The Future of Fundraising
Welcome to the Future of Fundraising.
Campaigns get so much attention in fundraising, rightfully so. However, many of us fail to understand that rather than a curtain call, campaigns should end with a critical handoff that provides our organizations with an incredible opportunity for follow-up that inspires donors and their giving for years beyond the campaign.
As soon as a campaign is complete, the window to thank donors in meaningful ways, share the first signs of impact, and ensure the new connections sparked during the campaign carry forward into the next chapter, begins to close.
Across our Innovation Partners, it’s incredible how many organizations seize this exact moment with a natural handoff to a Virtual Engagement Officer.
We’ve all seen participation suffer during campaigns as we focus on larger dollar giving. That’s exactly why so many Innovation Partners are bringing in Virtual Engagement Officers (VEOs) to recapture lapsed donors.
Other Innovation Partners saw major momentum from their campaigns and an influx of donors. These partners are developing new portfolios for their VEOs to focus on retention, sharing impact, and building relationships in ways that lead to the natural outcome of giving.
For example, Baylor University's unexpected surge in millennial giving during its recent campaign inspired a new focus for the Virtual Engagement Officer—keeping these donors engaged and building lasting connections that will shape the future major gift pipeline.
Meanwhile, as Western Carolina closes its campaign, traditional frontline fundraising staff are focused on dollars in the door. Meanwhile, the VEO is actively widening the overall circle for future growth by rebuilding participation, increasing donor counts, and keeping the new donors close with stewardship and cultivation.
The University of Oklahoma Foundation’s VEO is already looking ahead, organizing the new interest the campaign unlocked and aligning prospects to the right portfolios so the next chapter starts with a ready-made pipeline.
Each of these teams shows us that trusted digital labor in the form of Autonomous Fundraising represents an opportunity that wasn’t available just a year ago.
With Autonomous Fundraising, campaign completion is truly the handoff, not the curtain call. Virtual Engagement Officers empower us to deepen support from these new and re-engaged donors, preparing us for the inevitable next campaign before this one even closes.
Autonomous Fundraising Progress Update
The power of Autonomous Fundraising shows up in the steady growth of impact. Each week, Virtual Engagement Officers (VEOs) raise dollars, strengthen relationships, surface opportunities faster, and keep every touchpoint aligned with the mission.
This week’s VEO by the Numbers:
- $2,361,952 raised
- 58,474 donors managed
- 267k+ activities managed
- 22,907 donor engagements (CASE-defined)
- 16,952 gifts secured
- 969 donors re-engaged
- 3 planned gifts
- 3 multi-year gifts
- 211 human handoffs
Every number tells the story of more connection, more giving, and greater impact.
See what your team can unlock → https://version2.ai
Quiet Periods Don’t Have to Stall Your Pipeline
Between campaigns, events, and planning cycles, there are stretches when donor outreach slows. Those gaps may seem unavoidable, but they can quietly stall relationships and cool pipelines.
The right strategy keeps donors engaged year-round, so your next big initiative starts with prospects already warmed and ready for conversation.
Discover how a Virtual Engagement Officer keeps pipelines warm and fundraising momentum steady — read the full story.
Autonomous Fundraising in Action: Inside Baylor & Toledo’s Strategy for Engaging Specific Donor Segments
When personalizing outreach across decades of graduates and affinity groups stretches your team too thin, precision targeting can be the game-changer.
Baylor University and the University of Toledo Foundation tackled this by deploying a Virtual Engagement Officer (VEO) to focus on select donor cohorts—rekindling alumni enthusiasm at Baylor and building sustained stewardship pathways for Toledo’s Science & Math graduates.
In this session, you’ll hear how each team designed its VEO strategy, why they chose those specific segments, and what they’ve learned about maintaining engagement without adding headcount.
Save your seat to see how trusted digital labor can power deeply personal outreach for your organization.
Autonomous Fundraising in Action: Reengaging Lapsed Donors from The Jackson Laboratory
The Jackson Laboratory made a strategic decision to deploy their Virtual Engagement Officer (VEO), Jackie, to systematically reengage lapsed donors and inactive supporters who hadn't responded to traditional outreach in years.
The results were immediate: over 5,000 personalized messages sent, meaningful reconnections established, and even a $2,000 gift secured from a donor who hadn't given in years. In this live conversation, the JAX team will share how they transformed cold audiences into active supporters through scalable, autonomous outreach and what they've learned about integrating digital labor into their fundraising strategy.
Save your seat to learn how Autonomous Fundraising can surface major donors hiding in plain sight.
Meet Version2 at Prospect Development 2025
We’re excited to be attending APRA Prospect Development 2025 in Baltimore!
Join Renee Quinn from Version2.ai for Autonomous Fundraising: Engaging the Rated But Unassigned on Wednesday, August 20 at 4:05 PM ET. She’ll share how organizations are using autonomous AI fundraisers (VEOs) to personally engage rated but unassigned donors, strengthen pipelines, and grow giving—without adding headcount.
Don’t forget to stop by the booth to meet the Version2.ai team throughout the week to learn how institutions are expanding capacity and transforming donor engagement with trusted digital labor.
Fundraising Jobs
Our featured jobs come from our amazing subscribers. If you have jobs you would like posted in the Future of Fundraising newsletter, please email hello@givzey.com with your requests.
- Director of Development $137,869+ | Conservancy of Southwest Florida | Naples. FL | APPLY >>>
- Chief Development Officer $150,000 - $180,000 | Share Food Program | Philadelphia, PA | APPLY >>>
- Director of Planned Giving $130,000 - $150,000 | Manhattan University | Bronx County, NY | APPLY >>>
- Director of Philanthropy $110,00 -140,000 | ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation | Richmond, VA | APPLY >>>
Investment Banking | Startup Fundraising & Investor Relation | Connecting Founders with Investors | MBA Finance
3moAdam Martel Funny how campaigns feel like a finish line, but they’re really just the start of building trust. The idea of using VEOs to keep that momentum alive…makes so much sense.