Philly House

Written By Kayla Holt

Client Overview

Established in 1878, Philly House stands as Philadelphia's largest and longest-running homeless shelter for men, and the second oldest homeless mission in the United States. With a foundation rooted in Christian compassion, Philly House offers more than just shelter and meals; it provides a holistic approach to empower individuals towards stability and self-sufficiency. In 2024, the organization sheltered 2,042 men, accounting for 30% of all homeless men sheltered in Philadelphia. 

As Philly House expanded its services and deepened its community engagement, the organization faced challenges with fragmented data systems. Managing donor information, volunteer coordination, and client services across disparate platforms led to inefficiencies and hindered their ability to effectively track and report on their impact. The need for a unified, efficient CRM system became evident to support their growing operations and enhance their mission delivery.

Objectives:

  • Consolidate multiple data sources into a single, cohesive CRM platform

  • Enhance donor and volunteer engagement tracking

  • Streamline client service documentation and reporting

  • Provide staff with thorough training and support during the transition

Our Solution:

Rooted Software partnered with Philly House to implement Virtuous Software CRM, executing a comprehensive plan that included:

  • Data Preparation and Review: Conducted discovery sessions to understand existing data sources and management processes. Obtained and reviewed data exports, cleaning and deduplicating data sources to improve data integrity.

  • Data Mapping: Mapped existing data fields to Virtuous CRM structures. Held review sessions to finalize data mapping, providing documentation for Philly House's feedback. Advised on data restructuring to optimize CRM utilization.

  • Quality Assurance (QA) Testing: Released two test databases for client review, conducting spot checks, and providing Import Overview reports. Facilitated handoff and QA review meetings to address feedback and ensure data accuracy.

  • Live Database Launch: Coordinated the final, full data export, provided templates and guides for interim use, imported the data, and provided the fully provisioned live database.

  • Training and Consulting: Conducted a Training Assessment to create a customized training plan. Hosted six instructor-led training sessions and bi-weekly coaching calls. Assisted with user onboarding and consulting on business processes.

The Impact:

The implementation of Virtuous has significantly bolstered Philly House's capacity to serve the homeless population in Philadelphia. With improved data management and reporting capabilities, the organization can more effectively track client progress, engage donors, and allocate resources. 

  • Data Consolidation: Successfully unified multiple data sources into Virtuous, enhancing data accessibility and integrity.

  • Operational Efficiency: Streamlined donor and volunteer tracking processes.

  • Enhanced Reporting: Improved ability to generate comprehensive reports for stakeholders and funding agencies.

  • Staff Empowerment: Facilitated thorough staff training, increasing their confidence and proficiency.

“The Rooted team was everything we could ask for and more as they helped us transition databases. The team was extremely well organized, knowledgeable, and just wonderful people. They kept us on track with deadlines and relentlessly hunted down answers to every single question we encountered… Highly recommend Rooted!” - Philly House Staff

Kayla Holt
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