For many events teams, the ongoing pandemic made their jobs nearly impossible. Many nonprofits that relied on events to drive fundraising saw their revenue numbers drop as virtual galas proved much less effective than the in-person version. Organizations like the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston identified the need to move into a more "donor-centric" fundraising model to rely less on events. However, this meant the events team would need to be retrained as frontline fundraisers while the organization is undergoing a massive strategy shift.
This "newly minted" frontline fundraising team used Gravyty's artificial intelligence (AI) suite of tools as an on-the-job trainer. With the help of Gravyty and AI, BSAGB successfully reorganized event-staff into portfolio-carrying fundraisers who personalized stewardship to supporters, focusing on the contributions they could make to annual giving. By engaging supporters as potential donors, the team secured 314 gifts worth $200K+ in just a few months.
We were recently joined by Erin Barfield, Associate Director of Development at Big Sister Boston, to talk about her team's AI-powered metamorphosis. She shares some of the results that her team has seen through using AI, as well as the strategy involved in making the seamless transition from events to carrying a portfolio. Here's what you can expect to learn:- Learn how to take an event-based fundraising model and transition it to a donor-centric based model
- Learn how staff can quickly learn an entirely new role and specialty with the help of AI
- Learn how AI empowers fundraisers to inspire giving at scale through personal outreach
