VEO Messaging FAQs
Can I dictate exactly what the VEO should say in outreach and responses to donors?
No. The most we can do is tell the VEO not to use certain phrases because the VEO takes direction via context, and feedback is much more effective than telling it what to say word-for-word for an interaction. Similar to how we wouldn't tell a human fundraiser exactly what wording to use for every scenario--we can give guidelines for tone and phrases to avoid, but not dictate word-for-word statements.
Is it correct to assume each person in the portfolio will receive only one touch per month with general content, either stewarding, wishing happy birthday or sharing information (i.e. State of the Org, Homecoming, etc.)?
Yes, everyone in the portfolio receives approximately monthly touchpoints, working towards the VEO's ultimate goal of 8-12 touchpoints for every donor over the course of a year. Stewardship and birthdays get prioritized as the primary touchpoint for a donor with a recent gift or upcoming birthday, but as long as you continue to seed your VEO with content, it can also incorporate that into stewardship/birthday outreach. E.g. it can wish happy birthday AND share that Homecoming is coming up in the same message.
Other than birthday and stewardship messages, does the VEO send personalized messaging to the portfolio members? How does the VEO leverage information unique to each person?
Yes. The VEO predicts the next most effective move for donors based on their unique giving history as well as AI simulations and data generation. The VEO then uses the content your organization has prioritized, along with any Custom Field data you're giving us to match the right content to the right donor. E.g. if you're sending us School data, the VEO can prioritize Law content for Law grads, Nursing content for Nursing grads, etc.
Also, our language models are being improved every week, and with these enhancements you will begin to see smaller donor segments, as well as more personalization and variation between messages.
What does VEO stewardship look like? Does the VEO steward gifts made even if it didn’t ask for the gift? What channel(s) is used to steward gifts?
The VEO stewards all gifts made by a donor, even if the VEO didn't specifically ask for the gift. The VEO will steward all gifts you provide in the Gifts File on a weekly basis. If you provide Amount and Designation in the Gifts File, the VEO will incorporate those and refine the messaging to sound natural. It will combine stewardship where reasonable, e.g. if this week's Gifts File includes two gifts from the same donor, the VEO will combine these into one stewardship message.The VEO defaults to thanking via text if the donor has a phone number, but will email if no phone is available. The VEO only sends handwritten thank you notes when a donor makes their first gift since being assigned to the VEO (not first gift ever).
Can the VEO include a link to give in every message (to help with attributing giving to the VEO)?
No, the VEO will determine when to text a link to give, rather than always include it because:
- Including a link to give in every message prevents sharing links to other content, which is crucial for moves management
- The VEO should feel like personalized outreach from a gift officer, rather than general marketing communications
The VEO can incorporate “let me know if you’d like to learn more” outreach → where “learn more” donor response triggers the VEO to share a link to support and a link to content
Can we use link shorteners for links the VEO shares (e.g. a shortened link to a giving page)?
- The VEO CAN’T support a third party link shortener like bitly (b/c these get flagged)
- Only can shorten link if shortener is through your own domain
When will a VEO make a solicitation?
VEOs make asks based on "events" like a giving day or calendar year end solicitation, gift anniversaries (a year since their last gift), or based on our LLM's prediction of it being a good time to solicit based on various factors.
Natural asks, or ones not based on a date-driven event, are driven by the content of donor conversations and the trajectory of the relationship. When the time comes for one of these solicitations, it will be based on the supporters journey, but also on the needs of the organization at the time (aligning their interests + organization needs). So the solicitation would draw on whatever is currently highlighted on your website or prioritized in your knowledge base, if appropriate for that donor.
Our solicitation model will continue to evolve and learn based on the success of those natural solicitations, so will become better and better at making those decisions as we go.
Can the VEO solicit donors using a special giving link (tagged with UTM or other tracking?)
Absolutely, as long as the same link is used for every VEO solicitation. Currently the program cannot accommodate special links for every different solicitation made throughout the year.