A Beginner-Friendly AI Session for Fundraisers (FREE WEBINAR)

A few weeks ago, I was on a call with a senior development director I really admire. She’d been hearing the AI buzz, and confessed:

“I opened it once, typed something in, and then thought—what am I even supposed to do with this?”

She’s not alone.

Many of the smartest, most creative fundraisers I know are standing at the edge of the AI pool, unsure whether to dip a toe or dive in. They’ve heard it’s powerful. They’ve maybe seen a few demos. But when they sit down to use it themselves, it feels abstract. Or worse—underwhelming.

And yet... the water looks warm. You can see others swimming, even smiling. You think—this may be more than a passing trend. The fundraisers who take the plunge and learn to use AI thoughtfully could end up saving time, working smarter, and gaining an edge—without compromising their style or values.

So I’m offering a new kind of space: A small-group, free Zoom session—limited to 10 people—where we’ll actually use AI together. Real tasks. Real tools. Real fundraising context.

The vibe will be part office hours, part lab, part workout. We’ll test prompts, swap notes, and give you a few “I can totally do this” moments. If you’re interested, read below for details.

Want In? Here’s How to Join the Zoom Session

🧠 Who it’s for: Development professionals who have not explored AI and want a boost

🧍 Spots: Only 10 participants so we talk about development as we talk about AI

📆 When: Thursday, June 12 at 12:30PM - 1:30PM Eastern Time

💡 Cost: Free. Bring your questions and your curiosity.

Priority will go to people working in fundraising roles who are part of this newsletter community.

Register Now!

Whether or not you join, I’ve outlined five hands-on practice prompts below—richer and more strategic than a “write me a thank-you note” kind of ask. Try them out on your own, or bring them to the session.

1. Map Your Program Language to a Donor’s Values

Upload or paste a donor’s foundation language (from an RFP, giving guidelines, or recent press release). Then share a grant proposal or one-pager from your organization.

Prompt: "Can you show me the alignment between this funder's stated priorities and my organization’s programming? Where do we have the strongest resonance? Where are we weak or off-message?"

This is an advanced AI use case—helping you see where your messaging might be landing flat, or how to frame your work using the donor’s own vocabulary. We’ll refine how to ask these questions and how to test different outputs.

2. Turn Raw Board Updates into a Donor-Facing Impact Report

We all know the board report is packed with gold—but it’s written like it’s going to the IRS. We’ll upload a board packet and have AI transform it into a one-pager that captures emotional resonance, human stories, and a clear theory of change.

Prompt: "Using this board report, write a donor update that highlights program impact and emotional value. Assume the reader is a long-time supporter who cares about outcomes, people, and community change."

Bonus: We’ll compare outputs by asking for three different tones—bullet point brief, warm and narrative, and impact-forward.

3. Build a Giving Pyramid with Live Donor Data

You don’t need Salesforce or Raiser’s Edge for this. Bring a spreadsheet of past gifts—name, amount, and date. We’ll walk through how to clean the data and prompt AI to group donors by tier and suggest appropriate next steps.

Prompt: "Using this donor data, can you segment people into giving tiers and recommend 2–3 cultivation strategies for each group?"

You’ll come away with a tailored segmentation model and sample next moves—plus a repeatable process you can use quarterly.

4. Prep for a Solicitous-but-Human Donor Meeting

You’ve got a 1:1 meeting with a major donor next week. You know their history, but how do you practice the conversation?

We’ll input a donor bio, recent giving, and your organizational context. Then ask AI to role-play as the donor: skeptical, curious, or emotionally invested—your choice.

Prompt: "Pretend you are [Donor Name], a long-time supporter who gave $10K last year. I want to share our new initiative. Ask me three hard questions, two warm affirmations, and one unexpected suggestion."

You’ll get more than prep—you’ll walk in ready for nuance.

5. Build a “Donor Spotlight” from Scattered Notes

You want to feature a supporter in your annual report or newsletter, but all you’ve got are scribbled notes, a few emails, and a fuzzy Zoom memory. We’ll compile that “light data” and ask AI to ghostwrite a donor feature that sounds personal, polished, and aligned.

Prompt: "Write a 250-word profile of a donor named Ellen who has supported our youth program for six years. She’s a retired teacher who believes in leadership development and recently told me she gives because she wishes she had programs like ours growing up."

You’ll learn how to get AI to listen to tone and center the donor’s values—not just fill space.

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Not My First Rotary

I was talking with a colleague about the upcoming AI session and said, with complete confidence, that it would be “very hands on the ground.”

There was a brief silence. Then she tilted her head and said, “That’s… not an expression, is it?”

Well I guess it is if you like to mix hands-on with feet on the ground.

But honestly, it kind of works. During the session, we’re aiming for something grounded and practical, with both hands and brains fully engaged. Malapropism or not—I stand my ground on it.

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