2-Way Response FAQs

VEO Two-Way Messaging: Response Times and Behavior

The Virtual Engagement Officer (VEO) is designed to respond quickly and thoughtfully to donor replies while maintaining accuracy, compliance, and a high-quality donor experience. This article explains typical response times, how staff referrals affect replies, and how timing and language are handled.

How quickly does the VEO respond to donors?

The VEO replies to donors within minutes approximately 95% of the time.

In some cases, responses may take longer:

• If a donor asks a particularly complex question
• If a response requires human-in-the-loop review to verify accuracy against your organization’s knowledge base

If a donor replies outside of standard business hours (9:00am–5:00pm ET), response time may be up to 24 hours. Most donor replies occur during business hours, as proactive VEO outreach is scheduled during that window.

It’s worth noting that organization staff sometimes test the VEO by messaging late at night or on weekends. This behavior is rare among real donors and can create response timing that does not reflect typical donor experiences.

How long does the VEO take to respond when a staff referral is involved?

Response timing depends on the type of referral:

• Donor-included referrals

  When the VEO introduces a donor directly to a staff member at the donor’s request, the response timeline follows the standard guidelines outlined above.

• Internal verification or escalation

  If the VEO needs to confirm information with staff or flag a sensitive interaction, the donor is not included in the internal referral email. In these cases, the VEO must hear back from the staff member before responding to the donor.

Timely replies from staff are important so the VEO can close the loop with the donor efficiently.

How do holidays affect VEO response times?

Proactive outbound communications are not sent on holidays.

Inbound donor messages received on holidays are monitored by the Version2 on-call team. Response times for these messages are similar to those received outside of business hours and may take up to 24 hours.

Does the VEO reach out to donors based on their time zone?

Yes. Proactive outreach from the VEO is optimized for the donor’s local time zone while remaining within Eastern Time business hours to support timely response monitoring.

When a donor’s time zone cannot be determined (for example, when no address is available), messages default to being sent at 3:00pm ET. This timing helps ensure messages are not delivered too early or too late across U.S. time zones, including Hawaii.

What languages does the VEO support?

The VEO supports up to 14 languages.

Conversations always begin in English. If a donor replies in another supported language—such as Spanish—the VEO will respond in that language for the remainder of the conversation.

If you have questions about response timing, escalation workflows, or language support, please contact version2support@givzey.com.