Virtuous

Helping turn a bold vision into a market-leading, AI-forward platform that thousands of nonprofits rely on.

01 · The conviction

Fundraising should treat donors like people, not records.

Virtuous was founded by Gabe Cooper on a conviction that is easy to say and hard to build: generosity is personal.

He called it responsive fundraising. The early product was a strong start with a long way to go. I joined to help carry that vision from a single CRM into a platform, deepen the product, mature the design and UX practice, and make the experience as human as the philosophy behind it.

02 · From CRM to platform

Design for the other side of the screen.

Every decision started with the person doing the work and worked back to the product.

Product and design operated as one discipline because the experience and the system are the same problem seen from two sides. We organized around outcomes instead of features and built customer-centered rhythms into the work.

What began as a CRM grew into a connected platform spanning the relationship, marketing, giving, and intelligence surfaces nonprofit teams live in. The aim was straightforward: help them know their donors, reach them personally, and spend less time fighting their tools.

Virtuous CRM dashboard showing donor data, activity, and responsive fundraising automation — Fig. 01A connected view of the donor and the work around them

03 · AI in the work

AI-forward and human-centered are not opposites.

The strategy was to weave AI into real workflows, giving people time back without weakening the relationships the platform exists to protect. Not a bolt-on, and not technology for its own sake.

Virtuous Insights Research Agent assembling a fundraiser briefing from donor information — Fig. 02Research assembled around the next donor conversation

Virtuous AI Builder creating a fundraising experience from a natural-language prompt — Fig. 03AI helping a team move from intent to a usable experience

04 · The idea in the room

The product vision became a conversation with the community.

Responsive fundraising was more than product language. Customer summits, teaching, and working sessions helped make the ideas visible, test them against the realities nonprofit teams faced, and bring the community into the work.

Jason VanLue speaking at the Virtuous User Summit — Fig. 04Bringing product thinking into the customer community

Jason presenting during the Responsive Nonprofit Summit production — Fig. 05The responsive fundraising idea carried beyond the interface

Jason in conversation at the Responsive Nonprofit Summit — Fig. 06Teaching and listening as part of the product practice

Behind-the-scenes production view of a responsive fundraising presentation — Fig. 07Making the customer journey tangible for a wider audience

05 · The outcome

The platform grew without losing the conviction behind it.

Virtuous moved from early-stage product to a recognized, AI-forward platform serving thousands of organizations and scaling past $50M in annual recurring revenue.

The more important outcome is the product and design culture supporting that growth. It continues to hold the line on Gabe’s original idea: giving is personal, and the people on both sides of the screen deserve to be treated that way.

$50M+ annual recurring revenue scaled

110% net revenue retention

2,000 organizations served

Visit Virtuous

Next File · No. 02 Code School