The Donors Already in Your Database Are Your Biggest Opportunity

The past couple of weeks have been an exciting whirlwind for our team, attending conferences across the United States and Canada. We’re so grateful to have shared the stage with our wonderful partners, presenting their achievements through Autonomous Fundraising.

From those results, there is a consistent story being told: the biggest opportunity for deeper engagement and increased revenue comes from donors who are known and give annually or have recently lapsed.

At the CASE IV District Conference, St. Mary’s University and Texas State University shared how their organizations have seen increased participation from their VEOs reactivating recently lapsed donors. Texas State’s VEO generated $11,697 from lapsed donors alongside $59,870 in upgraded gifts, for a total of $71,569 in net new revenue. At St. Mary's, 87.5% of their VEO portfolio’s FY26 giving came from lapsed donors.

In San Diego at AFP ICON, two sessions made the case for what intentional goal-setting produces. UNICEF USA shared their focus on current and 1-2 year lapsed donors. After just six months, they’ve seen nearly $200,000 in giving from recently lapsed donors, $55,582 in upgraded gifts, and retention climbing from 48% to 66% year over year. San Diego State University and Fresno State University both have strategic goals for their respective Virtual Engagement Officers to retain and reactivate their annual giving pipelines. Fresno State's VEO has re-engaged over 150 donors since launching in July, with close to $200K raised across the portfolio, while one of SDSU’s two VEOs has helped raise nearly $90,000 in upgraded giving from its annual giving portfolio.

The CASE District V and VI Conference brought Macalester College and Cleveland State University together to share their results. At Macalester, the VEO-managed portfolio has raised $487,656, including $25,063 in lapsed recaptures and $48,642 in upgrades. Cleveland State’s VEO-managed portfolio’s participation rose from 12.5% to 20% in a single fiscal year, with over $60K in net new revenue.

Whether you're funding global relief, advancing medical research, supporting student scholarships, or sustaining a community organization, there is a world of opportunity for deeper engagement and increased revenue sitting with undermanaged donors. Autonomous Fundraising is proving what happens when these donors finally get consistent, personalized attention. 

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