Team Rubicon’s tech-infused humanitarianism and the impact of Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Insights

Building a global community with help from tech

Founded in 2010 by United States Marine Corps veteran Jake Wood, Team Rubicon stands at the forefront of disaster response and recovery. With a global network of more than 160,000 volunteers, known as “Greyshirts,” the organization has conducted 1,100-plus operations across 30 countries and all 50 states. Team Rubicon’s mission is clear: to serve communities before, during, and after disasters and humanitarian crises by mobilizing the unparalleled skills and experiences of military veterans. The organization responds to both major and low-attention disasters, recognizing the increasing challenges posed by billion-dollar climate-related events occurring every 13 days in 2023. 

What sets Team Rubicon apart is not just its remarkable track record but also its commitment to fostering a culture of innovation and efficiency. Beyond the operational aspects, Team Rubicon cultivates a community where military veterans find purpose and connection, breaking down the isolation experienced during disaster responses. The organization emerges not only as a humanitarian force but as a collective bound by shared values, resilience, and a steadfast belief in the transformative power of human connection.

Quickly identifying and engaging the right volunteers with the appropriate skills in specific locations is particularly vital during disaster response, where time is of the essence, and quick, efficient action can minimize suffering and further damage to property. In its endeavor to serve the most vulnerable communities with the right people and resources, Team Rubicon has embraced technology, working in strategic partnership with Microsoft since 2017. This alliance has transitioned the organization from traditional communication tools to AI integration, facilitating quicker decision making, optimal resource allocation, and a swift global disaster and humanitarian response. In a landscape where technology and innovation are crucial for nonprofits, Team Rubicon exemplifies how technology and AI integration can maximize impact and stretch donor dollars further.

“The role of technology and innovation at a nonprofit is even more critical than for for-profit organizations,” says Sheng-te Yang, Vice President of Data and Technology at Team Rubicon. “These are donor dollars, and it’s our responsibility to make sure we are helping more people and making the most impact that we can with every dollar that we’re given. Technology is the way to help us get there.”

A 360-degree view in volunteer and donor engagement

“Serving more people is our North Star, and technology is a main driver for that,” says Nicole Capossela, Chief Development Officer at Team Rubicon. To understand its donors and volunteers, and to create truly personalized experiences for them both at the computer and in the field the Team Rubicon–Microsoft collaboration is centered on Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Insights. Instead of a fragmented and fractured system with parts that weren’t communicating with one another and where data is continually in flight, Copilot provides Team Rubicon with valuable intelligence into its volunteers and donors, leading to more strategic and powerful communication and engagement strategies. For example, by bringing together data from sources such as volunteer interactions, transactions, and behavioral data, the organization can create a comprehensive, 360-degree view of each person. “Customer Insights gives us a window into who we can communicate with and what’s going to engage them. Then we can move them in this journey from a potential volunteer to a Greyshirt who’s having direct impact on survivors,” says Art delaCruz, who is both Chief Executive Officer at Team Rubicon and a retired naval officer. 

AI, specifically Copilot, enhances volunteer management by aiding Team Rubicon in efficiently pinpointing recruitment, retention, and deployment data for a more personalized and tailored experience for volunteers and donors. By creating individualized customer journeys, Team Rubicon can find new insights, create audience segments, and produce personalized content. “As an organization whose programs are carried out by volunteers, it’s really important that we’re engaging them at the right level. With Copilot, we can get really targeted,” says Yang. Copilot works with Team Rubicon to grow engagement by focusing on building a positive volunteer experience while fostering relationships with the wide array of people involved in disaster response. Copilot helps build strategies—whether it’s volunteer communications, recruiting, or donor outreach—that provide value for Team Rubicon’s three goals of speed, effectiveness, and efficiency. “I’m excited about Copilot speeding up the decision making and the increase in the quality of those decisions,” adds delaCruz.

Boosting donor motivation and communication

In the competitive nonprofit fundraising space, timeliness is key, and tools like AI become essential for standing out and delivering value to donors. Team Rubicon has recently begun using Copilot in Customer Insights to automate donor outreach while improving the donor journey, gaining insights, and managing the lifecycle of donor communications. Likelihood to Donate, a collaborative project with Microsoft, enhances fundraising strategies through targeted communication based on historical donor data. “One of the things that technology has allowed us to do is really support our position on transparency,” says Capossela. “It allows me to show donors and show our partners that the investment they’re making makes a difference, and they can really drill down into where, why, and how.”

delaCruz expresses excitement at the abilities of Copilot on the Likelihood to Donate project. “The ability to contact the right people and have the right ask is incredibly important in this competition for resources as people fund all of these different organizations and their missions,” he explains. “Understanding what made them give and how you communicate afterwards all allows them to become recurring donors.” Copilot serves as a solution to donor fatigue and improper messaging, helping clarify donor motivation, which results in more effective communication that in turn leads to fundraising successes. “Customer Insights lets us move quickly, effectively, and efficiently,” adds delaCruz. “That’s what sets us apart, and those three elements are really important in disaster response. The more time you wait, more people suffer.”

Building a transformative path with AI

Team Rubicon represents more than just a response team; it symbolizes a collective commitment to making a positive impact on people’s lives before, during, and after some of their most challenging moments—often on their worst day. The organization’s journey, marked by innovation, collaboration, and a focus on the wellbeing of both volunteers and disaster-affected communities, serves as an inspiring model for the future of disaster response and volunteer engagement.

An emphasis on community, meaningful experiences, and leaning into technology like Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Insights reflects Team Rubicon’s forward-thinking approach. “Customer Insights helps build a better, stronger, more positive experience for the volunteers and the donors. That journey is really important, and the more seamless, the more effective that experience is, the better our opportunity is to build relationships with all those audiences we’re interacting with,” explains Capossela.

Team Rubicon encourages other organizations to embrace advanced analytics and AI tools, emphasizing the importance of adapting to discomfort and change management, especially in the context of increasing disasters. The evolving role of AI in disaster response, from avoiding duplication of efforts to optimizing resource allocation, showcases the transformative potential of technology in the humanitarian sector.

“Going forward, Team Rubicon’s relationship with Microsoft is going to continue to be just as important, if not more,” says Yang. “The bulk of our ecosystem is Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Office 365, and Microsoft has a huge lead on the whole AI initiative.” 

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