Using AI and Automation to Protect Your Energy and Focus
Scaling Major Gifts. Strategies, action steps, and ideas for scaling major gifts by Tammy Zonker, Major Gift Expert & Keynote Speaker.
How Can Major Gift Officers Use AI and Automation to Protect Time for Donors?
If most of your week disappears into admin, scheduling, and data entry instead of donor conversations, the fix isn't a longer to-do list. It's letting AI and automation absorb the routine work so your time and energy go where they really raise money, with donors. If you lead major gifts, development, or a small nonprofit team, this is for you.
This is for major gift officers, development directors, executive directors, and small teams who want more hours for donor relationships without working more hours overall. After reading this, you'll know the three categories of work that are safe to hand off, see a few low-risk workflows you can pilot this quarter, and have guardrails so none of it ever feels impersonal to a donor.
Let’s get into it
A major gift officer I coach kept a log of her week a few months back. Out of 45 hours, she spent just under 6 with donors. The rest went to internal meetings, CRM updates, scheduling back and forth, and drafting the same kind of email she'd written a hundred times before.
She isn't unusual. Most of the major gift officers I talk with in 2026 are carrying a portfolio, a CRM, and a calendar that all compete for the same hours their donors need most.
Here's the part that surprised her. AI and automation have gotten genuinely useful for exactly the kind of work that eats those hours. Not for replacing her relationships. For clearing a path to them.
What to focus on next week
Track where your hours really go for one week. Most fundraisers are surprised by how much time admin and internal meetings take compared to donor time.
Sort your task list into three buckets: admin, drafting, and analysis. Admin is scheduling and data entry. Drafting is emails, call summaries, and briefing notes. Analysis is spotting patterns in your notes or portfolio. All three are good candidates for AI and automation.
Pick one task in one bucket to automate this month, not your whole workflow. Small and consistent beats a big system overhaul that stalls out.
Decide now what never gets automated. The actual donor conversation, the listening, and the judgment calls stay yours.
Use AI to draft, not to decide. Let it produce a first pass you edit and personalize, never a final version you send untouched.
A Quick Story
A development director I worked with was spending close to four hours a week writing call summaries and follow-up emails after donor visits. We set up a simple routine. She'd dictate a two-minute voice note right after each meeting, run it through an AI tool to draft a summary and a follow-up email, then edit both before sending. Within a month, those four hours had become forty-five minutes, and she used the time she got back to add two more donor visits to her calendar every week.
Try this next week
Audit last week's calendar. Circle every hour that wasn't donor-facing and ask which of those tasks are repeatable.
Draft one AI prompt template for a task you do often, like turning meeting notes into a follow-up email, and test it on your next real meeting.
Block 30 minutes to research one scheduling or data entry tool your team could pilot. Just test it, don't commit to it yet.
Want to take a deeper dive?
This week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser Podcast, Working Smarter: Automation for Major Gift Officers, walks through a full day in the life before and after basic automation, plus one or two workflows you can set up this week.
Listen to the full episode below.
I’d love to hear from you
What's the one task on your plate right now that drains the most energy for the least donor impact? Connect with me on LinkedIn and tell me. I read every note, and your stories shape what I cover next.
AI won't replace the relationships you've built. It can clear enough space for you to spend more time building them. Pick one task this week and let a tool carry it for you.
Keep scaling,
Tammy Zonker
Author of Calling All Heroes
Founder + President of Fundraising Transformed
President of Modern Institute for Charitable Giving
Subscribe to The Intentional Fundraiser Podcast
Reserve your spot at our upcoming Excellence in Major Gift Fundraising Seminar
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Who is this approach best suited for?
This approach is designed for major gift officers, development directors, and CEOs of small and mid-sized nonprofits who want to grow major gifts without burning out. It works especially well if you already have a basic CRM in place and at least a handful of routine tasks you repeat every week.
Q2. How much time should I expect this to take each week?
Most fundraisers can get started with about 1 to 2 hours per week focused on setting up and refining one automated workflow. The more important piece is consistency, protecting that time so it doesn't get swallowed by internal noise.
Q3. What if my organization is small and I wear multiple hats?
The principles still apply, but you may need to scale the tactics. Start with one routine task, like meeting follow-up emails or scheduling, instead of trying to automate your entire week at once, and expand as you see results.
Q4. How do I know if it's working?
Look for early signals like more donor meetings on your calendar, faster follow-up after visits, and clearer notes in your CRM. Over time, you should see this reflected in larger average gifts, better retention, and more time spent with your highest-capacity donors.
Q5. Where does AI fit into this, if at all?
AI is there to reduce friction, not replace your relationships. Use it for drafting call summaries, turning bullet notes into follow-up emails, or flagging patterns worth a second look in your portfolio, while keeping the listening, discernment, and relationship-building work firmly in your hands.