The Care2 team is back from the #BBCon conference in Columbus, Ohio! After chatting with fellow nonprofit fundraisers, marketers, and technologists we came home with one clear impression: AI has moved from the keynote stage into everyday fundraising work.
The most useful conversations we had weren’t about what the tools can do. They were about what donors will accept, and how organizations can use AI without the trust of their supporters. Here are three ideas we’re still thinking about and suggestions for what to do next!
1. AI was everywhere
It was hard to find a session, booth or hallway conversation that didn’t touch AI. The tools on display fell into three broad groups:
- Donor insights: AI that scans giving history and engagement data to flag who is ready for a bigger ask, who is at risk of lapsing, and who is worth a personal call.
- Drafting tools: Assistants that turn a few bullet points into a first draft of an appeal, a thank-you note, or a grant report.
- Development agents: Software that goes beyond suggestions to plan outreach, draft messages and follow up with donors, with a fundraiser approving along the way.
The adoption numbers back up what we saw in the sessions. In the Blackbaud Institute’s Bridging the AI Effectiveness Gap report, 85% of social impact professionals said they use AI at work.
However, only about a third thought their organization uses it very effectively! It seems like plenty of teams are experimenting but fewer have worked out where AI actually helps them raise more money.
2. Agentic payments are coming, but your donors prefer human oversight
The big payment companies are racing to let AI agents spend money on our behalf. Visa has its Trusted Agent Protocol. Mastercard has Agent Pay. Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) is an open standard backed by Mastercard, PayPal, American Express and others (Digital Commerce 360).
For nonprofits, that raises a new question: What happens when a donor’s AI assistant, not the donor, is the one clicking the donate button? Blackbaud is already calling this agentic giving.
If you’re feeling cautious about this technology, you are not alone. Blackbaud Institute research found donors are open to AI helping them discover causes to support but only 41% are comfortable with AI making donations for them.
Our immediate takeaway from these discussions: AI may soon shape which causes donors find but the decision to give still belongs to people. Organizations that build real connections with supporters now will be the ones those supporters (and their assistants) return to.
3. Trust, transparency, and data privacy came up again and again
Some of the best conversations of the week weren’t about features at all. They were about building human-centric AI and setting clear terms for how organizations use it.
Donors are asking for exactly that. In the same Blackbaud Institute research, 76% of donors said they want to know when and how organizations use AI.
However, only 26% of social impact organizations currently disclose it!
Helping your supporters understand how your organization uses AI doesn’t require fancy web design or producing a complicated video. Here’s what donors want to see from your organization:
- Say when you use AI. A short, plain-language AI policy on your website goes a long way.
- Keep a person accountable. AI can draft and recommend, but a staff member should own every message and decision that reaches a donor. Name that staff member in your policies.
- Protect donor data. Know which tools touch supporter information, and what those vendors do with it. Let donors know how their data is protected in your privacy policy.
- Make this all clear to donors: Include this language on your website, donation forms, on social media or in your email series. You’ll stand out by being transparent about how you use AI.
What this means for your organization and what to do next!
AI will keep changing how people find causes and how nonprofits reach them. What it won’t change is why people give: they care about an issue, and they trust the organization working on it.
Learn how AI is impacting Google search by watching our “What Nonprofits Should Know About the Changing Search Landscape” Care2 webinar with guest expert Jessica King. She explains how donors are searching for information and how changes to AI-assisted search results affect your nonprofit organization.
Want to grow an authentic base of support in an AI-driven world? Care2 helps your organization grow your email and SMS lists with supporters who want to take action for your cause.
