VVersion2 Virtual Engagement Officer

Givzey’s autonomous fundraisers had raised more than $20 million by September 2026, according to the company, and the second $10 million took only five months. Each Version2 Virtual Engagement Officer (VEO) is an AI that works a portfolio of about 1,000 donors without a person sending each message: it texts, emails, sends video and robotically handwritten notes, asks for gifts and stewards donors afterward.

It is best for universities, hospitals and large nonprofits with thousands of donors that no gift officer has time to call. Points to weigh are price, which is shared by quote, results that are company-reported, and open questions in the sector about letting AI solicit donors on its own. We rate it 7.8/10 on our scale. This review is based on Givzey’s announcements and reporting by the Chronicle of Philanthropy and NonProfit PRO as of October 2026; we have not used it ourselves.

Version2 Virtual Engagement Officer by the Numbers

Givzey publishes more outcome figures than most nonprofit AI vendors, though all of them come from the company. Each item below was checked on the source page.

The trajectory is the striking part: from $3,400 in a 2024 summer test to $503,205 by early 2025 and more than $20 million by September 2026. That growth came mostly from adding deployments, so the per-VEO results matter more to a buyer than the total.

Those per-VEO figures are where buyers should focus. A 4x average ROI and a 0.1% opt-out rate are company numbers, and publishing the method behind them would add weight, while a top-20% figure of 8x implies a wide spread. Ask Givzey for results from institutions of your type and size, and for how ROI is calculated.

The 2024 Chronicle figures are a useful baseline. A 9% response rate and 13 gifts from 119 donors were early test results with a limited product that could not yet hold real-time conversations. The 2026 claims, such as 43% of engaged donors giving more than the prior year, describe a far more mature system, which is why references matter more than headline totals.

A Virtual Gift Officer for Donors Nobody Calls

A VEO acts as a virtual member of the advancement team. Givzey positions it for the tier below major gifts: donors who give but are not assigned to a gift officer. Human fundraisers keep the top prospects.

From Moonshot to Product

Version2 announced in August 2024 that it aimed to build a fully autonomous frontline fundraiser by the end of that year, with William & Mary as its first partner. Givzey says VEOs have worked as digital labor for institutions since October 2024. By March 2025, Texas State University said the tools let it engage its more than 230,000 alumni in ways its staffing could not, and Illinois Institute of Technology said the stewardship officer gave individual attention across its whole giving pyramid.

Portfolio Assignment

The institution assigns a portfolio of about 1,000 donors to each VEO. Givzey’s examples include mid-level donors, annual donors and alumni who previously received only mass appeals, plus lapsed donors the VEO tries to win back.

Engagement Journeys

• Introduction and opt-in: the VEO identifies itself as an autonomous virtual fundraiser for the organization and asks donors for permission before continuing.
• Discovery: it runs touchpoints to learn about the donor’s interests.
• Education and solicitation: it shares information about the institution and asks for gifts, including annual unrestricted gifts.
• Stewardship: it sends thank-yous, birthday cards, impact updates and handwritten-style notes.
• Giving history: through Raiser’s Edge NXT, it answers questions such as how much a donor gave last year or over their lifetime.

Channels are personalized text, email, video avatars and robotically handwritten notes. The engine behind it is what Version2 calls its proprietary Fundraising Neural Networks and Algorithms.

Specialized Officers

• Virtual Planned Giving Officer: identifies unknown bequests and cultivates legacy giving.
• Grateful Patient VEO: for hospitals, runs six-month moves-management journeys timed to the recency of a patient’s care.
• Virtual Stewardship Officer: launched in March 2025 to steward donors at every gift level between giving cycles.

Staff Pick the Portfolio and Take Major Gift Talks

Staff choose the portfolio, set the institution’s messages and priorities, and handle donors who move up to major gift conversations. In 2024 the Chronicle reported that fundraisers sometimes reviewed the VEO’s messages and that it could not yet hold real-time conversations. Ask how much review your deployment will include today.

Per-Deployment Contracts and One 2024 Price Target

Givzey does not publish a price list. Contracts are set per deployment. The only public figure is from September 2024, when the company told the Chronicle of Philanthropy it hoped to charge $15,000 to $20,000 at scale and that early trial pricing was above that range.

Gifts Raised Against Cost Using Givzey’s ROI Figures

These scenarios use the 2024 reported price target and Givzey’s own ROI figures. They are illustrations, not quotes, and assume ROI means gifts raised divided by cost.

• One VEO at the top of the 2024 range: $20,000 a year for about 1,000 donors works out to $20 per donor per year. At Givzey’s average 4x ROI, that VEO would bring in about $80,000 in gifts.
• One VEO at the bottom of the range: $15,000 a year is $15 per donor. Breaking even would take $15,000 in gifts, about $15 per donor in the portfolio.
• A university running three VEOs: at $20,000 each, $60,000 a year covers about 3,000 donors; at 4x, that is about $240,000 raised, and at the top-20% rate of 8x, about $480,000.

Other costs to ask about: setup and data work to connect your CRM, handwritten notes and other physical mail, and staff time to manage handoffs when a donor wants to talk to a person.

Version2 Compared With Blackbaud Development Agent, Virtuous Momentum and Bonterra Que

Nonprofit fundraising agents differ most in how much they do without a person pressing send.

Version2 and Blackbaud’s agent are the two that actually solicit on their own. Blackbaud’s is native to Raiser’s Edge NXT; Version2 works with Raiser’s Edge NXT too and adds video and handwritten notes plus planned giving and grateful patient versions. Momentum and Bonterra Que keep a person in charge of every send, which is slower but easier to defend to a board. See more in our AI agents for nonprofits and education guides.

Universities and Hospital Foundations

• Universities and colleges: most named deployments are in higher education, including Baylor, Temple, UC San Diego, Wake Forest and William & Mary.
• Hospital foundations: the Grateful Patient VEO is built for patient-donor journeys.
• Large nonprofits with unassigned mid-level donors: UNICEF USA, The Salvation Army and PETA are named partners.
• Teams trying to win back lapsed donors: Givzey reports average recapture in three to four months.
• Planned giving programs: the Virtual Planned Giving Officer targets unknown bequests.

Small Nonprofits and Approve-Every-Ask Boards

• Small nonprofits: a portfolio of about 1,000 donors per VEO assumes a large donor base.
• Boards that require human approval of every ask: the product is built to solicit on its own.
• Organizations on CRMs other than Raiser’s Edge NXT: confirm integration before signing.
• Buyers who need published pricing: every deployment is quoted.
• Teams without staff to take handoffs: donors who respond warmly still need a person to follow up on larger gifts.

Opt-Out Rates and the Ethics Debate

• Company-reported results: the $20 million total, 4x ROI and 0.1% opt-out rate come from Givzey; ask for method and comparable references.
• Ethics and trust: experts quoted by the Chronicle warned that persuasive AI could blur asking and manipulating, and questioned whether such tools can fail safely.
• Data quality: early tests addressed letters to only one spouse in a couple; clean household data before launch.
• Sensitive notes: the College of Charleston told the Chronicle it was unsure how to keep sensitive personal details in contact records away from the AI.
• Pricing: the only public figure is a 2024 target; get a full quote including notes, video and setup.
• Disclosure: donors are told they are dealing with AI and must opt in, which is good practice but can reduce reach.

Givzey Doubles Its Milestone to $20 Million

• On September 2, 2026, Givzey announced that its VEOs had passed $20 million raised, double the $10 million milestone of March 2026, with 200 partners and more than 250 deployments.
• On March 12, 2025, Version2 launched a Virtual Stewardship Officer; its VEOs had raised $503,205 in four months at the time.
• On September 9, 2024, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported on early tests, including 13 gifts totaling $3,400 from 119 donors and a planned price of $15,000 to $20,000 at scale.
• On August 30, 2024, Version2 connected its autonomous fundraiser to Raiser’s Edge NXT so it could answer donors’ questions about their giving history.

The Most Autonomous Fundraising Agent, With Caveats

For large institutions with thousands of donors nobody calls, it is worth a serious look. Version2 scores 7.8/10 on our scale: it is the most autonomous fundraising agent we cover, and the company’s numbers, more than $20 million raised and an average 4x ROI, suggest it can turn neglected donors into revenue. Named partners such as UNICEF USA and The Salvation Army show it has moved past pilots.

The score reflects what a buyer cannot yet see: a published price, independent results and more documented CRM integrations, along with open questions about AI soliciting on its own. Ask for a pilot on a defined segment of lapsed or unassigned donors, agree in advance how ROI will be measured, and decide how much human review your organization needs before scaling.

Donor Trust, Opt-Outs and Other VEO Concerns

How Much Does a Version2 Virtual Engagement Officer Cost?

Givzey does not publish prices. In September 2024 it told the Chronicle of Philanthropy it hoped to charge $15,000 to $20,000 at scale, with early trial pricing higher. Current contracts are quoted per deployment.

Does the VEO Tell Donors It Is an AI?

Yes. It identifies itself as an autonomous virtual fundraiser for the organization, and donors opt in before it continues. Givzey reports a 0.1% opt-out rate.

Which Institutions Use Version2?

Givzey names Salk Institute, PETA, The Salvation Army, UNICEF USA, Bucknell, Baylor, Temple, UC San Diego, Wake Forest and William & Mary among its deployments. Texas State University and Illinois Institute of Technology have also spoken about using its tools.

How Is Version2 Different From Blackbaud’s Development Agent?

Both solicit donors on their own. Blackbaud’s agent is built into Raiser’s Edge NXT and uses email and text; Version2 connects to Raiser’s Edge NXT and adds video avatars, handwritten notes and specialized planned giving and grateful patient versions.

Where Does the VEO Hand Off to People?

It is not designed for top major donors, whom Givzey leaves to human gift officers. In 2024 testing it could not yet hold real-time conversations, and its results depend on clean CRM data.