Top Challenges
- 20% unexpected drop in annual donations
- Difficulty identifying which donors to re-engage
- Limited time for highly personalized donor communication
The Virtuous Momentum Difference
- Surfaced donor recommendations to guide strategic outreach
- Equipped the team to send personalized notes that prompted immediate donor responses
- Delivered AI-powered insights that helped reengage lapsed donors and spur renewed giving
Reversing a Sudden 20% Giving Decline
As Chief Development Officer at House of Ruth, Elizabeth Kiker faced a challenging end to 2022: annual donations had dropped by 20%, threatening critical housing and supportive services for women, children, and families in crisis.
To respond quickly and effectively, Elizabeth needed a clearer way to identify which donors to contact and which conversations would have the most impact. Elizabeth developed a clear plan for outreach and executed that plan using Virtuous Momentum, the AI Agent built for fundraising.
A Daily Plan for Donor Outreach…Without the Guessing
House of Ruth used Virtuous Momentum’s smart outreach suggestions, which gave Elizabeth and her team a daily list of donors to call or email. These recommendations highlighted:
- Donors most likely to re-engage
- Lapsed supporters showing interest
- Individuals who would benefit from more personal, relationship-building outreach
This meant Elizabeth’s team no longer had to rely on intuition alone; Virtuous Momentum surfaced data-driven outreach priorities that told them exactly where to focus.
Personalized Notes That Sparked Immediate Giving
With Virtuous Momentum’s personalized email drafting capabilities, Elizabeth sent tailored outreach that resonated deeply with donors.
Elizabeth never had to start from scratch since Virtuous Momentum learns your own writing voice and caters the writing to your style. At the same time, she maintained full control by reviewing and approving every message.
In one instance, a donor responded immediately with a $3,000 gift and a personal message of thanks.
“Another $3,000! She just called and gave her credit card and specifically thanked us for the personalized note … You guys are amazing! We can’t stop pinching ourselves that this is happening.”
— Elizabeth Kiker, CDO, House of Ruth
Manually sending a high volume of personalized emails simply wasn’t feasible before. With scalable support in place, the team saw a clear lift in results.
A Three-Month Turnaround Backed by Data
Three months after refining their outreach, Elizabeth and her team had clear data showing their efforts were paying off.
- $390,000 raised through targeted outreach
- 7% increase in individual giving
- 56 reengaged lapsed donors, contributing $183,000
- 135 new donations from supporters reached through personalized communication
This turnaround helped stabilize giving and ultimately support their mission.
Strengthening a Mission Centered on Healing and Hope
House of Ruth’s mission is rooted in supporting women, children, and families through trauma, abuse, and houselessness. By using Virtuous Momentum to guide intentional, personalized outreach, Elizabeth and her team preserved the human connection at the heart of their work while accelerating results when they needed them most.
Help Your Fundraisers Build More Meaningful Donor Relationships
A 20% giving decline became a $390,000 comeback when House of Ruth gained clarity on who to reach and when. See how Virtuous Momentum can unlock the same focus for your organization.
