AI Won't Build Your Donor Relationships. Here's What It Should Do Instead

AI Won't Build Your Donor Relationships. Here's What It Should Do Instead

August 24, 2026 · 16 min · Season 1 · Episode 92

About this episode

Tom discusses the role of AI in building donor relationships and the risks associated with its use in fundraising.

Thirty years ago Tom was working off a printed list of donor names and mail merges felt cutting edge. Today he's using Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini every week. In this episode he walks through how he actually thinks about AI in fundraising: where it earns trust, where it breaks it, and the two questions he asks himself before using it on anything donor facing. He covers the real risk of feeding sensitive donor data into free AI tools, why a chatbot should never be the one thanking a first time donor, and the simple gut check that tells him when AI belongs in the room and when it doesn't. Looking for fundraising coaching? Check out www.abundantvision.net [http://www.abundantvision.net/]

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