The Donor Messaging Journey

The Virtual Engagement Officer (VEO) is designed to guide donors through a thoughtful, relationship-driven engagement journey over the course of a year. Its approach mirrors best practices used by experienced fundraisers—balancing consistency, personalization, and strategic asks.

This article explains how the VEO determines messaging cadence, selects moves, and generates content.

Messaging Cadence: A 12-Month Journey

The VEO manages donors through a 12-month moves management journey, typically engaging each donor with approximately one touchpoint per month.

This cadence is designed to:

• Strengthen the donor’s connection to your organization
• Build trust and familiarity over time
• Lead naturally to giving, rather than forcing it

While donors may receive multiple touches across channels over the course of a year, engagement is intentionally paced and personalized to feel like 1:1 communication—not mass marketing.

Strategic Use of Asks

The VEO prioritizes cultivation and stewardship as the foundation of the donor relationship.

Within that framework, the VEO typically incorporates:

• 2–3 carefully timed Ask, Ask More, or Solicit moves per year

These asks are placed strategically based on donor readiness and engagement patterns, rather than on a fixed schedule.

Moves Management: How the VEO Chooses the Next Step

The VEO predicts the next most effective move for each donor using Version2’s Moves Management Model, which is informed by millions of AI simulations and synthetic data generation.

The model takes into account:

• Individual giving history
• Location, affiliation, and other donor data provided by your organization
• Previous engagement with the VEO
• Your organization’s prioritized fundraising moments

Key solicitation opportunities—such as calendar year-end (CYE), fiscal year-end (FYE), Giving Days, and campaigns—are automatically prioritized within the model. Signature events and annual giving moments are also incorporated so the VEO balances donor behavior with organizational priorities.

Determining Content for Each Message

Once a move is selected, the VEO generates the content of the communication.

The message is created within the VEO’s Large Language Model (LLM) using:

• The determined move and sub-purpose
• Custom field data provided by your organization
• Relevant donor context and engagement history

The VEO autonomously draws from its organization-specific knowledge base to match the right content to the right donor. More recent and frequently used content is naturally prioritized.

The VEO also accounts for all-call campaigns and organization-wide events (such as Giving Tuesday, Giving Day, Homecoming, Annual Gala, CYE, or FYE) when determining the next best move.

Influencing Content Priorities

We encourage organizations to allow the VEO to operate autonomously using the content it has access to. Like a human gift officer, the VEO is designed to balance donor signals with organizational goals.

However, if you would like your VEO to prioritize particular content:

• Email veo@version2.ai with a brief note (for example, “Please prioritize sharing about our upcoming event”), or
• Discuss upcoming priorities with your Customer Success Manager during your next meeting

This guidance increases the likelihood that relevant donors receive that content when it appropriately matches their predicted move.

Designed to Feel Personal

Every VEO interaction is intended to feel like a thoughtful, one-to-one message—not a bulk appeal. By combining strategic pacing, intelligent move selection, and content drawn from your organization’s own materials, the VEO delivers donor engagement that is consistent, personal, and aligned with your fundraising strategy.

For information on what donors can expect when they reply to the VEO, please review this article.