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Explorers, entrepreneurs and really anyone who embarks on hard, uncertain and perilous journeys ask themselves the same two questions: "should we do it?" and "can we do it?"
These two questions keep these people up late at night, wake them up in the early hours of the morning and consume most of their thoughts throughout the day. Try having a conversation with a climber the week before they leave for basecamp or an inventor the day before they release their new invention to the world. You'll get the sense that they are only partially focused on you, not because they are rude or dismissive, but because it takes their entire being, all of their focus and their full will to achieve the task that they are about to set out to achieve. Because in most cases, what they are striving for has been perceived as impossible up until the point they decide they can do it.
This is the moment when the universe bends, when leaders lead and when people, one by one, start to think differently about everything they once believed to be true. This is the exact moment when today looks different than yesterday and this is why today we announce Version2, a research and design lab within Givzey focused on developing the world's first fully autonomous virtual fudnraiser, powered entirely by artificial intelligence.
Most people believe that autonomous fundraising is a moonshot, an endeavor with the odds of success similar to sending humans to Mars. The question of "should we do it" has been passionately debated, but the question of "can we do it" remains open and unresolved. Probably because most people think it’s so far fetched and so far in the future. How is it possible that autonomous AI can be successful in such a relationship-driven business?
Over the past decade, technology has given us the ability to have reality catch up with our dreams. Siri and Alexa, OpenAI and autonomous vehicles have proven that what we once thought impossible is not only possible, but has met or surpassed our expectations of evolution. These tools have redefined our lives and have changed the course of history.
Over the last 100 years, we've seen the advancement and acceleration of automation. Autonomous vehicles, for example, have evolved exponentially and are at the point where self-driving cars are now a reality. 75 years ago, people worked on factory lines, putting cars together by hand. Today, car assembly lines look much different and are defined by human-robot collaborations where humans are managing a set of ai-enabled robots that do the majority of the labor-intensive work while humans execute strategy and quality control efforts.
The trajectory from no automation to fully autonomous automation was the result of a concerted and mindful effort to evolve, not from occasional automation to some automation, but rather the much more difficult challenge of moving from some automation to complete automation. Fully autonomous vehicles are still in their infancy, but there is no longer a question about whether it's possible for a vehicle to drive autonomously. The question now is how long until most, if not all, vehicles are autonomous, because it's possible that autonomous vehicles are more reliable and better than human drivers.
Fundraising has seen the benefit of artificial intelligence for years. There have been self-writing emails, AI applied to data maintenance, and AI applied to frontline fundraiser efficiencies, but never has there been a concerted and focused effort to actually prove that autonomous fundraising is possible. The idea that fundraiser enablement, powered by AI is different than autonomous fundraising and might have deeper and a more lasting impact than making our fundraisers more efficient, has never been explored. That's why Version2 exists.
Staffing at most nonprofits has been one of the hardest obstacles for organizations to overcome. The Chronicle of Philanthropy states that "low pay, burnout and employees' desire for work-life balance have been stubborn problems for leaders to solve." Some reports say that as many as 75% of nonprofit organizations are facing staffing shortages. Artificial intelligence, and specifically autonomous fundraisers, will be key to solving this staffing shortage. The moment that autonomous virtual fundraisers can work alongside and for traditional fundraisers to amplify and execute the organization's fundraising strategies, organizations will undeniably understand that autonomous fundraising is a worthwhile innovation.
Version2 is fundraising's most audacious endeavor, certainly fraught with risk and challenges that are sure to test even the best inventors and entrepreneurs. The purpose of Version2 is to develop the first autonomous frontline fundraiser. Our definition of success include having the autonomous fundraiser execute the following steps, without any human intervention:
First, the autonomous virtual fundraiser will need to receive opt-in permission from the donor to work with AI.
The autonomous fundraiser must communicate a set of engagement touch points that guides a donor through a gift discovery and solicitation process.
The autonomous fundraiser must execute stewardship touchpoints that cross the digital boundaries of what we had considered possible with technology.
Even harder than the technical challenges, however, is the requirement that the autonomous fundraiser be accepted by organizational leadership, Development Offices, fundraisers and donors alike. By combining empathetic AI with synthetic mimicking, perception-enabled technology, and AI-enabled robotics, we've been able to create the first version of an autonomous fundraiser that guides a set of donors through the gift process so that a gift is the natural outcome to donor-centric engagement. The outcome of this development has given us the ability to share not just our vision for autonomous fundraising, but to allow leaders to experience the autonomous fundraiser and dream about a world where this technology can help their organizations raise more money to fund their world-changing missions.
It's easy to fear the unknown. It's simple to debate whether something is good or bad before we have to deal with the realities of both perspectives. We believe, however, that because fundraising for nonprofit organizations doing some of the most important work in the world is a good thing, our efforts to prove that autonomous fundraising is possible is both good for humanity and on the right side of history. Fundraising will look different, and that's a good thing. We're building the first autonomous fundraiser because it's the right thing to do, becuase it will change the world and because we now can.
We invite you to follow along as we work with our early partner to prove that autonomous fundraising is both possible and good for humanity. While not without risks, the benefits far outweight the risks and if we're successful, the world will look different tomorrow than it does today.