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Following the announcement of Givzey and Version2's first cohort of Version2 Innovation Partners, Rasheeda Childress, Senior Editor for Fundraising at The Chronicle of Philanthropy wrote a feature story on how autonomous fundraising works and how autonomous fundraisers are already raising money from donors.
Autonomous Fundraising
The article, which features how both William & Mary and College of Charleston are using their Virtual Engagement Officer (VEO), outlines the staffing crisis within fundraising and how autonomous fundraisers work to engage donors who have never had one-to-one relationships with organizations before.
An excerpt from the article:
Ever since the emergence of ChatGPT and other more powerful artificial intelligence tools, some professionals have worried that A.I. will take their jobs. A new tech startup, Givzey, will put that concern to the test in fundraising. The company has signed up 13 organizations that will spend 18 months using an autonomous fundraiser — an A.I. tool that will interact with donors in hopes of raising money for the institutions.“I believe that autonomous fundraising will change the world,” [says Adam Martel, CEO Givzey and Version2]. “If we can get this right, there will be more food for families, there will be more shelter for the underserved and underprivileged. There will be more outcomes because more donors will be engaged, support the causes. And that’s ultimately my vision here — to drive the cost down so far that everybody, every organization, can benefit from autonomous fundraising.”
“Eighty percent of the giving pyramid isn’t touched. They’re not talked to, regardless of what level they’re giving at, because only 10 to 20 percent of the giving pyramid is managed by major-gift officers or fundraisers. They are wonderful, but they can’t scale.”– Adam Martel CEO, Givzey and Version2, as quoted in The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Additionally, Childress spoke with William & Mary's Associate Vice President for Annual Giving & Philanthropic Engagement, Meghan Palombo and Dan Frezza, Chief Advancement Officer of Institutional Advancement at College of Charleston about their perspective and experience with autonomous fundraising.
“We’ve got hundreds of thousands of prospects, and it’s nearly impossible for all of our gift officers to be able to reach those individuals. For us, this is a way for us to think about how might we deploy another resource to reach them.”– Meghan Palombo, Associate Vice President for Annual Giving & Philanthropic Engagement, William & Mary, as quoted in The Chronicle of Philanthropy
“For me, it’s: How does this compare to what a normal world would have otherwise looked like? We know what our costs have been historically through the major channels of mail. How does this new channel compare? That’s what I’m looking for.”– Dan Frezza, Chief Advancement Officer of Institutional Advancement, College of Charleston, as quoted in The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Version2 Innovation Partners
Version2's Inaugural Innovation Partners include:
Bucknell University - Scott Rosevear, Senior Vice President, University Strategy & Advancement
College of Charleston - Daniel Frezza, Chief Advancement Officer
Illinois Institute of Technology - Susan Lewers, Associate Vice President, Major and Planned Gifts
The Jackson Laboratory - Lisa Burton, Senior Director of Advancement Services
La Salle University - Frederick Pettit, Vice President of University Advancement
Parkland Health Foundation - Dan Sullivan, Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer
Sacred Heart University - Paul J. Sutera, Senior Vice President of University Advancement
San Diego State University - Amy Walling, Associate Vice President, Planned Giving, Estate Administration and Annual Giving
St. John Fisher University - Christopher Biehn, Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Texas State University - Brooks Hull, Vice President, University Advancement and Executive Director, Texas State University Development Foundation
Virginia Commonwealth University - Jay Davenport, Vice President of Development & Alumni Relations
Wake Forest University - Mark A. Petersen, Senior Vice President, University Advancement
William & Mary - Matthew T. Lambert, Senior Vice President for University Advancement
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