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What We’re Learning from Version2ai’s First Cohort
- Sara Montgomery
- Apr 7
- 3 min read
This past week, Givzey’s Version2 team had the privilege of presenting with our Innovation Partners at three major CASE conferences—CASE CUF, CASE District V, and CASE DRIVE—where I joined Cohort 1 leaders to discuss their firsthand results with the first autonomous fundraiser.
At CASE CUF, we spoke with Brooks Hull, VP for University Advancement at Texas State and Executive Director, Texas State University Development Foundation, where he emphasized the critical labor shortage he faces in hiring associate level fundraisers. At CASE DV, Susan Lewers, AVP, Major and Planned Gifts from Illinois Tech showed session attendees incredible examples of their VEO engaging in 2-way communications with its portfolio. And at CASE DRIVE, Natalie Spring, AVP, Advancement Solutions from Virginia Commonwealth University shared a candid perspective on how she went from being hesitant to becoming a true believer in the power of Autonomous Fundraising as she watched it work with unengaged donors more successfully than they ever had before.
Leading into this wave of CASE conferences, Version2’s Director of Partnerships and Sales, Renee Quinn, shared the stage with Amanda Glann, Director of the Fisher Fund at St. John Fisher University at NEAGC, where Amanda spoke to her annual giving peers about how Quinn, their VEO, learned from the content she generates in her annual fund appeals and communications and added to her ability to reach more donors in personalized ways.
I want to take a moment to recognize these partners—and all of Cohort 1—for their pioneering leadership, generous collaboration, and willingness to embrace transparency throughout the R&D process of autonomous fundraising. Their openness and engagement have been instrumental in shaping this work. They opened their results, learnings, and challenges to the entire industry for the sake of developing a solution that will change the future of our industry.
During these conferences, attendees asked so many great questions about their experiences - often even more than we had time to get to. Here were some of the most common:
How are you measuring results?
Our Innovation Partners have been tracking success through year-over-year portfolio performance, with many already exceeding last year, re-engaged donors (500 to date across all partners), and increased participation. Their willingness to openly share these metrics has helped illuminate the measurable impact of AI-driven Virtual Engagement Officers (VEOs) in fundraising efforts.
How do your marketing communications feel about the VEO's messaging?
Across the board, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. The VEO has successfully learned from existing communications and built its knowledge base to the point where it mirrors the voice and tone of institutional teams. Thanks to the thoughtful feedback and guidance of our partners, this technology is evolving into an extension of their teams, ensuring authentic and effective donor engagement.
How are you introducing the idea to your communities?
Texas State, Illinois Tech, SJF, and VCU each took distinct approaches to introducing the VEO to their networks. By sharing their strategies, successes, and adjustments, they’ve paved the way for future cohorts to refine their own approaches. Recently, The University of Toledo Foundation and Indiana State University have provided great examples of how the VEO is being introduced:
With 40 organizations now working with a VEO, we’re on an accelerated path to $1 million in attributed pipeline from AI-driven engagement. These early results and shared learnings are just the beginning. The momentum behind Autonomous Fundraising is real—and it’s only growing.
If you're curious about how a VEO could support your team, we’d be happy to connect and share more.
