How Important Is Artificial Intelligence If You’re Not Even Doing the Basics?

These days, you can’t open an email without some type of message about artificial intelligence (AI). Complete conferences are created around the topic. It’s all I see in my LinkedIn feed right now. 

I must say I’m concerned that everybody is jumping on AI as the next shiny new thing because the reality is that AI is not going to help you raise one more dollar if you don’t do the basics first. AI could be draining your time and focus away from those things that will help you keep your donors and will help you raise more money for your mission. 

Why? Because AI takes time. Just like humans must learn new things, AI too takes time to learn. Let’s give a bit more time to those many companies that have started to use AI to create ask strings, credit card smart retries, recurring donor retention efforts, database segmentation and more because many are not quite there yet.  Not to mention there are copyright issues that are yet to be resolved, especially when it comes to images. 

Having said this, I do suggest using AI as the tools they can be and leaving it at that. Use AI like you’re using spell or grammar check in your emails and documents. Use it for your spreadsheet formulas. Use it to get your creative juices flowing and take it from there. 

AI can never take the place of focusing on your donors. AI should never take the place of basics. Here’s what I mean by the basics.

Send Thank-You Letters ASAP

And that does not mean a month later. Preferably that means within a week. And by golly, send a thank-you letter by mail for a gift in any amount. Older donors especially will appreciate thank-you notes by mail. 

Why is that important? Because you want to make your donors feel good and special about their recent gift to your organization. 

Tell Donors How Their Gifts Are Making a Difference

Send a newsletter or an impact report. It does not have to be a huge or expensive gesture. 

Engage Your Donors in Ways That Best Fit Your Mission

Invite them to a town hall or a special update. They may not all show up, but just the fact that you invited them will make a difference. And it’s totally great to send everybody a link to the recording afterwards. 

Keep Your Data Clean and Updated

This way you can address your donor in the right way and keep track of their preferences. 

Remember to keep track of donors who give online through an appeal’s URL or QR code, as well as donors who give through their donor-advised funds, based upon an appeal. It's important to look at the complete picture when attributing gifts. 

Have a Donor Engagement Plan

Create a plan to feed in new donors and reactivate your lapsed donors, so you can grow your organization and keep the momentum going. 

In addition, have a plan for upgrading donors. Having your donors give more often (ideally to converting them to make recurring gifts) allows your organization to grow your fundraising. If donors give by mail, that does not mean you can only communicate by email or social media. And one or two appeals a year will most likely not help you grow your fundraising. 

Especially now where it’s even more crucial to keep your donors, doing what I consider the basics is critical. And if you do these, you may very well stand out from other organizations and retain more of your donors. 

Use AI as a tool to help you get your creative juices flowing if you’re stuck for a message. Use it to draft a thank-you letter, which you can then perfect and make it even more personal and send out right away.  

Then let’s stop talking about AI and get back to basics because that’s what really counts!  That’s how you can keep donors. That’s how you upgrade them to higher levels. That’s how you improve lifetime value. That’s how you raise more money. 

The preceding post was provided by an individual unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.