to track metrics,” says Jack Humphrey, Data Manager. 

John 3:16 Mission needed a software partner that would enable them to be more responsive and independent, and connect more readily with their loyal donor base. They chose Virtuous.

How We Helped

Now, with Virtuous, John 3:16 Mission has healthier data, clearer insights, more efficient processes, and tools they can use without depending on third-party help. 

Cleaner Data with Virtuous’ Data Health Tools

The team at John 3:16 Mission discovered they had 3,000 duplicate records in their database. Using the data health tools in Virtuous, they were able to reduce the duplicates and clean up their data. 

Without those tools, it would have been a much harder task. Now that their data is more trustworthy, it’s easier to isolate records efficiently by query, segment communications, pull lists for direct mail, and more. 

Better Insights

In addition to cleaner data, the team at John 3:16 has a better opportunity to use their data in Virtuous. Jack enjoys viewing month-to-month giving and seeing what has changed over time. “I’m happy to see that most months, we are outperforming our intake last year,” he says. 

Being able to track open and click rates on email has given the team more insight into their communications. Jack is pleased to be able to offer donors a better customer experience, because data is so easy to find. 

He says, “We get a lot of calls from donors who are curious how much they’ve donated or pledges, and being able to pin that to their records has been invaluable.” 

Greater Flexibility

Before starting to use Virtuous in 2021, John 3:16 Mission had to outsource their email marketing, and could only use what the third-party they worked with created for them. 

Now, with Virtuous, they can create their own email newsletters and personalized emails and tailor them to different segments of donors. They’re looking to bring more email in-house. “I’m very fired up, we have all the tools to make it possible,” says Jack.

Easy, Custom Receipting

John 3:16 Mission can now bring all their receipting in-house, and customize their receipts to send different messages for specific campaigns. They were never able to do this with their previous system, when they had to rely on a single receipt template for everyone. “We can now send our receipts as soon as they make a donation,” Jack says. 

More Responsive

Most of John 3:16 Mission’s fundraising focuses on individual donors. While they receive some contributions from businesses and foundations, the bulk of their support comes from grassroots donors from the community. Their donor base knows and trusts them, and now with Virtuous, John 3:16 Mission can more effectively build that trust by showing they know and value them, too.