Over the past decade, artificial intelligence and machine learning have been making their way into every single business, industry, and organization in the United States, and the uses for both just continue to expand. As with anything, some of those things are not being used for good, but many are, and nonprofits have been utilizing AI to bolster a few different parts of achieving their end goals, including fundraising.
Nonprofits tend to grow the fastest by having satisfied supporters who want to be an extension of the organization and help its mission by adding as many supporters as they can. In order to keep these supporters happy, there are certain cues from the corporate world that should be followed, and data management and utilization is one of those cues. In addition to being a successful means for fundraising growth, proper data management also involves transparency, which is doubly important in the often-scrutinized world of nonprofit organizations.
Here are few specific ways that nonprofits can utilize AI to increase their fundraising efforts.
Automation
This word scares some people, but in the world of nonprofits, every minute that a volunteer doesn’t have to spend doing one essential duty can be spent doing another essential duty. A hefty amount of administrative work can be streamlined with AI technology, including, but not limited to, scouring emails that contain certain keywords (like “donor”) in a matter of seconds so fundraising team members don’t have to do it, and can focus on development.
Donor interaction is another area that can utilize AI in the triaging process to cut down on human hours. Automatic phone systems, and even “live” chats via a website can be programmed to recognize a large number of inquiries and help the donors speak to the personnel they are trying to reach without having to spend time searching.
Data Protection and Sharing
Artificial intelligence is also part of the processes that are being advanced to protect and share data. Data security breaches cost the U.S. economy more than $4 billion in 2019, and with some donations in the nonprofit sector being larger than many transactions in the business sector, these transactions are being targeted more frequently. With AI encryption, transactions become more secure, as does the data regarding the transactions that ultimately has to be shared with many channels.
This AI relative to data sharing also adds a level of transparency to the process, allowing donors to have a clearer view of how their dollars are being spent after being donated.
Capital Campaigns
Many nonprofits get tasked to raise a bulk amount of money in a short amount of time due to an unforeseen circumstance (example: Hurricane Relief), and AI can help in this fight, too. When the mission calls for mass contact, AI programs can help you create and distribute standardized emails with just slight changes for each potential donor, and can also utilize machine learning to see which contacts were the most likely to respond so those folks can be reached at a later date.
Data analysis can also be run following these, or any other campaigns, to determine what worked, what didn’t, and what needs to be improved upon, moving forward.
Evolution
AI technologies, and more specifically machine learning, continue to grow by the day, and more ways to utilize these technologies for time saving purposes are becoming available frequently. Ensuring someone on your team keeps an eye on emerging technologies can be the reason your team winds up having more time to focus on the future.
Janice Cooper is a data visualization specialist and data scientist who is always looking to share statistical information on culture, current events and marketing.
