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Re-Engaging Lapsed Donors Through Virtual Engagement Officers

  • Writer: Sara Montgomery
    Sara Montgomery
  • Aug 26
  • 2 min read
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When a donor lapses, it’s often more than a missed gift - it’s a signal that their connection to our mission has weakened. Re-engaging these donors isn’t just about recovering lost revenue, it’s about restoring a relationship.


Winning back lapsed donors is some of the most important work we do in fundraising. It takes time, consistency, and patience. Industry-wide, one-year lapsed donors have a recapture rate of around 12–15%. After three years, it drops below 5%. After five years, it’s almost impossible. But when organizations commit to intentional engagement, returning donors often give with renewed generosity and deeper connection.


That’s what early adopters of Autonomous Fundraising are seeing. With nearly a year of data from our first Innovation Partners, we’re finding that steady cultivation of lapsed donors pays off.


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At Bucknell University, the Virtual Engagement Officer (VEO) has helped bring 54 alumni back with 68 gifts totaling more than $40,000. La Salle University is seeing a similar story. 66 supporters who had stepped away are re-engaged, making 86 gifts worth nearly $18,000. 


Parkland Health Foundation saw 56 donors who had gone quiet return with 120 gifts totaling more than $20,000, after being unresponsive to past re-engagement attempts.


Since the launch of Autonomous Fundraising, our first cohort of Innovation Partners have re-engaged 455 lapsed donors. For some of our partners, it’s their targeted use case. For others, it’s a component of a larger strategy around retention or high-capacity prospects. 


Overall, it’s one of many signs of progress in the research and development of Autonomous Fundraising. The Virtual Engagement Officers from Cohort 1 who have been working these connections for just under a year are proving that it’s not one outreach campaign or a 6-week sequence of emails that brings a donor back. It’s the consistent, personal communications over time that I did back when I was a gift officer, and can now be done at a greater scale with Autonomous Fundraising. 



Re-Engage. Reconnect. Renew.

Learn how a Virtual Engagement Officer brings donors closer to your mission again. Schedule Your Demo.

 
 
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