Q&A with William & Mary University’s Associate Vice President for Annual Giving and Philanthropic Engagement

Our partners are often asked to speak on the topic of AI in Advancement as leaders in their industry and in Autonomous Fundraising. Meghan Palombo, Associate Vice President of Annual Giving & Philanthropic Engagement at William & Mary, joined a technology panel to discuss how the W&M team is using AI in advancement. Here's what she shared about building their Virtual Engagement Officer Wren's portfolio, earning community trust, and the results that have made William & Mary a model for the field.

Q: What was your team’s process for introducing Wren to the community? Did that go smoothly?

A: Transparency was central to how we introduced Wren. From the start, it was known that Wren was powered by Artificial Intelligence. Similar to a human gift officer, the portfolio received a personal introduction from Wren, with only a few opting out. We have Wren listed on the advancement staff directory, which links to a landing page with more information, so that community members are informed and can verify the VEO’s legitimacy.

Q: How has Wren’s portfolio evolved since you launched?

A: When we were building Wren’s first portfolio, we started with annual giving prospects who were primarily solicited and engaged in our direct marketing space. These were donors who wouldn’t bubble up to a gift officer, but with personalized cultivation, could potentially move them forward. We started pretty conservatively, only adding donors with gifts under $500 in the last 3-7 years. As engagement and revenue picked up, we re-evaluated. Now, we have three donor tiers with lifetime giving ranging up to $14,000, targeting class years from 1973 to 2003, and regions we want to cultivate for future campaigns.

Q: You shared a really compelling use case around a digital gift officer going on leave and using Wren to keep some of that portfolio warm. Can you tell us more?

A: One of our digital gift officers was going on leave, and normally, those donors would go cold for a while. Instead, she handed about 450 prospects to Wren with a personal introduction, noting that anyone who didn’t want to be included should call me. Only a few reached out. Of those 450 prospects, 75% received four touchpoints from Wren, which showed us the scalability of covering staffing gaps. And when the gift officer returned, some donors actually chose to stay with Wren, which was a testament to the connections being built and the different ways our alums want to engage with W&M.

Q: What results are you seeing from Wren?

A: Since launch, Wren has helped raise over $100,000 from nearly 700 gifts, including 480 renewals. Nearly 13,000 personalized outreach messages have been sent via email and text to the portfolio, and of those actively engaging in two-way conversations with Wren, 50% have made a gift. The results prove to us the impact that Autonomous Fundraising has when more donors can be reached and cultivated.

Q: For advancement leaders who are curious but cautious, what would you tell them?

A: Look at the data and find opportunities where you’re leaving revenue on the table because you can’t reach those donors—coverage gaps, stagnant portfolios, segments you just can't get to like parents, volunteers, lapsed donors, or hard-to-reach geographical regions. The possibilities are really endless on how you want to make up the portfolio that's best for your institution. Our VEO has enhanced the work we need to do. We’re expanding our reach, building deeper connections with more donors, and driving revenue.

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