Coming soon to your Fundraising CRM: AI-powered chatbots
“Show me a list of donors who’ve given more than $1,000 in the past six months.”
“Research the top 10 major donor leads for our annual gala event.”
“For our spring campaign, identify the donors most likely to upgrade their monthly gift amount, and create a personalized email appeal for each one.”
These powerful ChatGPT prompts could give a big boost to your fundraising productivity. But sadly, they don’t work.
For all its amazing abilities, ChatGPT isn’t much help when it comes to the actual donor-data-grounded work that‘s central to many fundraisers’ jobs. ChatGPT can be very helpful for drafting messages, brainstorming ideas, and organizing information, but its usefulness is cut short because it can’t directly access your organization’s donor data.
That may be changing soon.
We’re entering the era of ‘AI everywhere’ and artificial intelligence is being added to all sorts of devices, platforms, and programs. We’ll soon see ChatGPT-like assistants (“CRM chatbots”) appearing in the donor database platforms and systems that fundraisers use every day — and they could be a real game-changer in how fundraisers work with donor data.
What is a CRM chatbot?
A CRM chatbot is an AI-powered assistant, similar to ChatGPT, that’s directly connected to your donor database. It has access to your fundraising data and it can understand requests asked in plain language. It’s then able to translate those requests into actual data commands that it can run on your CRM and provide you the results.
As a fundraiser, you would be able to ‘chat with your data’ in plain language getting real-time answers to your questions, and access to advanced donor intelligence and reporting without having to learn complex commands or pass tasks over to a data analyst.
“Show me our top 10 donors in the past year.”
“Which events attracted the most new donors this quarter?”
“Show me a graph of our fundraising ad performance for the past 2 quarters”
Your CRM chatbot will be able to answer these questions and more with a clear, comprehensible reply, including visuals such as charts, graphs, or summaries. Your CRM chatbot may also be able to perform tasks like cleaning and importing data, updating multiple donor records, or segmenting audiences for fundraising campaigns.
Flattening the data learning curve
CRM chatbots could level the data intelligence playing field by giving more fundraisers access to data-powered insights and data-driven decision-making. They could also introduce new AI-powered functions like predictive analytics, automated insights, personalized recommendations, and donor propensity scoring.
“Set up an automated thank-you email for donations over $500.”
“Recommend a list of monthly donors we should send this quarterly field report to, based on their interests and giving history.”
“Predict the expected income for our upcoming holiday campaign based on our last 3 years of campaign data.”
The Shifting Landscape of Donor CRMs
As AI integration becomes essential, donor CRM providers are racing to incorporate CRM chatbot features. This is a rapidly evolving landscape where AI is becoming a fundamental part of donor management.
Meet some early CRM chatbots
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilot for Nonprofits automates repetitive tasks such as sending thank-you emails and uses natural language processing for easy information retrieval. It also maintains data integrity by identifying and merging duplicate records, ensuring a clean and accurate donor database.
Salesforce Einstein for Nonprofits offers predictive analytics for donor behaviors, automates communication tasks, and streamlines queries and reporting through natural language processing. These features help nonprofits to better understand and engage with their donors.
Neon One AI Assistant provides workflow automation for data entry and donor communications, allowing interaction through conversational interfaces. This makes it easier for fundraisers to manage their donor relationships and streamline their daily tasks.
CharityEngine’s ChatGPT Integration focuses on drafting personalized fundraising emails and thank-you notes. It provides intelligent suggestions based on donor data and engagement history, helping to create more effective and targeted communications.
Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge integrates with chatbots to automate routine tasks like data entry and gift processing. It also supports marketing automation by segmenting donor lists and scheduling communications, enhancing the efficiency of fundraising campaigns.
Dataro’s AI Assist specializes in creating personalized, on-brand fundraising copy optimized for specific goals. This tool helps fundraisers craft compelling messages that resonate with their audience and drive better results.
DonorPerfect’s AI Communications Assistant generates personalized fundraising content such as emails and blog posts. It also offers goal-based AI predictions to identify top prospects, allowing fundraisers to focus their efforts on the most promising donor relationships.
A New Donor Management Paradigm
AI-powered chatbots in donor CRMs represent a significant leap forward in fundraising technology. They promise to make data more accessible, streamline operations, and provide deeper insights into donor behavior.
As this technology continues to evolve, fundraisers who embrace these tools may find themselves with a significant advantage in donor engagement and campaign effectiveness.
