Episode 96: A Better Way: Donor-Centric AI with Derric Bakker

August 20, 20263 min read

Overview

As AI changes the way nonprofits connect with donors, the big question is: can technology make fundraising more personal, not less?

Derric Bakker, CEO at DickersonBakker, explores how fundraising has moved from personal, relationship-based work to more transactional communication. He shares how AI can help nonprofits bring personalized donor experiences to more people, not just major donors.

The discussion covers key ideas such as listening to donors, personalizing messages, showing genuine thanks, building trust, respecting donor timing, and focusing on long-term relationships.

Derric also highlights the importance of using AI responsibly. Nonprofits should be honest when AI is involved and should never use technology to trick or pressure donors. Trust is at the heart of successful fundraising, and once it is lost, it can be difficult to rebuild.

The conversation also looks at how nonprofits can use AI to scale personal communication while keeping the human side of fundraising strong.

Overall, the message is simple: use AI to strengthen relationships, not replace them. The future of fundraising should combine smart technology with genuine human connection.

Cover art for episode 96: A Better Way: Donor-Centric AI with Derric Bakker

Episode highlights

02:00 Derric's Professional Journey
06:07 The Shift Toward Transactional Fundraising
10:37 Genesis of A Better Way to Fundraise
16:46 Core Principles of Relationship Fundraising
21:17 AI Ethics and Maintaining Donor Trust
35:19 The Future Outlook for Fundraising

Tips and tools to implement today

Put relationships first - Let technology serve people.
Disclose AI use - Be transparent.
Use AI wisely - Scale personalization.
Protect trust - Never manipulate.
Respect donor timing - Follow their rhythm.
Build relationships - Don't just transact.
Show gratitude - Thank donors genuinely.

Favorite quotes

"Artificial intelligence has been created, designed, and engineered to simulate humanity." - Derric Bakker
"At present, fewer people are giving; people that do give less consistently. Retention rates are falling. It's just becoming harder and harder. It's just a lot harder than it ought to be. I think because we've lost kind of that personal root in relationship." - Derric Bakker
"The marketplace wants relationship-based fundraising; they want a more curated, personalized, individualized experience." - Derric Bakker
"We found ourselves at this apex of transactional mass market fundraising. It's gone so far that where we find ourselves today, at the very time when the marketplace is craving something more personal and relational, fundraising on the whole is more transactional, more impersonal, more disconnected from personal relationship than any time in recent memory, and the consequences are becoming absolutely impossible to ignore." - Derric Bakker
"Money is not the most important currency in fundraising. Trust is the most important currency in fundraising." - Derric Bakker
"AI as a tool, as a technology, has both the potential to restore our profession in so many different ways, because it allows us to take these kinds of high-value behaviors of fundraising and extend them right across the donor base, and really accelerate and extend all the good about fundraising. But if it's used wrong, it's going to accelerate all of the decline we've been talking about, and it really boils down to disclosure. It boils down to transparency." - Derric Bakker
"The old assumptions, the old ways, the old models - they're failing. They're just not working anymore the way they should, but that doesn't mean decline is inevitable, because a better way is possible. And the great irony of that is that AI, the very technology that many people fear will strip us of our humanity, is the thing that is making it possible. That's the choice leaders have to make today: whether they will use that technology to restore our profession or accelerate its decline. And I'm eager to see how that plays out." - Derric Bakker