AI should give fundraisers more time for the part of the work only people can do.
Giving season is a lot of work packed into very few weeks, and your team didn’t get any bigger. AI can take some of that off your plate. It can also make your appeals sound like everyone else’s. Here are three places it fits this year-end, and where your voice stays in charge.
Predictive AI: Decide Who to Focus On
Before Giving Tuesday, the most useful question is who deserves your attention first. Predictive AI looks at giving history and patterns to help you answer it: who may give a first gift, which new donors might lapse, and who could give more.
DonorSearch by EverTrue brings giving history, philanthropic indicators, and predictive scores together, so you’re not relying on capacity alone. Wealth tells you what someone could give. DonorSearch tells you who they are as a donor.
Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation used DonorSearch Ai by EverTrue and predictive modeling to understand its wider donor base and time its outreach. Its year-end campaign grew from $1.2M to $3.2M.
One caution, and it’s a theme in The Modern Fundraiser’s Guide to AI: a score is a starting point, not the answer. Let it narrow your list, then let your team decide what to do next.
Generative AI: Shape What to Say
Generative AI is useful for first drafts. Ask it for appeal variations by audience, subject line ideas, a script outline for a video message, or a rough Grateful Wednesday thank-you.
Then make it yours. Rewrite it in your organization’s voice, add the detail only you know, and keep donor information out of public AI tools. A draft gets you started. The message works because it sounds like you.
The same is true for video. AI can help you outline a script, but a ThankView by EverTrue message works because a real person is on screen saying thank you.
Agentic AI: Keep Follow-up Moving
Year-end follow-up slips when the season gets busy. Agentic AI helps with multi-step work, like coordination and follow-up, so tasks keep moving without someone remembering each one.
The goal is consistency. In our Giving Season Campaign Planner, every donor gets a timely acknowledgment within 24 to 48 hours. The thank-you on day two and the welcome in January shouldn’t depend on who had time.
Keep the Personal Moments Personal
AI handles the intelligence. The fundraiser handles the conversation. The call to a priority donor, the face in a thank-you video, and the decision about who deserves a personal touch stay with your team.
Giving is personal. Your intelligence should be too.
The point isn’t to do more this season. It’s to leave room for what only you can do. Read The Modern Fundraiser’s Guide to AI for a practical look at where AI fits, and download the Giving Season Campaign Planner to build it into your year-end plan.