Early tech foresight fuels nonprofit global reach
Peterman started VeraData in 2007 to apply machine learning to direct marketing. By chance, the company’s first client was a nonprofit agency. The team enjoyed the experience and decided to specialize in philanthropy, creating the company’s bold mission: to increase philanthropic giving as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). To date, the company has raised more than $1 billion for nonprofits.
VeraData’s framework of “accurate, complete, timely, and consistent data” is powered by an AI environment custom-built for the nonprofit sector and led to pioneering their innovative Donor Science™ approach. The company routinely doubles or triples an organization’s active donor pool while reducing the cost of acquiring donors by 20 to 30 percent, Peterman says. VeraData makes the decision to work together easier for new clients by charging only for results—a strategy in place since day one. “We’re the only company in our space who puts forth what is a Herculean effort up front with no payment required unless we move the needle. And that alignment breeds trust,” Peterman says. Because of that trust, clients are willing to share data so VeraData can provide even more value. “We’re asking clients to dig deeper, to think about data differently, to change their norms, to help us help them in ways that are just uncommon,” he explains.
A place to innovate with purpose
Trust is the foundation of internal relationships, too. Office politics do not exist, because employees are focused on client success, Peterman says. Much like the nonprofit teams they serve, VeraData employees are kind, high-performing, and mission-driven. Fifty percent of staff have previously led fundraising at a nonprofit, and 20 percent have a PhD in applied mathematics or a related discipline. The company values and respects its people by emphasizing transparency, providing generous, comprehensive, employee-focused benefits like unlimited PTO, parental leave, and 401(k) matching—and seeking input on company decisions, including new technology deployment.