Episode 50: 50 Episodes of Fundraising AI: Milestones, Challenges, and the Road Ahead

Episode highlights

• 00:01 Reflecting on 50 Episodes of the Fundraising AI Podcast
• 01:23 Evolution of AI Technology and Industry Challenges
• 02:33 The Arms Race Between Scale and Safety in AI
• 05:17 Deep Research and Its Impact on Nonprofits
• 11:17 The Role of Curiosity and Generalists in the AI Era
• 14:58 The Future of Agentic AI and Its Implications
• 22:34 The Role of Fundraising AI in Shaping the Future
• 25:16 Looking Ahead to Episode 100

Tips and tools to implement today

• Embrace the generalist mindset to adapt to AI-driven changes.
• Leverage AI to generate detailed, accurate reports quickly.
• Evaluate AI tools against nonprofit values and ethics.
• Advocate for responsible AI adoption with safety in mind.
• Automate tasks like scheduling while maintaining oversight.
• Use AI to enhance relationships, not replace them.
• Keep learning as AI evolves to make informed decisions.
• Support AI policies that prioritize ethical use.
• Test AI-powered donor engagement tools.

Favorite quotes

• "Fundraising AI was created not to promote the use of AI, but to promote the responsible and beneficial use of AI, so things that are helpful in the short term and the long term." - Nathan Chappell
• "I think for our resolve, our commitment to our mission, our commitment to our values, I think we are absolutely going to be tested because we'll be presented with technology that will seemingly do things that will be helpful, but maybe not good for philanthropy overall in the long term." - Nathan Chappell
• "AI changes the rules of the game for all businesses—nonprofit, for-profit, for everything that we were taught growing up." - Nathan Chappell
• "A year ago, I'd have been like, incremental changes, and this is cool. We're getting better at doing things faster and smarter. But now, all bets are off. The world belongs to the curious generalist, and that's a lot of people out there. If they decide to point that imagination and curiosity for good, I get excited about what's possible." - Nathan Chappell
• "These tools are becoming strategic—appearing to be empathetic. They're not actually empathetic, but they can appear they are. They can be amazing creative partners, but they can't wonder. And so I think that's this inherently human thing we can do and own forever. I don't think AI will ever wonder on its own. And therefore, this is our inherent human superpower in this day." - Nathan Chappell
• "I think no doubt, from a technological perspective, AI is going to look so different a year from now that it's already out. We're already there, and it's going to grow exponentially as it does—or double exponentially, in fact—because agents are creating agents, and it just gets wild." - Nathan Chappell
• "The technology a year ago was baby versions compared to now. The new text-to-video, the new voice capabilities, like advanced voice mode—it's all here. The capability for deepfakes is much worse than it was a year ago, and safety and responsibility have been lagging even further. So it's concerning." - Scott Rosenkrans
• "Hopefully, by episode 100, what are we going to say looking back at this year? I think we both agree that this year is probably going to be agentic." - Scott Rosenkrans
• "All you have to do is ask questions. Before now, just asking those questions might not have moved you far ahead—you might just be spinning your wheels. But now, you can actually turn that into something, have someone always bouncing ideas back to you, and create something of value within that context of curiosity." - Scott Rosenkrans

Connect with us

• LinkedIn (Nathan)
• LinkedIn (Scott)
• Website (FundraisingAI)

This episode is sponsored by AI for Anyone.