AI + Fundraising = More Time for Donors

Associate Consultant

As nonprofit fundraising professionals, we’re all too familiar with the pressures of doing more with fewer resources. Smaller teams. Larger goals. Greater expectations. But what if AI tools could help ease this burden—allowing us to focus on what truly matters: the human connections that drive our work and fuel our missions?

AI is no longer a “nice-to-have” for nonprofits; it’s essential. In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, organizations that don’t embrace AI risk falling behind. Despite reservations that AI might diminish focus on human connection, the right AI tools can actually enhance connection by offloading time-consuming tasks and giving us more space to focus on the relationship-building that drives our work. AI tools are already becoming embedded in our daily lives; let’s make it work for us instead of resisting the changes that are upon us.

Start with a Governance Policy

One of the first steps in integrating AI is to establish a governance policy. This will help ensure that AI tools are used responsibly and align with your organization’s values. A well-crafted policy (perhaps drafted by AI! Or modeled after templates found at Fundraising.AI) defines which tools are acceptable, sets boundaries for their use, and keeps everyone accountable. Make it a living document, revisiting it twice a year to adapt to the fast-changing AI landscape. This ensures that AI adoption doesn’t feel like a chaotic rush, but a strategic move forward.

Choose the Right AI Tools: Explore, Then Commit

Start by exploring a few AI tools to see which ones fit your needs. Don’t spend too much time bouncing between options—once you find one or two that are easy to integrate into your daily tasks, stick with them and focus on getting comfortable. The longer you use them, the more they’ll adapt to your preferences.

Generative AI tools—such as ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, and Gemini—are great starting points. These tools are designed to assist with writing, generate ideas, and even automate repetitive tasks. Selecting a tool comes down to preference. Try a few, see what fits your needs, and then stick with it.

Privacy and Trust in AI Tools

When choosing AI tools, privacy should be a top priority. Paid versions of generative AI tools often offer enhanced privacy features, ensuring your data—like donor lists and giving history—aren’t used for training the AI or shared without consent, something free versions often lack. As nonprofit fundraisers, our relationships operate on a currency of trust; we can’t afford to be careless.

AI Can Amplify Impact

AI’s true potential lies in its ability to augment our work and amplify our impact. By automating repetitive tasks—like drafting donor emails, creating reports, or writing content—we can free up valuable time to focus on relationship-building activities. This means more time for direct donor engagement, strategic thinking, and high-impact communication.

This shift also requires adopting a culture of curiosity. To fully harness AI, lean into the “what ifs.” What could we accomplish if we approached challenges with AI in mind? How might we rethink tasks and processes—considering AI first—to unlock new possibilities and drive greater impact? Fostering a mindset of curiosity and experimentation will help integrate AI tools more seamlessly into our work.

Best Practices: Verify, Then Trust

AI’s capabilities are growing rapidly, but remember verification is key. AI-generated content should always be fact-checked before publishing. While the accuracy of AI tools is improving daily, occasional errors still occur. Ensuring the correctness of the content before it goes public is crucial for maintaining trust with your donors and stakeholders.

Here are some practical applications of AI that can boost efficiency and productivity in nonprofit fundraising:

• Donor Engagement: Use AI to generate customized donor messages. You can ask it to write in a specific tone or format to efficiently create more personalized outreach to your different donor groups.
• Streamlining Administrative Tasks: Automate routine tasks, such as generating reports or summarizing meeting notes, to save time and reduce administrative burden.
• Content Creation: AI tools can help create blog posts, social media updates, and fundraising appeals. Provide the tool with basic guidelines (e.g., length, style), and iterate on the results to get the final draft.

AI’s growth has been exponential and isn’t slowing down. By integrating AI tools into our processes, we can work more efficiently, save time, and focus on the heart of our work: building authentic, lasting relationships with our donors, and raising the dollars that drive our missions. We must also remember that leveraging AI won’t be a one-and-done process. We’ll continue to learn, adapt, and refine how we use these tools. The key is to start today and embrace AI as a tool to help us amplify our impact.