How Organizations Are Using Virtual Engagement Officers to Win on Giving Day

Since February, Virtual Engagement Officers across our partner network have supported more than 50 Giving Days and raised over $1.1 million for these campaigns so far.

This success is a direct result of the opportunities VEOs are being given to drive tangible outcomes for their organizations. 

VEOs aren’t just focused on this one singular Giving Day opportunity. They're engaging these donors holistically to make sure Giving Day becomes a milestone in their donor journey, not just a campaign blast. 

There are a few themes that we’re seeing that point to Giving Day success for VEOs:

Unlocking challenges and match opportunities. 

Partners with challenge and match opportunities saw their VEOs engage with donors in the weeks and months leading up to their campaign to identify and solicit potential challenge match participants. Finding match donors is one of the more labor-intensive parts of any Giving Day strategy, often falling on the shoulders of a gift officer. These asks are important, but often get sent to the same donors every year. While this approach can yield results, it can overtax important relationships and have limited reach. Having Virtual Engagement Officers seek those opportunities allows for a wider ask to donors who aren’t tapped often. At one partner institution, a VEO identified donors in its portfolio with a history of generous giving and asked if they’d consider becoming a challenge match donor for the school’s Giving Day — one said yes and asked for more information on how to get involved.

Tailoring the ask to where donors are.  Not every donor in a portfolio should receive the same Giving Day message. Mapping outreach to where each donor is on their individual moves management journey keeps the relationship intact while still pushing the needle on Giving Day goals. The outreach for a donor who has recently given may be softer, inviting the donor to get involved by supporting the campaign, sharing on social media, or even asking for donor testimonials. Others in the portfolio may receive a direct solicitation. VEOs make these individualized asks on their own, contributing completely independently rather than adding additional work and decisions to your team. A direct solicitation to a loyal donor resulted in a Giving Day gift of $1,000, ten times their most recent gift. At another organization, a donor who received a lighter touch on Giving Day shared the campaign with their personal network and thanked the VEO for the reminder.

Stewardship to continue the relationship.

VEOs execute specialized stewardship strategies to continue the relationship and set up the next year. For unmanaged donors, it’s common not to receive touchpoints other than maybe a newsletter or event invitation before the next appeal. That approach, however, leaves donors feeling like their relationship with an organization is transactional. Partners with VEO-managed portfolios thoughtfully steward Giving Day donors and non-donors to deepen that relationship not just during campaign season, but year-round. 

The culmination of the VEO’s Autonomous AI-driven strategies are showing up in the results. At one higher-ed institution, more donors gave through the VEO portfolio than through any other managed portfolio on their Giving Day. 

Whether you’re analyzing this year's results or narrowing down a calendar date for next year's campaign, if you’re wondering how a VEO can fit into your strategy, set up a strategy call with our team.

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