Case Study
About Dogs on Deployment
Dogs on Deployment is a nonprofit organization based in San Diego, California, that provides a central network for military members, veterans, and first responders to find volunteers willing to board their pets while they are deployed or have other service commitments, making them unable to temporarily care for their pets.
The Challenge
Dogs on Deployment began using Classy in 2017, but at the time didn’t have a nonprofit CRM system in place. Without a CRM, they found it difficult to establish a robust donor communications strategy that would allow them to personally connect with supporters in a scalable way.
The Result
In their first 11 months using Classy + Virtuous, Dogs on Deployment grew their giving by 94.6% (compared to the previous 12 months).
With support from Classy’s customer success team, Dogs on Deployment decided to implement Virtuous, which met their pricing needs and would integrate easily with Classy. The implementation has resulted in time savings, more personal donor connections, and an increase in recurring giving.
How Dogs on Deployment Uses the Classy + Virtuous Integration
Automatically Track and Manage Donors
Since implementing the Classy + Virtuous integration, Dogs on Deployment has been able to better track how donors move through different levels of giving. The more a supporter donates, the more interaction the organization has with them.
Optimize 1:1 Donor Engagement
It’s easy to identify who your top donors are using Virtuous. President and CEO of Dogs on Deployment, Alisa Johnson, will personally call or write to top donors and share her own story of being a service member in need of care for her animals, helping to build a personal relationship with each of the organization’s supporters to inspire lifelong giving.
Additionally, through Virtuous, Dogs on Deployment can keep track of whether a donor supports a specific military member, in which case the organization will send a personalized note from that service member.
Time Saving Automations
A key reason Dogs on Deployment chose Virtuous as its CRM provider was its automation processes. The integration between Classy and Virtuous automatically sends donors from Classy into Virtuous and categorizes them into different levels based on their giving behavior, runs queries on specific donor characteristics, and allows staff to assign tasks to themselves to remember to follow up with specific donors.
“We needed a way to better engage with our donors, give them more appreciation, and get to know them better so we could create more
personalized interactions.”
Alisa Johnson, President and Co-Founder
A key reason Dogs on Deployment chose Virtuous as its CRM provider was its automation processes. The integration between Classy and Virtuous automatically sends donors from Classy into Virtuous and categorizes them into different levels based on their giving behavior, runs queries on specific donor characteristics, and allows staff to assign tasks to themselves to remember to follow up with specific donors.
“We needed a way to better engage with our donors, give them more appreciation, and get to know them better so we could create more
personalized interactions.”
Alisa Johnson, President and Co-Founder
Build a Recurring Giving Program
The automation has been a huge timesaver for an organization of their size and growth, helping them increase their number of recurring monthly donors. One-time donors automatically get thanked and invited to join their recurring donor core. Donors will also get updates on dogs’ surgeries or other needs they have supported, an engagement strategy that helps foster continued giving.
“Choosing to add a CRM to your fundraising strategy can seem like a large investment for an organization. Sometimes it can be difficult to swallow, but if you use it properly and you have a strong strategy to implement it into your operations and donor relations, you’ll see that the investment is without question worth it.”
Alisa Johnson, President and Co-Founder
The automation has been a huge timesaver for an organization of their size and growth, helping them increase their number of recurring monthly donors. One-time donors automatically get thanked and invited to join their recurring donor core. Donors will also get updates on dogs’ surgeries or other needs they have supported, an engagement strategy that helps foster continued giving.
“Choosing to add a CRM to your fundraising strategy can seem like a large investment for an organization. Sometimes it can be difficult to swallow, but if you use it properly and you have a strong strategy to implement it into your operations and donor relations, you’ll see that the investment is without question worth it.”
Alisa Johnson, President and Co-Founder
Nonprofit Teams Trust Virtuous
