Managing a Portfolio Swap

As your fundraising strategy evolves, the donors you want your Virtual Engagement Officer (VEO) engaging may evolve too. A portfolio swap allows you to remove donors who are no longer a fit for your VEO portfolio and replace them with a new group of donors.

Portfolio swaps are common and can be a healthy part of your VEO strategy. Your Customer Success Manager (CSM) can help you determine when a swap makes sense, identify the right donors to add next, and plan for a smooth transition.

When Should You Consider a Portfolio Swap?

There are several reasons you may want to refresh your VEO portfolio:

• Your goals or use case have changed. You may want your VEO to focus on a different audience, fundraising priority, or stage of the donor journey.
• You've identified donors who are no longer a fit. Some portfolio members may have been disqualified based on what you've learned through VEO engagement and can be replaced with new prospects.
• Donors have graduated to human gift officers. This is a great outcome! If your VEO has helped identify donors who are ready for more personalized human engagement, you may want to move those donors to gift officer portfolios and refill the available VEO capacity.
• You have a combination of graduations and disqualifications. Often, a portfolio refresh includes donors leaving for several different reasons.

How Long Should Donors Stay in the Portfolio?

We recommend giving donors at least six months of engagement and multiple touchpoints before deciding to swap them out. This should allow time for 1-2 solicitations to occur, as well as multiple cultivation messages.

Donor engagement takes time. A donor who hasn't responded to the first few messages may still engage later (or give), and allowing the VEO enough time to build familiarity gives you better information for determining whether a donor should remain in the portfolio.

If you're considering a swap before the six-month mark, talk with your CSM first. They can help review engagement and determine whether a portfolio change is the best next step.

How to Complete a Portfolio Swap

1. Remove Donors From the Current Portfolio

Submit a Portfolio Management file to Version2 via SFTP identifying the donors who should be inactivated and removed from the VEO portfolio.

Best practice: Unassign these donors from the VEO in your CRM as well so your CRM assignments stay aligned with the active Version2 portfolio.

2. Introduce the VEO to the New Donors

Before the new donors are added to the VEO portfolio, send an introductory email from your organization letting them know they will be hearing from your VEO.

You can use the same or similar introductory language your organization used when your VEO originally launched.

3. Submit the New Portfolio

Submit a new Portfolio file to Version2 via SFTP containing the donors who should be added to the VEO portfolio.

Best practice: Assign these donors to the VEO in your CRM at the same time.

4. VEO Engagement Begins

Once the new portfolio has been processed, your VEO will automatically begin introducing itself and engaging the newly added donors.

Adding a Different Donor Segment?

If your new portfolio includes a donor segment with a different affiliation or relationship to your organization, talk with your CSM before completing the swap.

For example, moving from an alumni-focused portfolio to parents, grateful patients, members, or another substantially different audience may require adjustments to your VEO's:

• Landing page
• Portfolio context and messaging
• Robotic handwritten note strategy
• Overall engagement approach

Your CSM can help make sure the VEO experience is appropriate for the new audience before engagement begins.