About Us
Fundraising.AI is a fully independent collaborative that exists to understand and promote the development and use of Responsible and Beneficial AI for nonprofit fundraising.
Founded by Mallory Erickson and Nathan Chappell in 2023, Fundraising.AI has grown to a community of 30,000+ globally.
At Fundraising.AI, trust is the central currency.
Who We Are
Fundraising.AI envisions a thriving nonprofit sector where AI for fundraising is utilized ethically, responsibly, and inclusively to maximize the positive impact on communities and causes worldwide. The result of this work will be witnessed by an increase in charitable participation.
Our mission is to empower those working within or for the fundraising profession with the knowledge, tools, and resources to adopt AI technologies responsibly and to promote a culture of privacy, security, data ethics, inclusiveness, accountability, and transparency within the charitable giving sector.
Why we exist
While great work has been achieved to strengthen the understanding and importance of Responsible and Beneficial AI in the private sector, currently there is no body of work that exists to define the nuanced attributes of Responsible and Beneficial AI for the fundraising profession.
The Fundraising.AI collaborative exists to address the uniqueness of the nonprofit fundraising sector, which largely relies on donor’s trust, rather than a product or service.
What We Do
With a focus on establishing AI governance and best practices within these key focus areas, we support the short-term and long-term needs of mission-based organizations as they navigate the complex landscape of creating Responsible and Beneficial AI solutions.
Ensuring the protection of personal and sensitive data, implementing robust security measures, and maintaining compliance with relevant data protection regulations.
Promoting ethical data collection, analysis, and usage practices, and fostering inclusiveness in AI systems.
Encouraging organizations to be accountable for their AI applications, providing clear explanations of AI methodology and results, and promoting transparency in AI development and deployment.
Founders
Fundraising.AI is overseen by the Advisory Council, which consists of AI and nonprofit industry experts who provide counsel on emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities in the responsible use of AI in fundraising.
Voices from the sector
Co-Founder, Fundraising.AI and Chief AI Officer, Virtuous
The Fundraising sector represents a half-trillion industry, built extensively on trust. Building a Responsible AI Framework for fundraising that protects and prioritizes trust is the single greatest imperative facing the modern nonprofit.
Founder & Philanthropy Analytics Consultant, NamasteData
Starting with AI can be scary. It might not even be a separate agenda on our to-do list. But this doesn’t have to be a distant topic. The solution to the most challenging problems around us has the same first step – start somewhere. FundraisingAI is that collective permission to start, dream, and build together in a responsible way.
Chief Designer, The Generosity Spectrum
Artificial intelligence can seem like magic, which makes it even more critical that fundraisers, donors, and the larger non-profit ecosystem understand that this technology is being designed responsibly. A framework for fundraisers by fundraisers ensures we are starting with trust as the primary barometer of success.
Co-Founder, Fundraising.AI
The use of AI in fundraising is a game-changer with great promise but also poses key challenges. For the nonprofit sector to thrive, we must leverage its benefits while simultaneously mitigating risks. Fostering an increase in giving depends on widely adopting a Responsible AI Framework for Fundraising – one that prioritizes trust, transparency, and equity.
Chief Data Officer, GivingTuesday
Advances in AI will transform how social sector organizations fundraise, engage supporters, and inspire generosity. Responsible adoption means building sector capacity to understand both the potentials and risks of AI while keeping pace with this emerging technology.
Founder and CEO, Shaff Fundraising Group
Establishing a Responsible AI Framework for fundraising is crucial for nonprofits and those they serve. It fosters transparency, ethical data usage, and accountability, ensuring fairness, privacy, and maximum positive impact for organizations, donors, and constituents.
Associate Vice President, Philanthropic Strategy & Technology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Leading nonprofits are built on trust & transparency. Technology & AI can help foster that at a scale never before possible; but if the fundamentals inside these systems are not built with ethics, privacy, DEI, etc as top priorities, then the entire technological ecosystem will be flawed, leaving our industry in peril.
Strategic Executive Advisor, Global Research and Nonprofit, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
I am honored to work in an industry with nonprofit leaders whose impact helps create a better world each and every day. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can help nonprofits deliver on their missions faster and more effectively than ever before, and responsible use of these technologies for fundraising is key to fostering continued innovation. AWS is committed to developing fair and accurate AI and ML services and providing nonprofit customers with the tools and guidance needed to build AI and ML applications responsibly.
CEO and Author, BWF
From prospect research to data science & digital marketing, nonprofits have responsibly used innovation to help people realize their significance as donors. Now, with AI, we can show once more how charities can blaze the trail of using new technology for good.
Founder and Principal, Windmill Hill Consulting
In the ever-evolving landscape of fundraising, ethics must remain a central value. AI's expanding role is creating more nuances, questions, and possibilities that are unprecedented. The Responsible AI Framework for Fundraising is bringing together a coalition of sector leaders to create essential and urgently needed standards for nonprofits to navigate this brave new world responsibly, safely, and equitably.
Director, Giving X Ltd
The fast-moving and transformational opportunities of AI for growing giving and impact is an urgent challenge for all charities and nonprofits. A Responsible AI Framework for Fundraising is essential if this is to work effectively, equitably, and sustainably for all.
Global Leader, Nonprofit Community Capacity, Microsoft Philanthropies
AI presents an incredible opportunity for professionals in every role at a nonprofit from fundraisers to marketers to program leaders. AI also offers an equitable field for both learning and innovation by every sector but none more urgent to our communities and the planet than nonprofits.
CEO, Virtuous
AI represents one of the biggest advancements in fundraising in the last 50 years. Nonprofits now have the ability to understand and connect with donors in more personal ways than ever before. As an industry, we have a responsibility to leverage this new technology in a responsible way that honors both our donors and our mission. The team at Fundraising.AI is leading the charge in this important work and I'm grateful to be part of the mission!
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Keela
The power of artificial intelligence has the ability to transform fundraising and empower fundraisers, like almost no other tool in human history. That being said, as a sector, it’s important that we find a way to ensure it’s done ethically, in the right way, and to the empowerment, not the detriment, of our communities. Fundraising.AI is an important step, as we bring together leaders from the industry, to ensure a brighter, stronger AI-powered future for nonprofits.
Subject Matter Expert
Trust and accountability are cornerstones of fundraising and grantmaking. We need to establish clear and explicit guidance to engage with new, powerful tools. By doing so, we can keep accountability expectations aligned and deepen trust by attending to guardrails we develop collaboratively.
Chief Executive Officer, Changing our World
Considering the systemic decline in those participating in charitable giving, cultivating the responsible use of AI for fundraising is critical to being able to understand, and scale our efforts in a sustainable manner. When utilized responsibly, AI has the ability to help us with unparalleled precision and personalization, allowing nonprofits to reverse the Generosity Crisis by fostering connection at scale.
President, DonorPerfect
AI is meant to complement - not replace - the passion and trust found in nonprofit professionals. As these tools propel the sector forward, the human touch will continue to be instrumental in preserving creativity and integrity. To embrace AI responsibly means to remain vigilant of personal and ethical risk factors while maintaining genuine connections within your unique community.
Founder, Empowered Fundraiser
My company and I wholeheartedly endorse this framework. We’re especially committed to Principle #6--continuous learning--as the bedrock of Responsible AI for fundraising.
Director of Business Development, Lighthouse Counsel
Ai represents a powerful opportunity to accelerate our decision-making process allowing us, as people in fundraising, to focus on what matters most: relationships with other people. At the heart of all relationships is trust; especially in our sector where funders trust organizations to use generosity dollars to achieve agreed upon outcomes that better the world. As fundraisers, it is vital that we lead the way in ethical use of Ai to continue building that trust instead of eroding it. This is why I’m proud to have signed the Fundraising.Ai framework.
Chief Executive Officer, The Human Stack
Raising funds with AI? Absolutely, but let’s also raise the bar on equity, security, and ethical data use. Because this isn’t just any moment—it’s defining the future. And either we shape the future, or the future shapes us.
FAQ
Answers about who we are and how we work.
The concept of Fundraising.AI was initiated by Nathan Chappell in 2018 as a direct response to the promise and inherent responsibility that AI brings to the charitable giving sector. While originally focused on convening interested AI developers on Responsible AI practices, the rise of Generative AI in 2022 highlighted the need to facilitate educational content and best practices for the nonprofit fundraising sector at-large. In 2022, Fundraising.AI established an ad hoc Advisory Council to help steer the direction and initiatives of Fundraising.AI. In 2023, the Advisory Council created the first-of-its-kind Framework for Responsible AI in Fundraising (see press release), urging transparent and ethical practices for AI adopters, and hosted the first-ever Fundraising.AI Global Summit (see press release). The future of Fundraising.AI will be focused on the education and application of Responsible and Beneficial AI for the Global Fundraising Community.
Fundraising.AI is a fully independent collaborative that exists to understand and promote the development and use of Responsible AI for nonprofit fundraising, and is a testament to our collective desire to promote and protect charitable giving.
At the moment, GivingTuesday is the fiscal sponsor of Fundraising.AI. While Fundraising.AI is not an independent 501(c)3, our collaboration with GivingTuesday enables us to effectively pursue our mission of promoting Beneficial and Responsible AI in the nonprofit sector.
Fundraising.AI supports efforts to instill Responsible AI practices for the fundraising profession in three main ways:
First, through education, by disseminating knowledge through open-source discovery and distribution to help educate the profession.
Second, through advocacy and research partnerships that prioritize both qualitative and quantitative analysis on the use of advanced technologies and big data to support sustainable practices in philanthropic giving.
Third, as a convener, Fundraising.AI serves as a conduit to bring nonprofit and for-profit leaders and philanthropists together to explore best practices and new technologies, share philosophies, learn from use-case scenarios, demonstrate subject area leadership and expertise, support best practices of Beneficial Responsible AI applications, and support building a thriving charitable giving sector.
Irresponsible use of AI will have consequences that reach across international borders. In recognition of this reality, Fundraising.AI is an international effort enlisting membership and support from around the world. We work with partners like Resource Alliance to disseminate information and learning to a global audience.
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