The problem we had building AI for fundraiser enablement was that AI was bound to the fundraiser’s ability to take action. There is a clear limit to the number of interactions traditional fundraisers can have with donors in a day, week, or month. And, although building technology was important, it lacked scale. The scale of the impact of the autonomous fundraiser is why autonomous fundraising is the most important initiative in the sector for Social Good.
The future of our industry will be determined by the difference between AI fundraiser enablement and AI autonomous fundraising. The question won’t be (nor should it be) whether AI can replace or outperform fundraisers (particularly in their ability to build relationships) but rather whether AI can replicate a fundraiser’s ability to generate revenue and drive engagement with donors who are most likely to be overlooked and neglected, but still asked for a gift once a year.
Because of its scale, the importance of this initiative can’t be overstated. Our team’s ability to prove that an autonomous fundraiser can independently replicate the revenue and engagement of a DXO or leadership annual giving officer will offer a solution to high turnover, fundraiser staffing shortages, and an inconsistent and compromised donor experience. All donors, despite how much they can give, should be treated like major and important donors. Autonomous fundraising is the only way that all donors will get this type of personalized engagement.
This week, our team is testing the Virtual Engagement Officer’s ability to self-generate and self-write robotically hand-written introductory notes, birthday cards (for July birthdays), and stewardship notes to thank donors in its portfolio for their EOY gifts. Our team will also spot-test and review our FNA Version 1.2 outputs (our fundraising nets and algorithms which act as the autonomous fundraiser’s brain) for the Virtual Engagement Officer’s portfolio which categorizes all 1,000 donors, automatically creates a 12-month dynamic journey for each donor, establishes a next step for the VEO to take with a donor, and prepares to take that action.
These are still early days, but the progress is overwhelming, happening faster than we expected and will undoubtedly have a deep and lasting impact on the future of fundraising.
