Nonprofit Fundraising Innovation Insights

By Gabby Houck and Kalie VanDewater

Nonprofit fundraising innovation doesn’t come from one channel or tactic. Nonprofits are always looking for new ways to engage their communities, elevate their fundraising efforts and create a bigger impact. To do this, nonprofit leaders must think outside the box, which often means learning from recent industry research, peers and technology vendors that can provide a broader perspective on the fundraising landscape.

Here are some of the latest insights on artificial intelligence (AI), peer-to-peer fundraising and direct marketing that speakers shared during NonProfit POWER in Baltimore this week.

1. Keep AI Innovation Grounded in the Human Touch

In the nonprofit sector, where tech innovation increasingly drives impact, AI has huge potential. But even as it helps nonprofits expand their reach and scale their work, there will always be a need for the human touch.

“The human is always evaluating and training your agent so that it continues to get better,” Kimberly O’Donnell, chief fundraising officer and vice president of coaching at Bonterra, said during a tech panel discussion. “But it has your voice, and you are always there to guide it and shape that message as it needs to be shaped.”

However, it can be a challenge to get staff on board. O’Donnell said it’s crucial to show your team the benefits it can bring to their work, especially when it comes to the risk-averse employees on your team. Letting them know the technology isn’t replacing their roles may help, Paul Goldstein, head of AI growth at Blackbaud, added.

“I think a key piece here is we're not replacing workers,” Goldstein said. “We're augmenting and helping them get more. … Imagine if there was something that can give you insights into what works. Usually, we have to muster up the courage to talk your boss, create a plan. [Now] you can work with this AI to develop a plan, to be more educated on how you want to succeed — and the tools that are available to you can give you insights.”

Another key thing to keep in mind is that AI isn’t a fix for every challenge your organization is facing. For instance, Danielle Rice, senior director of solutions at Fundraise Up, explained that operational efficiency is required to leverage AI properly to reach your goals.

“It starts with having teams structured in the right ways to be able to decide what those goals are,” Rice said, “and then looking ahead to say, ‘OK, in 2026, what are we trying to accomplish?’ And if we can align cross-functionally around that — between direct development, between marketing, between data services — then we can actually look across the team and say, ‘OK, operationally, how do we make that [change] efficiently?’”

2. Use Peer-to-Peer to Fuel Nonprofit Fundraising Innovation

As digital fundraising remains a popular fundraising method, Jillian Schranz, director of business development at Event 360, that advocated for peer-to-peer fundraising and the impact it can have.

She cited NonProfit PRO’s “2025 Leadership Impact Study,” and explained that when it comes to nonprofit priorities, the study revealed that three of the top four priorities included diversifying revenue streams, building a community and using events to engage more corporate partnerships.

“I feel like peer to peer is a really interesting solution that can attack some of those priorities for nonprofits,” Schranz said. “Whether you have a program or whether you're looking to build one in the future, nonprofit events have this incredible ability to showcase your mission and your community in action,” Schranz said. “There's nothing like a live, immersive event experience to kind of stay in the minds of your participants, and it's a great way to showcase your mission.”

Schranz, as well as Andrea Courtney, associate vice president of philanthropy event experience at City of Hope, discussed how peer-to-peer fundraising is a powerful tool for nonprofits. It enables the diversification of revenue sources while strengthening community engagement and creating opportunities for personalized interactions with both individuals and corporate partners.

A major theme of the discussion was City of Hope’s growth of its annual Walk for Hope, which has raised more than $3.3 million this year across five events and expanded from a single-location event for women's cancers to a multi-city event for all cancers. Schranz and Courtney emphasized to the audience how peer-to-peer events like the Walk for Hope help raise brand awareness while also highlighting the unique power of live, community-driven fundraising that goes beyond just raising money.

Essentially, peer-to-peer fundraising helps cultivate long-term relationships by providing emotionally resonant, mission-driven experiences that inspire both immediate and future giving from participants and sponsors.

“For us, it's so much bigger than that [fundraising],” Courney said. “It's really about how do we get to that next thing, whatever that next thing is for the person or their journey.”

3. Focus on Emotional Connection, Not Just Clicks

Building on the themes of emotional connection and donor participation, during his session “Neurogiving: The Science of Donor Decision-Making,” Cherian Koshy, CFRE, vice president of Kindsight, highlighted the importance of trust, which he said is earned in small increments and lost quickly if not maintained.

Koshy explained that trust is crucial for donor retention, and organizations should focus on creating meaningful, personalized experiences to build long-term relationships. He also stressed the need for simplicity in communication to respect donors' attention and the potential of technology to enhance, not replace, human connections.

“Technology is the way we can amplify humanity, not impersonate it. Are we optimizing for clicks, or are we optimizing for connection,” Koshy said.

He continued, “Generosity literally feels good for the giver. It makes a difference in the generous brain, but in our sector, lots of organizations, are sending emails like it's paperwork for building forms that feel like doing taxes. So the idea that you want to ask your team is, ‘What is the feeling that we want our donors to experience? And what is our entire system reinforcing as part of that generosity experience?’”

4. Use Direct Mail to Deepen Donor Relationships

Despite the rise of digital fundraising channels, direct mail remains a strong contributor to nonprofits’ fundraising success.

That’s certainly the case for CARE, a nonprofit dedicated to ending poverty globally. Ashley Moore, senior vice president of client services at Newport ONE — who works on direct mail campaigns with the organization — said direct mail has been a powerful acquisition tool for their team.

So, what makes direct mail so impactful? For Betsy Wason, senior vice president of development at Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, it’s storytelling. In its direct mail campaigns, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine shares Rodney’s story, which is that of a dog who spent weeks in laboratory training for medical students in the 1980s and ultimately died as a result.

Rodney’s story is not only used in direct mail, but also throughout the organization’s monthly giving program and other campaigns.

“My ‘a-ha’ moment is how powerful a good story can be,” Wason said. “... We use it from the entry point, as I mentioned, but people are so familiar with Rodney that we also bring it into major gifts work, and we talk about it a lot with our legacy donors. It's just a great way to explain the importance of our mission, and also gather support.”

In terms of innovation, Moore sees personalization across channels as one of the biggest opportunities to elevate direct mail integration.

“It's about paying attention to what people are doing and meeting them where they are — so finding opportunities to engage donors in ways that are unexpected,” she said.

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Save the Date for NonProfit POWER 2026

Next year's NonProfit POWER will take place Dec. 1-3, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor hotel. If you're interested in attending, fill out the NonProfit POWER inquiry form.