How to Use AI for Donor Comms Without Losing Trust

Nonprofits are overwhelmingly adopting artificial intelligence (AI). A recent survey found that 92% of organizations are using it in some capacity. But there's a disconnect: Only 7% of nonprofits report that AI use has a significant impact. 

Near-universal adoption hasn’t translated into strategic impact — and that gap shows up across programs, marketing, and fundraising. The challenge isn't because of the technology, per se. It’s how the nonprofits are thinking about it.

Organizations have gotten used to going faster. Meeting notes are drafted in seconds, fundraisers are spinning out emails at a quick pace, and generative AI allows anyone to create content at scale.

When it comes to communications, AI isn’t better — it's just faster at content development. Donors can easily spot AI-generated content, and they care about human relationships. Therefore, nonprofit teams should establish guardrails to ensure relationships remain front and center.

Stop Calling It Personalization When It Isn't

Some nonprofits drop the donor's first name in the subject line and call it personalization. It isn’t. AI tools are excellent at identifying donors who have given over the past three to five years at a particular time or in response to specific messaging, enabling genuinely targeted outreach. 

That means you can upgrade a recurring donor who starts by giving $25 per month in highly specific ways, thanks to AI  analyzing donor behavior that fundraisers alone simply can't. That's a meaningful lever for mission impact. 

Building an AI communications strategy that retains donor trust means going beyond a first name — it means addressing what you know about their giving patterns and insights from relationship touch points. 

Use Predictive AI to Catch Lapsing Donors Before They're Gone

One of the biggest fundraising challenges is retaining first-time donors. A donor may give once — moved by a moment — and never give again because the organization hasn't built the habit or relationship that earns a second gift.

Additionally, donor attrition is a challenge. People move, email addresses change, and supporters lose connection to a mission. So, when organizations try to win them back with generic appeals, it's ineffective.

Predictive AI is a vital tool for communications, especially for donor retention. With predictive analytics, nonprofits can be more precise about what resonated. In turn, they could dial back on volume and instead send well-timed, relevant messages that engage and keep donors committed. 

Audit Every AI Draft for Brand Voice

Speed may seem appealing, but it’s vital to audit what AI is producing. Being able to generate content quickly or create an image that’s related to your mission doesn’t mean it’s the right approach if the “soul” of your organization isn’t evident. 

AI is great for research and ideation, but it doesn’t feel, and, candidly, it just mimics and replicates. So, any story a human would share about lived experience with your organization’s mission is imitated with AI. In short, AI outputs, while passable, will always need to be reviewed and enhanced to carry your nonprofit’s voice.

What’s more, AI also fabricates but sounds really convincing. If your brand doesn't sound, look, and feel like itself, supporters will respond through decreased giving. 

Let Predictive AI Shape Your Impact Reporting

AI tools are excellent at creating impact reports from provided stats and facts. If you have a lot of data to consolidate and turn into a report, depending on its length, what could take months could take hours. Regardless, it still needs human review. 

AI also makes much more regular reporting feasible — quarterly or biannual cadences rather than a single annual report. Impact reports are most effective written in plain language and illustrated with photos.

In addition, AI can extract impact highlights for emails and social media posts. Predictive AI can help you understand which stories resonate most and parse them into more granular audience segments. 

Build Governance and Data Privacy Guardrails Now

AI is an excellent tool, but half of nonprofits lack AI governance policies, leaving staff to make individual judgment calls every day about donor data and the tools they’re using without management guidance. That, in turn, is an operational risk for an organization. 

Donors provide their information to advance a mission they believe in. However, AI has made it easier to obtain sensitive information and gain clearer pictures of individuals, which can serve your organization but also create risks. Not having AI governance policies (including data privacy) is a serious organizational risk. 

At minimum, an AI policy should address which tools are approved, how to handle supporter data, and how your organization will respond to data breaches if something goes wrong. The document doesn’t need to be complicated, but an AI policy is essential. 

Nonprofit that uses AI strategically — pot just for volume and velocity — can build stronger constituent relationships. That takes intentionality about what AI generates, for whom, and why. Speed is simply an aspect of a meaningful strategy. Your team and donors can tell the difference. 

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of NonProfit PRO.