The Campaign Handoff: How Autonomous Fundraising Extends Your Impact

Campaigns get so much attention in fundraising, rightfully so. However, many of us fail to understand that rather than a curtain call, campaigns should end with a critical handoff that provides our organizations with an incredible opportunity for follow-up that inspires donors and their giving for years beyond the campaign.

As soon as a campaign is complete, the window to thank donors in meaningful ways, share the first signs of impact, and ensure the new connections sparked during the campaign carry forward into the next chapter, begins to close.

Across our Innovation Partners, it’s incredible how many organizations seize this exact moment with a natural handoff to a Virtual Engagement Officer. 

We’ve all seen participation suffer during campaigns as we focus on larger dollar giving. That’s exactly why so many Innovation Partners are bringing in Virtual Engagement Officers (VEOs) to recapture lapsed donors.

Other Innovation Partners saw major momentum from their campaigns and an influx of donors. These partners are developing new portfolios for their VEOs to focus on retention, sharing impact, and building relationships in ways that lead to the natural outcome of giving.

For example, Baylor University's unexpected surge in millennial giving during its recent campaign inspired a new focus for the Virtual Engagement Officer—keeping these donors engaged and building lasting connections that will shape the future major gift pipeline. 

Meanwhile, as Western Carolina closes its campaign, traditional frontline fundraising staff are focused on dollars in the door. Meanwhile the VEO is actively widening the overall circle for future growth by rebuilding participation, increasing donor counts, and keeping the new donors close with stewardship and cultivation.

The University of Oklahoma Foundation’s VEO is already looking ahead, organizing the new interest the campaign unlocked and aligning prospects to the right portfolios so the next chapter starts with a ready-made pipeline.

Each of these teams show us that trusted digital labor in the form of Autonomous Fundraising represents an opportunity that wasn’t available just a year ago.

With Autonomous Fundraising, campaign completion is truly the handoff, not the curtain call. Virtual Engagement Officers empower us to deepen support from these new and re-engaged donors, preparing us for the inevitable next campaign before this one even closes. 

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Make the Campaign Handoff Count

Schedule a demo to see how a VEO strengthens stewardship, recaptures lapsed donors, and builds lasting relationships long after the campaign closes.