111. From Overwhelm to Opportunity: AI and the Modern Fundraiser
About this episode
Have you ever wondered if all the noise about artificial intelligence in fundraising is just hype — or if it truly holds the key to the next big leap for your organization? If you’re a major gift officer, development director, executive director, or board member, it’s easy to feel both overwhelmed and skeptical about another “revolution” in how we work. But here’s my promise: this conversation isn’t about buzzwords or tech for tech’s sake. Instead, we share hard-won insights, surprising research, and practical strategies from my experience and my conversation on The Intentional Fundraiser podcast with Nathan Chappell, a nonprofit AI leader. You’ll walk away seeing how curiosity — not fear — can turn today’s uncertainty into tomorrow’s advantage for your mission and your donors.
Why AI Feels Overwhelming — And Why That’s Okay
I’ll be the first to admit — keeping pace with AI developments in our sector can feel utterly overwhelming. Nathan puts it bluntly: “It’s impossible. I spend a lot of time every week… but it is just absolutely complete overwhelm.” Many of us worry we’ll fall behind, or that implementing AI is simply out of reach for teams already stretched thin.
Nathan’s own path mirrors ours. He started talking about AI and generosity back in 2017, long before those two words were ever uttered in the same sentence. For years, he was misunderstood, sidelined, even accused of “desecrating our sector” by suggesting machines could support a fundamentally human endeavor. But he persisted, driven by a mix of technologist’s curiosity and a fundraiser’s heart — and now, we’re all living in the new reality he saw coming.
It’s also normal to worry about the speed and complexity of change. Nathan relies on trusted sources to stay informed but doesn’t try to keep up with everything. Instead, he urges us to focus on creating space to think and to find a few key resources — and people — we trust to filter the noise. It’s not about doing more, but about asking better questions and making room for big ideas.
Moving Past the Hype: Making AI Work for You
Let’s get real: for most organizations, AI is still something we “dabble” in — a draft email from ChatGPT here, a predictive model there. But Nathan argues that AI’s real promise comes not from tools alone, but from a shift in how we approach problems and foster a culture of curiosity.
He told a story about being asked to raise 25% more revenue — with no new staff. “Incremental change won’t work with an exponential problem,” he realized. Simply sending more appeals or attending more meetings wouldn’t bridge the gap. Instead, he turned to predictive AI to help make sense of data, ratifying what his intuition about good donors already suggested. For large, bureaucratic shops, predictive models can unlock entirely new ways to segment, prioritize, and engage donors. Smaller, scrappier teams can lean on generative AI to solve irritating, time-consuming challenges and free up staff to do what only humans do best.
But — and this is crucial — Nathan warns that “the biggest limitation to the adoption of AI for the nonprofit sector is that the pain is not great enough. And I would argue that it is.” Too often, he says, we’ve simply become accustomed to the pain. A scarcity mindset, pressure for efficiency, and risk-aversion from the board can actually create a “vicious cycle” that stifles innovation — the very thing we need to break through old patterns.
His advice? Start with pain points. Don’t let AI become a tool without a problem. Find those tedious, repetitive, or frustrating tasks, and try an experiment. Celebrate what works, learn from what fails, and above all — keep asking “what if?” The most successful organizations are cultivating a culture where measured risk isn’t just tolerated, it’s rewarded. As Nathan puts it: “The person I would hire today… would be the curious generalist all day long rather than the person who has 20 years experience doing one single job.”
Centering Trust, Transparency, and Humanity
AI isn’t a free pass to detach from what makes fundraising powerful: trust, relationships, and genuine listening. Especially when it comes to our donors, Nathan is clear: “We operate in the currency of trust. Trust has to be at the forefront of everything we do. We have to say no to things that… don’t promote and protect trust.”
Nathan and his peers surveyed over a thousand donors and found the main thing they wanted from AI was improved privacy and security. It wasn’t “more personalized emails” or fancy content — it was knowing their data would be used responsibly, and funds allocated wisely. Fundraisers, on the other hand, often assumed donors wanted next-level personalization. That gap in understanding is why transparency is non-negotiable. Even a simple disclosure on your website (“We use AI to enhance your donor experience”) goes a long way toward building trust.
And for those imagining an agent-based, fully autonomous fundraising future? Nathan offers both caution and hope. He’s convinced that, no matter how powerful bots may become, “Only a human can help you feel heard.” The oxytocin of genuine empathy and connection — that feeling of belonging — can’t be programmed. The risk is that AI, if unchecked, can deliver short-term results but threaten the very relationships that sustain our missions in the long run.
AI Isn’t About Replacing What’s Human in Fundraising
It’s about embracing curiosity, courage, and a sense of possibility. As leaders, let’s create space to think, invite questions, and focus on the problems that truly matter. Your pain points can be launchpads for innovation when paired with a culture that values learning and trust over perfection. Believe, as Nathan urges, that anything is possible. If this episode sparked a question or shifted how you view your work, please leave a comment below and share this post with colleagues who’d benefit from joining this conversation about the future of fundraising.
With heaps of gratitude,
Tammy Zonker
Major Gift Expert & Keynote Speaker
Our guest
Nathan Chappell, MBA, MNA, CFRE, AIGP, Chief AI Officer at Virtuous | 2X Author | AI Inventor | Founder of Fundraising.AI | Public Speaker | Podcast Host | Philanthrapologist
LinkedIn / Contact / Website
“It's a false notion that innovation and responsibility are mutually exclusive and they are not right. You can have both, but it's where you start.”
Nathan Chappell, MBA, MNA, CFRE, AIGP, Chief AI Officer at Virtuous | 2X Author | AI Inventor | Founder of Fundraising.AI | Public Speaker | Podcast Host | Philanthrapologist
Resources mentioned in this episode
Donor Perceptions of AI: Key Findings
Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick
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