Raise HECK presented a webinar with our friends at CIMA Consulting and Thread Strategies: Practical AI and Tech for Fundraising.
Here’s a recap of what we covered and the top takeaways.
Identifying Your AI Use Case for Fundraising
Thread Strategies’ Loree Lipstein presented a framework for how nonprofits can decide whether and how AI can help them scale. AI can help nonprofits save time, solve problems, and connect with donors, but where should you start? Loree encouraged us to figure out answers to some key questions before jumping right in.
Top takeaways from Thread:
- What is taking up your time?
- Is that something only you can do, or is it something anyone (maybe even AI) could do?
- What goals do you have that better efficiency could help you achieve?
- Can your organization actually use the output from AI? How will you measure success?
- Which types of tools could you use, and are they easy to adopt, and within your budget?
Loree closed with a reminder that nonprofits should vet whether AI tools they are considering comply with privacy, data security, regulations, and consent needs. Use your AI responsibly, folks!
An AI Policy Case Study, and a Live Demo of AI-Assisted Prospecting
CIMA Consulting’s Laura Toscano shared how CIMA convened an internal working group to decide whether and how CIMA would adopt AI in its own work and in support of its clients.
Top takeaways:
- It was a collaborative process that involved staff input
- CIMA researched the possible data bias and environmental impact of AI and how to mitigate
- Developed a policy that prioritized human-led work while offloading tasks like meeting notes to AI
- No AI in safe spaces, check ins with managers, or confidential conversations
Then CIMA’s Jess Hayter conducted a live demo of CIMA’s AI-Assisted Prospecting tool. This is a custom-built tech solution and workflow that leverages Airtable, Notion, and publicly available data to construct a database of funders that share your values and are funding organizations similar to yours, but not yours (yet). The tool scores the funders and reports back information to tell you how likely it is that your organization could secure a grant.
Top takeaways:
- AI analysis compares the values of the client and funder to assess if it’s a good fit
- AI can find information like websites and EINs, but a more eco-friendly solution pulls in the 990 data using the ProPublica API instead
- A direct hyperlink to the 990 information allows a human to stay in the loop and verify accuracy
- Similar technology exists in commercially available solutions, but since CIMA’s tool leverages public data it’s available at a fraction of the cost
- You can tell AI agents not to hallucinate!
What’s Right for Your Organization?
Raise HECK’s Sally Heaven and Charlotte Kresse tag-teamed to present an overarching framework for making confident technology, AI, and partner decisions.
Our top takeaways:
- Figure out what tech you have, how well it’s working, and your goals for growth before talking to anyone about buying anything or viewing demos
- AI is evolving quicker than anything else in nonprofit tech, and your staff is probably using it already, so it’s time to develop a policy of your own
- Choosing a partner–that is, a consultant–includes objective criteria like experience and price, but sometimes it comes down to vibes.
Viewed a certain way, the process of choosing anything is analogous to evaluating AI. Use all objective criteria to evaluate, but then when you’re making the final decision, always trust your instincts.
Watch the Full Recording
Those are the highlights and takeaways from the webinar, but if you’d like to view the whole thing in case you missed it or want to relive the experience, you can watch the recording here (passcode 6P0r=v$2). The live demo of CIMA’s AI-assisted prospecting tool starts at 24:51.
About the Presenters
Thread Strategies is a fundraising consulting firm that specializes in supporting small nonprofits. We believe every nonprofit is capable of fundraising utilizing sector best practices, and we create customized development programs to chart each partner’s own course to success.
CIMA Consulting partners with nonprofits and social impact businesses to advance causes that matter. We work closely with partners to design customized, collaborative solutions that advance strategic, operational, and financial goals—helping organizations deepen impact, grow funding, strengthen infrastructure, and build long-term sustainability.
Raise HECK helps you choose and use the best technology solutions to match your nonprofit’s staff, goals, and mission. We do tech and staffing assessments, software selection, change management, and strategic consulting for our clients. Let’s raise heck together!