Here’s a stat that should make every nonprofit leader wince: according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, of 100 first-time donors, only 20 will give again the following year. Retention problem? Or a relationship problem?
Development staff know they should be staying in closer touch with donors, sharing better stories, and personalizing outreach. They know they should be mining their CRM for patterns and insights. They just don’t have the time.
So the question isn’t whether AI can help nonprofits raise more money. The question is whether AI can help nonprofits build better relationships that keep donors around.
Donor Retention Isn’t a Data Problem, It’s a Bandwidth Problem
When I talk to EDs and development staff about why donors aren’t sticking around, the reasons are pretty consistent. Nonprofits struggle to tell compelling stories about their work. They send generic thank-you letters instead of personalized acknowledgments. They ask for money without first connecting with donors to understand what matters to them.
And increasingly, donors care about that connection. They want to know where their money is going, what it’s supporting, and what difference it’s making. In today’s economy, people are selective. There are a lot of organizations asking for support, and donors are looking for reasons to feel invested not just financially, but emotionally.
The problem is that most development teams are stretched thin. They’re writing grants, planning events, managing volunteers, seeking donations, and trying to keep up with communications. Donor data is sitting right there in the CRM, but there’s little to no bandwidth to do anything strategic with it.
That’s where AI comes in. It’s not a replacement for human connection, but a tool that frees up time for it.
Here’s What AI Can Actually Do for Fundraisers
Here’s a helpful framework I use when coaching nonprofits on how to incorporate AI without losing their humanity. Developed by Dmitry Koltunov of Arbor, it’s called the 10-80-10 rule.
The first 10% is setting the stage. This is your setup, where you set the tone, define your goals, and give AI the context it needs to sound like your organization.
The middle 80% is where AI steps in. This is the heavy lifting: pulling and analyzing data, drafting copy, generating variations, and providing some light personalization.
The final 10% is human review and revision. This is where you review for emotional resonance. You add real-world specifics like a staff anecdote or a “because of you” story that couldn’t possibly be AI-generated. You also review tone and structure to make sure it sounds like your organization.
That final 10% is what turns an efficient campaign into a memorable one.
An Example: Thank-You Notes After an Emergency Appeal
Let’s say your organization just raised $25,000 in 24 hours after a pipe burst flooded your community center, and now you need to thank 50 donors. Here’s how the 10-80-10 rule would work:
First 10% (human input): You start by clarifying your segments. Who are these 50 donors? Are they first-time givers? Longtime supporters? Major donors? Then you define your emotional goal: gratitude, impact, trust. You provide AI with an idea of your organization’s voice, maybe a few sample thank-you notes that feel authentic, as well as details about the emergency and what the funds supported.
Middle 80% (AI heavy lift): AI generates initial drafts tailored to each segment. One template for first-time donors: “You joined our community at a critical moment.” Another for long-time supporters: “Your ongoing commitment meant we could act immediately.” AI can personalize lightly by using mail-merge variables like first name, gift amount, date. It creates a few tone variations: formal for institutional donors and conversational for individuals.
Final 10% (human refinement): You review for emotional accuracy. Does this sound like us? You add some personal touches like specific details about impact or a P.S. that feels spontaneous. Every donor still feels the humanity, but AI just saved you 90% of the time it would have taken to handcraft 50 notes.
AI Can Spot Patterns You’d Miss
Here’s where AI becomes your strategic partner. It can identify donor segments and patterns that humans would miss.
For example, AI might detect that a percentage of your donors only give within 72 hours of local news coverage about your issue area. Humans might attribute that to coincidence, but AI can cross-reference timestamps with local media coverage and find a clear correlation. These are reactive donors, driven by current events rather than campaigns. Now you can be prepared with thank-yous and follow-up stories, ready to send within 48 hours of relevant news stories.
Or AI might flag donors who used to give three times a year but have recently dropped to once. These are donors who are still emotionally invested but may be financially stretched. Instead of pushing for another monetary gift, you could invite them to a volunteer shift or a ‘behind the scenes’ coffee chat. The goal shifts from gift frequency to relationship preservation.
AI can also identify your donors who give modestly but who have the highest email open rates and share rates on social posts. Humans might overlook them because they’re low-dollar givers. AI can recognize them as donors who extend your reach, not just your revenue.
This is the kind of strategic intelligence that helps nonprofits work smarter and faster.
What AI Can’t Do (and Shouldn’t Try To)
AI cannot replace genuine human gratitude. And it can’t fake authenticity.
When I was a program officer, I used to send handwritten thank-you notes to applicants after site visits. These weren’t donors, but they were grantees who had given up their time to host foundation staff and board members. I thought a handwritten note was more personal than a mass thank-you email. I tried to include something specific about the visit, a detail that showed I’d been paying attention.
That wasn’t scalable. It wasn’t efficient. But it mattered.
Donors leave because they don’t feel seen. They’re not receiving personalized touchpoints (or maybe they’re not receiving any touchpoints at all). They’re not feeling informed about what their donations are supporting. They don’t feel connected to the mission in the way they want to.
AI can help you stay organized and strategic. It can help you identify who needs attention and when. But it can’t replace the phone call that rebuilds trust. It can’t manufacture the human moment that turns a one-time giver into a lifelong supporter.
The best use of AI is to help save time so you can create more space for those moments.
How to Protect Donor Trust in the Age of AI
Supporters share personal details, like family ties, interests, and giving history, with an expectation of confidentiality. When you start using AI to analyze and engage with that data, you’re taking on a new level of stewardship responsibility.
Not all AI tools handle donor data the same way. If you’re copying and pasting spreadsheets into public AI platforms, you’re taking some risk. Look for AI that’s built into your CRM or that offers enterprise-level data protections.
Before you start using any tool, ask: How is our data stored? Who has access? What happens if something goes wrong? If your vendor can’t answer those questions clearly, that’s a red flag.
You should also think about internal policies. Who on your staff has access to donor data? What tools are they allowed to use? What are your procedures for disclosing AI use to donors when appropriate?
Transparency matters most when AI touches anything that affects voice, visuals, or values. If you’re using AI to create or alter donor-facing content like videos, photos, or narratives, disclose it. If AI is helping you segment or personalize communications, mention it in your policies. You don’t need to apologize for using AI. You just need to be honest about it.
The nonprofits that earn donor loyalty in the next five years will be the ones who say, “We use technology ethically, openly, and always in service of human connection.”
Where Nonprofits Should Start with AI (Hint: Start Small)
AI won’t build relationships for you. But it will help you stop doing busywork and start doing relationship work. It can help you see patterns in your data that would otherwise stay hidden. It can help you draft, organize, and communicate more effectively, so you have more bandwidth to focus on what matters.
If you’re a nonprofit leader wondering where to start, pick one operational headache that’s eating up staff time every week. Maybe it’s thank-you letters. Maybe it’s pulling and analyzing donor reports. Maybe it’s segmenting your email list.
Start there. Use AI to take that task off your plate. Then take the time you just freed up and spend it on a donor conversation or a handwritten note. Because those are the things that keep donors around and engaged.
Image by June Laves from Pixabay