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How To Set Up a Winning Donor Portfolio Mix for your Virtual Engagement Officer

  • Grace Carew
  • Oct 7
  • 2 min read

With development leaders across the country using Virtual Engagement Officers (VEOs), the most common question we get is: Which donors should I put into my VEO's portfolio?


The answer is data-driven and clear—and it's all about maximizing revenue.


The Winning Formula

The highest-performing VEO portfolios follow this proven mix to increase revenue, address retention – and for educational institutions, increase participation:


  • 75% current donors with upgrade potential

  • 25% recently lapsed donors with strong giving history


For active donors who've contributed within the past year and show room to increase support, the VEO deepens relationships by giving them what they haven’t had before: personal 1:1 engagement and the ability to be seen and heard. These connections create natural opportunities for donors to step up their giving habits and increase giving, too.


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Every organization has donors with demonstrated loyalty and capacity who've drifted. By engaging with lapsed donors without using human capital, the VEO brings in new and unanticipated revenue while building tomorrow’s pipeline.


For example, at Bucknell University, its VEO, Lauren has been wildly successful, generating more than $400K in giving. What’s most exciting is that $46K has come from lapsed donors, which is new and unanticipated revenue. At Parkland Health Foundation, it’s a similar story – VEO Nicole has raised $54K from lapsed donors. In both cases, these numbers will count into retention at the end of the fiscal year.


Customize for Your Goals

  • Immediate revenue: Weight toward current donors with high engagement and upgrade potential who gave in the past 12 months.

  • Pipeline building: Include more lapsed donors within the critical three-year window, emphasizing year-one lapses.

  • Prospect identification: Use the VEO to surface hidden capacity among mid-level donors ready to graduate into gift officer portfolios.

  • Participation: Educational institutions use their VEOs to increase participation rates without using up precious human capital.



The next chapter of fundraising is already here.


Schedule your demo to see it in action.

 
 
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