The founder of an emerging Valley startup has inked a new book that provides a roadmap for nonprofits to accelerate innovation.
Virtuous CEO Gabe Cooper on May 14 launched his book, “The Responsive Nonprofit: Eight Practices that Drive Nonprofit Innovation and Impact.”
In the book, Cooper outlines eight practices that responsive nonprofits adopt to innovate, increase generosity and improve organizational culture.
“This book was built on a recognition that it's really hard for all companies to innovate. And the problem is, the world around us is innovating really fast,” Cooper said. “Things change every day. It feels like the ground we're standing on is constantly shifting between new technology and just the way people interact.”
As nonprofits grow, it becomes difficult for them to adapt quickly, he added.
“In our space, we serve a lot of nonprofits and we’ve seen the things that the most innovative nonprofits are doing really well and the ones that are kind of stuck while they’re not doing well,” Cooper said. “So we thought it would be really beneficial to share those learnings with the world as a way to help nonprofits all keep up and go faster.”
"The Responsive Nonprofit" is Cooper’s second book. His first book, “Responsive Fundraising: The Donor-centric Framework Helping Today’s Leading Nonprofits Grow Giving,” was released in 2020.
Company reports 50% revenue growth
Virtuous created a software platform that helps nonprofits streamline fundraising, marketing and donor development processes. Some of its clients are Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels and Catholic Charities.
The company — which AZ Inno named a “Startup to Watch” in 2023 — is continuing to expand its presence, serving more than 2,000 customers nationwide and achieving 525% growth over the past three years. Virtuous was also named a finalist in the software category for AZ Inno's 2024 Fire Awards.
Last year, Virtuous reported 50% year-over-year revenue growth, Cooper said.
“We really got off to a fast start in 2024,” Cooper said. “We shipped two innovative new products — VirtuousBI and RaiseDonors — that we believe will greatly impact the nonprofit industry and help increase donor generosity. We continue to see significant demand for our modern solutions as many nonprofits seek to move off the expensive antiquated legacy systems.”
VirtuousBI is a data analytics engine to help nonprofits gain insights into donation and marketing information. RaiseDonors is intended to provide enterprise-level tools to drive increased online giving, according to the company.
Virtuous has increased its headcount to more than 155 employees. In March, the company hired Jeff Perkins as its chief marketing officer to build its brand and drive further growth, Cooper said.
Virtuous has remained “capital efficient” since it raised $18 million in a series B round in July 2021, Cooper said.
“Moving forward, we certainly could raise again if we wanted to, but we’re just trying to figure out timing and what’s right for our business before we commit to finding a new partner for the next stage of growth,” he said. “We’re still trying to actively sort through that.”
The company aims to invest more in research and development to improve nonprofit generosity.
“That means continuing to innovate on behalf of our customers and launching great products that are going to change the game for them,” Cooper said. “It means launching one more product this year, probably launching one or two products next year, and continuing to push the foot on the gas of innovation so we have more great stuff to provide to our customers.”
