From Legacy to Lifeline: How the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Modernized Fundraising to Engage the Next Generation

Legacy organizations often face a powerful question: how do you honor the past while sustaining the future? The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), steward of one of America’s most visited memorials, confronted this challenge head-on as it prepared to engage the next generation of donors and families.
In this session, Luz Lovins, Vice President of Philanthropy at VVMF, joins Bonterra’s Chief Fundraising Officer Kimberly O’Donnell to share how the organization transformed fragmented fundraising systems into a unified, data-driven engine for growth. Together they’ll explore how automation, AI-powered segmentation and personalized communication have allowed VVMF to double sustainer giving, boost average online gifts and free staff to focus on meaningful relationships.
Attendees will learn how Luz and her small but mighty team reimagined donor engagement across direct mail, digital fundraising and memorial programs—preserving emotional storytelling while gaining new efficiency. The discussion will cover how VVMF built a 360-degree donor view, discovered digital lift from traditional campaigns and used Bonterra-powered insights to identify high-value segments and optimize outreach.
This story is both a tribute to mission and a roadmap for modernization. Whether you lead a heritage organization or a growing nonprofit ready to evolve, this session shows how to balance tradition, technology and trust to sustain giving for decades to come.