The Value of AI in Charity Fundraising

Whether you're a trustee already exploring AI or you're just starting to consider its potential, there's no doubt that AI has value. The trick is knowing how to approach it. By understanding the opportunities and the risks, you can use AI in a way that strengthens rather than distracts from your mission, adds value, and helps you focus on what matters most.

The Growth of AI in the Charity Sector

AI isn't reserved for big corporations or flashy tech industries. It's being used across all sectors, and charity fundraising is no exception. In fact, Blackbaud’s Status of UK Fundraising 2025 report reveals that AI usage in UK fundraising surged from 57% in 2024 to 77% in 2025. That means that over three quarters of UK charities are already using AI in some capacity to support their goals.

Many nonprofits are turning to generative AI for content creation. And it's no wonder. AI is a dab hand at drafting newsletters, creating social media posts, and compiling reports. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Predictive AI can be used to forecast donor behaviour, natural language processing can power chatbots and virtual assistants, and speech-to-text tools can save time taking minutes and notes. The possibilities seem endless.

The Benefits of AI in Charity Fundraising

As we've already touched on, AI can do more than create content, it offers many practical and strategic benefits:

●      Saving Time: AI can easily handle routine and repetitive tasks, such as processing donations and scheduling communications. By automating these jobs, you can free up staff and volunteers to focus on building relationships and driving impact.

●      Working Smarter with Data: Imagine if you could quickly identify donor patterns and predict who's most likely to give. Being able to use your data, see patterns and act quickly can lead to more effective campaigns and greater donor retention.

●      Improving Supporter Experience: While it should never replace you, AI can add value to how you serve your supporters. For example, chatbots can pull data from vast data sources and answer simple questions, even when you're not around.

●      Reducing Costs: Many AI tools are free or low-cost, especially compared with the staff time they can save. For small and medium-sized charities in particular, this makes AI a cost-effective way to boost capacity.

The Risks and Responsibilities of Using AI

While AI offers incredible value to charity fundraising, it isn't without its risks. Misinformation, data security, and GDPR compliance all require careful consideration, especially for charities handling sensitive data or working with vulnerable beneficiaries. There are also legal questions around copyright and content ownership, as well as the reality that AI can sometimes be biased, inaccurate, or even generate harmful outputs.

And it’s not just charities thinking about these risks. Research from CAF shows that while the public are cautiously optimistic about charities using AI, many still worry about issues like bias, job losses, or data breaches.

That said, these issues don't need to be frightening, and they certainly shouldn't stop charities from exploring AI. The key is responsible and ethical use of AI in fundraising: being clear on when and how AI is appropriate and making sure safeguards are in place.

Where to start your AI journey

AI in charity fundraising isn't a passing trend. Despite the risks, it will continue to reshape how nonprofits engage supporters and deliver impact. But, while larger organisations may have more resources to experiment, AI is accessible enough to give smaller charities a real chance to level the playing field.

A curious but cautious approach is a good place to start. Have open conversations with your trustees, staff, and volunteers about where AI might add value. You could then choose a handful of practical, budget-friendly tools to test the water.

The AI landscape is evolving fast, but here are some types of tools you could explore:

●      AI writing assistants - for drafting fundraising copy, supporter emails, or social posts (e.g. ChatGPT, Jasper).

●      Meeting note-takers - for automatically summarising team or trustee meetings (e.g. Otter.ai, Fireflies).

●      Design and visual tools - for creating quick graphics or campaign visuals (e.g. Canva’s AI features, Adobe Express)

●      Data insight tools - for spotting patterns in donor data or survey responses (e.g. ChatGPT with spreadsheets, Microsoft Copilot).

●      Scheduling and admin support - for automating bookings, reminders or inbox management (e.g. Motion, x.ai).

Make sure you keep human oversight in place, develop simple policies to guide practice, choose tools that align with your data governance and values, and invest in training where you can, and you'll be off to a good start.

Humans at the Heart of Fundraising

Still not sure? Let's put it plainly: AI should never replace the human touch. Major giving, for example, will always be rooted in relationships, trust, and real conversations. This isn’t just theory, our work with clients shows that cultivating transformational gifts depends on real relationships. AI can support donor relationships, but it can't replicate human judgment and empathy.

The key is to use AI with intention and integrity. Keep people at the centre, and let AI take on the tasks that free you up to do what you do best: building relationships and making a difference.