New tools are emerging at a rapid pace. Vendors are making ambitious promises. Boards are asking about AI strategy. And nonprofit leaders are left sorting through a mix of excitement, pressure, and uncertainty about what to do next.

It is easy to get swept up in the energy. But nonprofit organizations do not need more hype. They need clarity.

In fundraising, the central question is not whether AI is powerful. The real question is whether it is trustworthy. Because in a sector built on relationships, stewardship, and accountability, trust is the foundation that determines whether innovation strengthens a mission or quietly undermines it.

As AI becomes more embedded in nonprofit operations, leaders should know what to look for and what to avoid.

The AI red flags nonprofit leaders should not ignore

Not all AI is created equal. As adoption accelerates, certain patterns are beginning to surface in the nonprofit sector. These red flags are not technical nuances. They are signals about whether a solution was built with nonprofit stewardship in mind.

1. “Our AI can do everything.”

When a vendor claims their AI can do everything, nonprofit leaders should dig deeper.

Fundraising is not a single discipline. Major gift strategy requires a different level of nuance than donor retention modeling. Campaign planning draws from different expertise than data hygiene or reporting. If a model claims to excel at every task, it is fair to ask how that expertise was actually developed.

At a technical level, AI systems are probabilistic—they identify patterns and generate responses based on what is most likely to be helpful. That makes them strong at surfacing insights, drafting communications, and suggesting next steps. But fundraising operations also require deterministic systems—processes where the same inputs must produce the same outputs every time, especially in donor records, financial reporting, receipting, permissions, and compliance.

If an AI tool claims universal mastery, leaders should ask:  What real nonprofit engagements informed this system? What proven fundraising playbooks shaped its recommendations? And how has it been intentionally designed to remain deterministic for questions that require answers grounded in more than probabilities?

2. Answers that sound impressive but feel generic

Many AI tools generate responses that appear polished at first glance. But if the guidance could apply to any organization, it is not truly contextual.

Generic outputs are not grounded in your donor history, your campaign performance, or your unique fundraising metrics. Because this advice is generic, it’s inherently limited and cannot account for unique instances within your nonprofit. 

Fundraising depends on personalization and precision. Advice that lacks context can lead teams to make decisions that feel directionally right but are disconnected from the realities of their own data. Over time, that disconnect erodes confidence in both the tool and the strategy behind it.

3. AI bolted onto disconnected systems

Architecture matters more than many leaders realize.

AI can only provide advice based on the information it has access to. If donor records live in one system, volunteer activity in another, event engagement somewhere else, and the most recent donation history in yet another platform,  AI never sees the full picture.

Fundraising expertise is built on patterns across the full donor journey. Without unified data, AI cannot recognize those patterns with depth or accuracy.

Instead of layering AI on top of disconnected tools, look for solutions built on a unified data foundation. When donor history, engagement activity, campaign performance, and fundraising metrics live in one platform, AI can provide recommendations grounded in the full context of your organization. That is when insight becomes meaningful rather than partial.

4. No clear explanation of where answers come from

If an AI tool cannot explain why it generated a recommendation, nonprofit leaders are being asked to trust a black box.

That is not a position most organizations can afford to take. Boards require transparency. Donors expect responsible stewardship. Staff members need confidence that the tools they rely on are aligned with proven fundraising practices.

Explainable answers are more than a technical feature. It is a governance requirement. Leaders should be able to understand what data informed a recommendation, what logic was applied, and how that guidance connects to established best practices.

Instead of accepting opaque outputs, look for AI solutions that clearly explain their reasoning and make recommendations traceable and auditable. Transparency builds confidence and supports responsible decision making.

5. A focus on novelty instead of outcomes

Some AI tools prioritize what looks innovative over what drives measurable results.

A conversational interface may be engaging. A creative draft may feel impressive. But nonprofit leaders should continually return to a more grounded question: does this help us build stronger donor relationships and increase sustainable revenue?

AI should not exist to entertain us. It should help us act.

For example, can it help build a targeted campaign strategy that identifies which donors are most likely to respond — and why? Can it recommend meaningful segmentation that increases outreach activity and personalizes communication at scale? Can it surface at-risk donors early enough for a fundraiser to intervene, or identify upgrade opportunities that lead to more qualified major gift conversations?

An AI tool that can answer those questions will drive meaningful outcomes for your organization. You will be able to move past using generative AI for small tasks and instead utilize AI as a strategic partner, unlocking significant wins for your organization.

How we think about this at Bloomerang

When we built Penny, our AI fundraising partner, we approached the work with these principles in mind.

Penny is not a generic AI agent layered on top of a CRM. She is a strategic partner built directly into the Bloomerang Giving Platform, operating within a secure and unified environment. Her intelligence is informed by proven fundraising playbooks, thousands of real world engagements, decades of nonprofit expertise, and unified platform data .

Rather than attempting to do everything, Penny focuses on a small number of high value jobs. She identifies at-risk donors early, surfaces high potential opportunities, improves data quality, prepares fundraisers for meetings, and clearly explains why she makes a recommendation.

She is designed to drive action, not just generate answers. And she operates within a closed ecosystem built for nonprofit stewardship.

This is what purpose built AI looks like.

Final thoughts

AI will continue to evolve, and the nonprofit sector will continue to adapt alongside it. The goal is not to move fast. It is to move thoughtfully.

When you understand the signals to watch for, the red flags to avoid, and the principles that matter most, you can evaluate new technology with confidence. Secure architecture, real nonprofit expertise, unified data, and explainable recommendations are not luxuries. They are the foundation of responsible AI in fundraising.

When those elements are in place, AI becomes what it should be: a trusted partner that strengthens stewardship, supports your team, and helps you focus on what matters most — building meaningful donor relationships.

Trust remains the foundation. Technology should honor that, not compete with it.

The post Beyond the AI Hype: What Nonprofit Leaders Should Actually Pay Attention To appeared first on Bloomerang.

This blog is about the latter.

At Bloomerang, we’ve spent years building toward a simple but demanding promise: one platform that allows nonprofit staff to focus on what truly matters. Serving their causes. Sharing their stories. Building real relationships with the people who believe in their mission.

The promise of the Giving Platform is not more features or more time spent in software. It’s the opposite. It’s about giving nonprofit teams clarity faster, helping them uncover insights they never had access to before, and enabling them to act with confidence—while spending the least possible time inside the system to do it.

That promise has guided every hard decision we’ve made along the way. In 2026, our focus is clear: delivering fully on that promise—not in theory, but in the daily lived experience of nonprofit teams.

If there has ever been a time to be excited about making complex problems work simply, this is it.

The hard work we did first

For nonprofits, fundraising has never lacked heart. It has lacked infrastructure that respects time, context, and continuity.

Most nonprofits move from one fundraising moment to the next—events, appeals, campaigns—without the benefit of momentum compounding behind the scenes. Each effort generates insight, engagement, and signals from supporters, but too often those signals are trapped in disconnected tools so teams feel like they’re from scratch with each new initiative.

That feeling is understandable—but it’s also deeply misleading. Opportunity never resets. The system and tools you trust just fail to carry that opportunity forward.

That’s the problem we set out to solve first.

In 2025, we made a deliberate choice to do the hard work of unifying the core of nonprofit operations. Not slapping logos on acquired tools. Not loosely integrating data. Not bolting separate systems together and calling it a day. But building a single Giving Platform where donor activity, fundraising performance, volunteer engagement, and payments live together and reinforce one another.

That foundation is now real—and it’s already delivering measurable impact.

Nonprofits using the complete Bloomerang Giving Platform grow 1.5x faster than those relying on disconnected tools. They see an average 22% increase in the number of monthly recurring donations, and those recurring gifts are 58% larger than the industry average. Organizations using the full platform also achieve meaningfully higher donor retention year over year.

These results don’t come from working harder or adding complexity. They come from clarity. When systems are unified, insight compounds. Decisions improve. And teams stop losing ground between fundraising moments.

That was the work that had to come first.

Deepening the Giving Platform—so the work feels seamless

With that foundation in place, the question for 2026 is not whether the Giving Platform works. It does.

The question is how far we can take it.

Nonprofits using the full platform can already see how donors, volunteers, and prospective supporters behave across moments that used to live in isolation. Engagement is no longer fragmented. Patterns are visible. Momentum carries forward instead of resetting after every campaign.

In 2026, our focus is on deepening that experience—making the platform feel seamless in daily work, not just conceptually unified. This is the year we remove even more friction so insight surfaces faster, actions feel more confident, and nonprofit teams spend less time navigating systems and more time advancing their mission.

That focus centers on three deliberate areas:

First, deepening the platform itself.
We are strengthening the connective tissue across fundraising activity, constituent data, volunteer engagement, and payments so every interaction contributes to a single, continuous story. The goal is to eliminate the sense of “starting over” and allow learning, relationships, and results to compound naturally over time.

Second, delivering AI that works for fundraisers.
This is not AI layered onto disconnected data providing generic answers. Let’s be honest, you could just use Chat GPT for that. Bloomerang’s AI fundraising partner, Penny, is grounded in your data stored securely within the Giving Platform and informed by real nonprofit best practice–over 2,000 consulting wins to be exact. Its role is to surface what matters, explain why it matters, and help teams know where to focus next—without replacing judgment or human connection. AI should remove analytical friction, not add cognitive load.

Third, continuing fundraising innovation where performance matters most.
From checkout optimization to continuously improving conversion, we are taking responsibility for the mechanics of giving. Nonprofit teams shouldn’t have to become experts in optimization just to raise more. High performance should be built in, not bolted on. In 2026 all our customers will benefit from a dedicated team that will continually optimize the giving performance for free!

The promise we’re ready to deliver

Across all three areas, the principle is the same. Technology should expand human capacity, not compete with it. It should make insight easier to reach, decisions easier to trust, and action easier to take—while demanding as little time as possible in return.

That is how we deliver on the promise of the Giving Platform.

Less time managing systems.
More time serving causes.
More space to share stories that inspire generosity.

The post Bloomerang’s Vision for 2026: Living the Promise of One Platform appeared first on Bloomerang.

• AI for nonprofits: FAQs
• AI prompts for nonprofits
• A simple three-step framework for getting started with nonprofit AI
• Launch an AI-powered fundraising strategy with Bloomerang

Wrapping up

AI is moving fast—but you don’t need to start sprinting right away. Your first step is simple: open a browser, try one prompt, and see how much time you can reclaim.

Used mindfully and with purpose, AI can help you strengthen donor relationships, raise more, and pour your energy back into your purpose-driven work.

Looking to go deeper? Explore these free nonprofit-focused AI resources:

• AI fundraising explained: boost donor engagement & ROI.
• AI tools for nonprofits: a complete guide in 2025.
• The 12 best donor management software options for 2025.

The post AI for Nonprofits: Helpful Prompts & Next-level Tips appeared first on Bloomerang.

As someone who has spent more than 15 years building secure, scalable technology across fintech and mission-driven software, I believe one thing unequivocally: you cannot have AI-powered fundraising without rock-solid AI security. Trust is not a feature—it’s a foundation.

Below, I outline the essential security musts every nonprofit needs to understand before using AI in their year-end fundraising workflows.

1. Know what you can—and can’t—share with AI tools

Many nonprofits are already experimenting with AI for brainstorming, summarizing, or drafting content—but they can also introduce risk if teams aren’t clear on what their AI tool is contractually allowed to do with the information they input.

Without a strong agreement in place, you should never enter names, emails, gift histories, payment information, or personal donor notes into an AI tool. Many standard, readily available AI tools allow providers to store or learn from what you type, while enterprise contracts—like the ones Bloomerang uses—specifically prevent that. The bottom line: before sharing any sensitive data, make sure your AI tool is covered by an agreement that protects it.

What is safe to use includes anonymized data, donor segment descriptions, high-level trends, and copy drafts. Mastering this distinction is vital—especially when December’s giving sprint leaves little room for error. Your supporters trust you with their personal information; your tools should honor that trust with the same care.

2. Review AI privacy policies before you type a single word

No two AI models handle data the same way. Some log inputs indefinitely. Some train on them. Some share data across systems. Before your team types a single sentence into any AI tool, make sure you understand:

• How long data is stored
• Whether it’s used for training
• Whether it’s shared with third parties
• How (or if) it can be deleted

At Bloomerang, our AI capabilities are grounded in a Privacy by Design approach: donor data stays inside a secure, closed ecosystem—not used to train public models and not available to outside parties. Your mission deserves technology built for your realities, not retrofitted from someone else’s.

3. Choose “walled garden AI” built for nonprofit privacy

The safest, strongest approach is to use AI inside your giving platform or CRM—where access controls, encryption, and role permissions already protect sensitive information. These “walled-garden” systems keep data contained and use proven nonprofit expertise as context when engaging AI models.

Public AI may be powerful, but it isn’t grounded in donor confidentiality, fundraising ethics, or the relationship-driven nature of nonprofit work. Secure AI rooted in certified fundraising expertise and thousands of real coaching lessons—like the systems we build at Bloomerang—keeps your data in bounds and makes every recommendation traceable. That transparency is essential for a sector built on trust.

Penny, Bloomerang’s AI fundraising partner—an AI assistant that operates inside a secure, closed ecosystem and is grounded in certified fundraising expertise rather than generic model outputs. Penny keeps donor data in bounds and provides recommendations that are transparent, contextual, and aligned with fundraising best practices.

4. Adopt a safe, phased approach to AI integration

You don’t need to leap into full-scale AI adoption to benefit from it. Start with anonymized datasets or sample donor profiles to see how AI identifies trends or drafts content. From there, organizations can explore utilizing an LLM in which they have a commercial agreement that guarantees security and the privacy of their data.

For most nonprofits, the simplest and safest path is to use AI that’s already built into your CRM or giving platform. When your software provider handles the commercial agreement, permissions, integrations, and data protection, your team can focus on insights and impact—not infrastructure.

That said, always review the provider’s AI policy. Even built-in AI should never train on your donor data without explicit, transparent consent.

5. Create an AI governance policy for your nonprofit

Great AI adoption starts with great guardrails. Every nonprofit—large or small—should have an AI usage policy that outlines:

• Which tools are approved
• What data staff may (and may not) enter
• How to anonymize information
• How AI outputs should be reviewed
• Whom to contact when unsure

Establishing guardrails protects donors, protects staff, and ensures smooth, responsible adoption across the organization.

6. Keep humans in the loop for donor communications

AI can draft messages, summarize donor interactions, and recommend the next best step, but humans must stay involved—especially in emotionally sensitive or stewardship-focused communications.

AI can draft messages, summarize donor interactions, and recommend next steps—and the best AI models should be trained to understand your organization’s mission, values, and tone of voice. That grounding helps ensure the guidance and drafts they produce feel aligned with who you are.

Even so, humans still need to stay involved, especially for emotionally sensitive or stewardship-focused communication. Fundraising depends on empathy and trust, and a human review ensures every message reflects your organization’s intent, honors the donor relationship, and carries the authenticity only people can provide.

7. Use right-sized AI to reduce environmental impact and improve speed

Nonprofits are increasingly aware of AI’s environmental cost. Large general-purpose models consume significant computing power—far more than most fundraising tasks require.

Bloomerang’s right-sized AI approach uses lightweight, efficient models for everyday tasks (like drafting acknowledgments or identifying strong upgrade prospects), reserving heavier models only for the tasks that truly need them. The result? Faster performance, lower environmental impact, and tools that scale responsibly with your organization.

Final thoughts

December concentrates donor activity, generosity, outreach, and reporting into a few intense weeks. It’s a moment when AI can deliver extraordinary value—and a moment when lapses in security carry the greatest risk.

Purpose-built AI—like Penny inside the Bloomerang Giving Platform—helps fundraisers move faster and with more clarity, while keeping sensitive data fully protected. When AI is secure, explainable, and grounded in real fundraising strategy, it becomes an amplifier of generosity rather than a risk.

As AI becomes more woven into nonprofit operations, the organizations that thrive will be the ones that use explainable, secure, values-aligned technology built for stewardship. With the right guardrails, AI becomes more than a tool—it becomes a force multiplier for good.

Your mission is powerful. Your supporters are generous. And when your data is protected, your impact can keep pushing higher.

The post AI Security Musts for Fundraisers: How to Protect Nonprofit Data in an AI-Powered Giving Season appeared first on Bloomerang.

Donors expect more personalization, more transparency, and more meaningful connection. Meanwhile, fundraising teams are stretched thin, turnover is high, and institutional knowledge walks out the door every time a staff member leaves.

At the same time, the rise of AI has sparked both excitement and hesitation. Fundraising is a deeply human discipline—so the fear is understandable. But from everything I’ve seen inside this sector, and everything we’re building at Bloomerang, I’m convinced of this:

AI will expand, not erode generosity. 

When generosity falters, it’s rarely because people are less inclined to give. It’s because organizations lack the time, insight, or tools to activate that generosity at the right moment, with the right message, in the right way. This is the gap AI is uniquely positioned to close.

The real barrier isn’t desire—it’s the “work around the work”

When generosity falters, it’s rarely because people are less inclined to give. It’s because organizations lack the time or tools to activate that generosity.

Fundraisers know exactly what they want to do: Build relationships. Thank supporters personally. Identify their next major donor.

What gets in the way is the work around the work:

• Pulling dozens of reports
• Sifting through multiple tech stacks and tools
• Guessing which donors to prioritize
• Repeating manual tasks
• Rebuilding institutional knowledge lost to turnover

This isn’t where generosity grows. This is where burnout happens.

AI gives fundraisers the space to focus on what matters most by taking on the analysis, pattern recognition, and administrative lift that slows them down.

Let AI handle the science so you can handle the art

The promise of AI isn’t about replacing the fundraiser; it’s about handling the “science” of fundraising—the data, the patterns, the first drafts—at a speed humans simply can’t match.

When we reduce the administrative burden of fundraising, we clear the path for the “art”—the storytelling, empathy, and human connection our sector is known for.

By connecting directly to unified data—giving, engagement, volunteering, event attendance, communication history—AI can handle the “science” of fundraising at a scale and speed humans simply can’t. It can analyze more in minutes than a person could in a full afternoon, and—crucially—it can provide context, not just numbers.

Here is where I see AI creating immediate, meaningful lift:

1. Pointing fundraisers to the opportunities that matter most

Instead of staring at a spreadsheet wondering who to call, AI can analyze years of history in seconds to tell you: “Who is likely to give before year-end?” or “Who is showing signs that they are ready for an upgrade?” It turns fundraising from reactive to proactive.

2. Making campaign and event evaluation fast and intuitive

Usually, teams only discover what worked after the giving season ends. AI allows you to review campaigns instantly—highlighting which appeals resonated and where messaging fell short—so you can adjust your strategy in real-time, not next year. You can evaluate:

• Which appeals resonated
• Which segments responded
• Where messaging fell short
• How donor behavior changed over time

The result? Walking into 2026 with clarity, not assumptions.

3. Providing a foundation for better content

Writer’s block is a capacity killer. AI can help draft personalized appeal letters, stewardship notes, or board summaries. It doesn’t replace your voice; it gives you a faster, stronger foundation to build from.

4. Preventing supporter lapse before it happens

Imagine an intelligent partner who flags a donor before they lapse, or spots an emerging pattern in volunteer engagement that you might have missed. This kind of ongoing insight AI can provide that will help teams avoid surprises, seize opportunities, and cultivate generosity with greater confidence.

How AI tools support a new fundraising rhythm

For decades, fundraisers have been asked to choose between depth and speed—thorough analysis or timely action.
With strong reliable technology and AI this becomes a false choice. At year-end especially, teams feel the pressure of: data everywhere, time nowhere to be found, high expectations, and the high stakes of December.

AI breaks that tension.  It helps teams move from overwhelmed to overflowing by creating three critical multipliers:

• More Revenue from the right donors at the right moment
• More Clarity to make confident decisions
• More Time to build relationships

AI amplifies what fundraisers already do best—because it shifts their time from the “work around the work” to the art of fundraising.

This is why we built Penny inside the Giving Platform, not around it. Because true clarity comes from complete data, not fragments. Fundraisers need guidance they can trust. Penny is shaped by Bloomerang’s extensive nonprofit consulting experience, rooted in more than 2,000 one-on-one strategy engagements with organizations of every size, mission, and model. That means Penny isn’t drawing from generic internet advice or theoretical best practices; she’s built on real fundraising wins that have driven real growth.

The future of fundraising is abundant

I’ve said many times that our sector is not facing a generosity crisis—it’s facing an infrastructure gap. People still care deeply. They want to support the missions they believe in. 

Generosity expands when nonprofits have the capacity to connect, understand, and act with purpose.

AI is the key to unlocking that capacity. It allows us to move from overwhelmed to overflowing—giving fundraisers the one thing they need most: the time to be human.

The post Why AI will expand, not erode, generosity appeared first on Bloomerang.

But for nonprofits, the future of fundraising AI won’t be defined by automation or even time saved. It will be defined by trust.

Because fundraising, at its core, is human work. It’s built on empathy, relationships, and credibility. And in a sector where trust is deeply interconnected with giving and tech adoption, the question isn’t how much we can automate, it’s how deeply we can be trusted to use AI responsibly.

Because in a sector built on relationships, trust is the true currency of generosity.

The real barrier to AI adoption: fear, not function

Across the nonprofit sector, we’re seeing a familiar pattern: high curiosity about AI, but high hesitation.

In Bloomerang’s most recent AI survey, over 60% of nonprofit professionals said they view AI in their CRM positively—primarily for efficiency and automation. Yet nearly a third expressed reservations about data privacy, accuracy, and the fear of losing human connection. I believe this skepticism is rooted in something deeper than the technology’s ability to perform—it was about whether the technology could be trusted to serve the mission faithfully.

This mirrors national sentiment. Gallup’s Reward, Risk, and Regulation report found that while nearly all Americans have been exposed to AI, only 8% describe themselves as “very knowledgeable,” and a full 60% say they don’t trust AI to make fair or unbiased decisions.

In other words, nonprofits aren’t afraid of what AI can do; they’re afraid of what it might do to them—to their data, their donors, and their integrity.

Responsible AI starts with stewardship

Building trust in AI requires building it with integrity. For nonprofit software providers, this starts with responsible data stewardship and explainable systems–not technology that hides its reasoning, but tools that are open and accountable, reflecting the same transparency nonprofits promise to their donors.

At Bloomerang, ethics aren’t an afterthought; they’re embedded by design. Our AI fundraising partner, Penny, lives within the secure walls of the Bloomerang Giving Platform, not as a third-party add-on. That means:

• Donor data stays private. It’s never shared, sold, or used to train external models.
• Every layer is governed. We maintain audit trails, anonymized data testing, and strict compliance across our infrastructure.
• Sustainability is part of the blueprint. Our goal is to use the most efficient energy and compute model for the complexity of the task that we’re performing to ensure Penny only processes what’s needed, when it’s needed.

Because ethical AI isn’t a checkbox. It’s a reflection of nonprofit values—transparency, stewardship, and trust. If our customers can’t look at our technology and see their own integrity in it, we’ve missed the mark.

Built by humans, for humans

When we started building Penny, we approached it differently than most. We didn’t start with technology and ask, “How can we fit this into fundraising?”

We started with fundraising itself—with the hundreds of hours of strategy sessions and playbooks created by Bloomerang’s own nonprofit consultants. Those real-world insights became Penny’s foundation.

That means when Penny makes a recommendation, it’s not just pulling from a generic model; it’s reflecting the expertise of people who’ve been in the trenches. And when you ask why she made that recommendation, she can tell you—showing the logic and sources behind every suggestion.

That transparency matters. It’s how trust is earned—and how technology stays accountable to the humans it’s meant to serve.

Overcoming the “trough of disillusionment”

We’re entering a new chapter in the AI journey—one where the early hype is giving way to real, grounded work. If the early hype around AI was defined by novelty, 2025 is about accountability.

Many organizations tried first-generation AI tools, only to be disappointed by inaccuracies, privacy risks, or “robotic” experiences. That’s the trough of disillusionment—when enthusiasm gives way to scrutiny.

But this is also where the real opportunity lies. Gallup found that people who use AI regularly are twice as likely to trust it as those who don’t. That means exposure, transparency, and clear communication about how AI works can rebuild confidence over time. The goal isn’t blind trust—it’s earned trust, reinforced by real-world performance and ethical transparency.

At Bloomerang, we’ve built Penny to do just that: to bridge expertise and execution, combining human insight with the efficiency of technology. Not as a replacement for people—but as a partner in purpose.

From automation to augmentation

AI’s greatest promise isn’t automation—it’s augmentation. It’s not about replacing fundraisers; it’s about amplifying their brilliance.

Automation focuses on efficiency — completing repetitive tasks faster and at scale. It’s useful for processing data, generating reports, or sending reminders. But if left unchecked, it can also make fundraising feel mechanical—more about transactions than relationships.

Augmentation, by contrast, keeps the human at the center. It’s about using AI to enhance human judgment, not replace it. When fundraisers can spend less time managing data and more time engaging people, activity goes up—more campaigns, more outreach, more events. And higher activity leads to stronger relationships and, ultimately, more giving. That’s the real promise of AI in fundraising: not fewer human touches, but more meaningful ones.

According to Bloomerang’s 2025 AI User Research, the top nonprofit use cases for AI are data analysis (70%), writing donor emails (68%), and campaign brainstorming—all tasks that amplify creativity and strategy rather than remove the human touch.

When built responsibly, AI gives fundraisers more time to do what only humans can:

• Build authentic relationships with donors.
• Tell compelling stories that move people to action.
• Focus on strategy instead of spreadsheets.

Automation might make things faster. Trust and transparency are what turn automation into augmentation. When AI shows its work and respects donor privacy, fundraisers can engage with it as a true partner— not a black box simply automating tasks.

The future of fundraising is human

In the next 18 months, we’ll see nonprofits move from fear to fluency—from asking, “Can I use AI?” to asking, “How can I use it to deepen generosity?”

And the answer will always come back to trust. Donors give to people they believe in. Teams adopt tools they feel safe using. And missions thrive when integrity guides innovation.

That’s why at Bloomerang, we’re not just building AI for fundraising. We’re building AI fundraisers can believe in—secure, explainable, and grounded in the same human values and experience that power generosity itself. Because the future of fundraising AI isn’t about replacing the human element; it’s about amplifying it.

The post Why the future of fundraising AI is about human trust, not automation appeared first on Bloomerang.

That changed when I got access to our AI fundraising partner—an assistant we’ve been quietly building called Penny.

Within minutes of using it, I found myself grinning. Not because she was clever, but because she was useful.

When I asked Penny to help me prepare for a board meeting, she gave me solid, practical input. Then I pushed further—“Help me build a scorecard with the most important metrics.”

Five minutes later, I had a sharp, thoughtful framework ready to guide the conversation.

It wasn’t a gimmick. It was magic that made sense.

Why we’re building Penny this way

Everyone’s rushing to launch “AI copilots.” Every week, it seems a new “co-pilot” promises to change everything overnight.

Most sound the same: they summarize, they draft, they rephrase what’s already online.

They’re impressive—but not helpful.

At Bloomerang, we’ve decided to take a different path. We’re not chasing the hype cycle. We’re building something we’d actually want to use ourselves rooted in human expertise and empathy. And yes, AI can be rooted in the best parts of what makes us human, but more on that later.

Penny’s goal isn’t to automate your work. It’s to think with you—to help you plan, prioritize, and make better decisions without needing to become an AI expert first.

That’s what makes her special. She’s not another shiny new tool. She’s the assistant you wish you already had.

Built on real nonprofit know-how

Here’s Penny’s edge: she’s grounded in real nonprofit experience.

She doesn’t just scrape the internet or mimic what’s been done before. She draws on:

• The field-tested expertise of Bloomerang’s fundraising consultants, and
• Each organization’s own data within the Giving Platform.

So when Penny offers advice, it’s not a random guess—it’s guidance rooted in what actually works. You get tried-and-true advice grounded in real success, not advice based on a mix of good and bad campaigns.

We’ve woven our consultant’s  insights—and the rich, real-world methodology for success we coach our own clients on—directly into Penny’s foundation. That’s why she feels less like software and more like a trusted partner.

That’s AI in true partnership with people.

Practical, not performative

Nonprofit leaders tell me the same thing over and over: “AI sounds powerful—but I don’t have time to figure it out.”

Penny is being built for exactly that. You don’t need perfect prompts. You don’t need to know how she works under the hood. You just need a question, a challenge, or a goal.

Penny meets you there—with clarity, not complexity.

She’s being shaped by fundraisers, not just engineers. Because generosity is human, and AI should be too.

The real purpose of AI

For all the hype, AI finally has a purpose worth building toward: helping people who help others.

That’s our North Star at Bloomerang. Every design choice, every line of data, every prototype exists to make Penny genuinely helpful to the people doing the world’s most important work.

We’ll continue to share more about Penny over the coming weeks—proof that AI can amplify the human element instead of replacing it. Because the best technology doesn’t make us less human—it helps us show up as our best selves.

That’s Penny’s purpose.

And that’s why we’re building her right. Because when we build with purpose, technology doesn’t replace people. It empowers them.

The post Meet Penny: the AI partner that’s actually helpful appeared first on Bloomerang.

If you’re one of these organizations looking for clarity on how to move forward with confidence, we’re here to help. We’ll explore AI fundraising, including its benefits, risks, real-world applications, and how nonprofits can adopt AI responsibly.

• What is AI fundraising? (and other FAQs)
• Popular AI fundraising use cases
• The benefits and risks of AI fundraising
• 10 key steps to get started with AI fundraising
• Quick start: 5 AI prompt templates for fundraisers
• The future of AI fundraising: what to watch
• Leverage Bloomerang to effectively approach AI fundraising

Wrapping up

AI isn’t a future concern for nonprofits—it’s something your organization must contend with now. Your nonprofit does not have to be large or highly tech-savvy to get started. Organizations of all sizes can explore AI solutions and find the right fit and approach for their fundraising efforts and their unique supporter audiences.

The post AI fundraising explained: boost donor engagement & ROI appeared first on Bloomerang.

If your nonprofit has been considering hopping on the bandwagon or even just dipping your toe into the expansive world of AI, you’re in the right place! Consider this guide your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about AI for nonprofits.

Why AI is especially important for nonprofits

While every organization, no matter its sector, has its challenges, nonprofits carry a unique burden: when they’re buried in the day-to-day logistics, their ability to focus on their mission takes a backseat. And that mission is the whole point. From tracking donor engagement and identifying new prospects to drafting grant proposals and creating content, AI can take on many of the tasks that can typically drain a staff’s time and capacity.

What are the different types of AI?

Before diving into specific AI tools, let’s break down two of the most widely used types of artificial intelligence in the nonprofit space: generative AI and predictive AI. Knowing the difference between these models will help your organization better match the right tools to the right tasks. Whether you’re hoping to use AI for fundraising, to streamline internal processes, or improve donor outreach, understanding how these two types of AI work will give you the context you need to use them effectively and responsibly.

Generative AI solutions for nonprofits

As the name plainly states, generative AI generates content. With the rise of chatbots like Google Gemini and ChatGPT, generative AI has been a hot topic for a while now, but how exactly does it work? In a nutshell, generative AI identifies patterns based on the massive data set it’s trained on to then create new content.

If your nonprofit is looking for help with social media content, marketing emails, or grant proposals, generative AI can be a great tool. To put it simply, if content creation is a pain point for your organization, generative AI may just be your new best friend.

Predictive AI tools for nonprofits

Unlike generative AI, Predictive AI is trained on more targeted information. It’s all about delving into past data sets to forecast future outcomes. So, if your nonprofit needs assistance with engagement analytics or donor prospecting, predictive AI is a great asset to have in your toolbelt.

While generative AI is about creating, predictive AI is about anticipating. In an ideal world, your nonprofit would utilize both models in tandem, with predictive AI helping to inform your efforts and generative AI assisting in the execution of your strategy.

Now that’s all well and good, but finding these nifty predictive and generative tools (especially the right ones) can be an overwhelming experience. A quick Google search will populate countless services proclaiming their artificial intelligence is the one you need in your organization, making the entire process of finding the software that’s right for you incredibly tedious and time consuming. So, instead of spending countless hours scouring through different websites and giving yourself a headache, let’s cut through the noise and simplify what the best AI tools for nonprofits are.

What are the best AI tools for nonprofits?

Free AI tools for nonprofits

Google Gemini – Seamlessly works within Google Workspace

One of the biggest perks of Gemini is how naturally it integrates into Google Workspace. So, if you’re using Google Docs, Gmail, or Sheets, Gemini is easy to use and requires minimal (if any) training. The free version can help streamline content creation and daily tasks.

What we like about it:

• Auto-generate email responses or internal updates without leaving Gmail
• Brainstorm campaign ideas or newsletter drafts directly in Docs
• Summarize long documents like grant guidelines or meeting notes

Chat GPT – A go-to for quick content drafting and idea generation

Like Gemini, the free version of ChatGPT is great for drafting content, brainstorming ideas, writing email templates, or answering research questions. It’s intuitive, fast, and easy to use, even for non-technical users.

What we like about it:

• Draft newsletters, social media posts, and blog content
• Get help with idea generation for campaigns or programs
• Simplify complex topics for donors or community members

Buffer – Great for scheduling posts and basic social media analytics

Buffer’s free plan simplifies social media management by suggesting content and scheduling posts. It also offers social media analytics so your team can better understand how your content strategy is performing.

What we like about it:

• AI-generated copy tailored for each platform
• Manage up to 3 social media accounts and schedule 10 posts
• Offers 30-day engagement data on individual posts

Canva – Intuitive graphic design

Canva offers their premium features at no cost for nonprofit organizations. Their Magic Studio suite includes AI tools that assist with graphic design, social media content, and cohesive branding.

What we like about it:

• Easily create social media graphics, presentations, and flyers
• Use AI tools for photo editing, layout design, and copy suggestions
• Collaborate with your team using branded templates

Grammarly – Polishes writing for any task

Grammarly’s free plan corrects grammar and spelling, and its AI writing prompts can help staff create clearer, more professional copy. It’s the perfect tool if you feel your writing needs that little extra boost.

What we like about it:

• Fixes grammar errors in newsletters, emails, or reports
• Offers clarity and tone suggestions tailored to your medium
• Supplies 100+ writing prompts to help you get started

AI fundraising & donor management for nonprofits

Bloomerang AI Content Assistant – Perfect for personal donor communication and an ideal AI tool for growing nonprofits

This AI assistant helps nonprofits craft donor-centric communications and fundraising appeals, streamlining outreach and saving staff time. It’s also embedded within Bloomerang’s CRM, so if you’re already using our platform, you’re good to go!

What we like about it:

• Suggests language for thank-you notes and fundraising emails
• Saves time for small teams by reducing manual writing and complicated customization
• Keeps messages aligned with fundraising best practices

Gravyty – Finds the right donors and suggests the best approach

Raise, Gravyty’s AI tool, helps nonprofits engage with donors more effectively by identifying the best outreach opportunities and generating tailored messaging automatically. It’s also a great platform for building up your donor community.

What we like about it:

• Flags high-potential donors and prioritizes them by donation likelihood
• Suggests outreach timing and email content
• Integrates with your CRM for smooth tracking

What to look out for:

• Not ideal for those looking for a total Giving Platform 

DonorSearch AI – Turns your data into a simplified donor strategy

DonorSearch AI uses predictive analytics to highlight who is most likely to give to your nonprofit and the best way to engage them within a 12-month timeframe. If you’re looking for high-level insights into prospective donors, ensuring your outreach efforts are not only efficient but effective, this could be the tool for you.

What we like about it:

• Scores and segments donors using predictive modeling
• Tailors asks based on funder’s giving potential
• Helps plan major gift strategies with data-driven confidence

Fundraise Up – Optimizes the donor experience to boost giving

Fundraise Up’s AI uses behavioral data to adjust ask amounts and craft personalized touch points across the donation experience to increase recurring donors and reduce cancellations. Bonus points for determining whether or not a donor is likely to cover transaction costs.

What we like about it:

• Suggests donation amounts based on user behavior
• Offers real-time messaging throughout the donation process
• Improves donor conversion and recurring gift rates

AI grant writing & application tools

Grantable – Excellent for tailored grant writing

Grantable uses AI to simplify the grant writing process by helping you draft responses, organize proposals, and reuse content efficiently. Great for busy teams applying for multiple grants that are feeling overwhelmed and/or disorganized.

What we like about it:

• Generates suggestions based on past successful proposals
• Helps structure compelling and consistent responses in minutes
• Checks if you’re meeting grant requirements in real time

Instrumentl – Finds funders that truly fit your organization

While primarily a grant research platform, Instrumentl’s AI tools can assist with crafting stronger, faster, and more successful applications by pulling on its insights from nearly 1,000 funders. It also offers ready-made application forms and builds out any they may be missing.

What we like about it:

• Matches your nonprofit with relevant funders
• Offers smart templates and suggestions for proposals
• Tracks progress, deadlines, and submissions

FreeWill – Customizes grant proposals to your nonprofit

FreeWill’s Grant Assistant streamlines the entire grant proposal process by crafting proposals tailored specifically to your organization. It essentially becomes an expert on your organization, its cause, and the category’s funding opportunities.

What we like about it:

• Generates polished proposals aligned with funder expectations while maintaining your nonprofit’s voice and values
• Conducts automatic compliance checks
• Simplifies the overall grant workflow

ChatGPT Plus – Powerful research tool, perfect for breaking down RFPs

With the paid version of ChatGPT, you’ll gain access to faster performance and advanced capabilities (unlimited use of ChatGPT-4o, higher limits on file uploads, etc). If you’re wanting a more specialized approach to your grant proposals, it may be worth upgrading.

What we like about it:

• Summarizes RFPs and identifies key requirements
• Helps translate ideas into grant-ready language
• Assists in brainstorming project outcomes and ideal budgets

Grammarly Pro – Tailors proposal writing to your audience

While the free version of Grammarly is amazing all on its own, Grammarly’s Pro plan is a great step up if you’re wanting some extra help. With tone and clarity enhancements, Grammarly ensures you’re getting your exact point across. This can be a great tool when refining grant applications and ensuring they’re easy to read.

What we like about it:

• Adjusts tone to match your intended writing style (persuasive, warm, assertive, etc.)
• Offers vocabulary enhancement suggestions
• Helps avoid awkward phrasing or ambiguity in your proposals

Nonprofit AI marketing & social media

Buffer – Saves time by automating social media content

Buffer’s AI features help your nonprofit stay visible in the vast social media landscape by generating ideas for your posting schedule and optimizing your content for each social media platform. Like Grammarly, it can also tailor your writing to fit a specific tone.

What we like about it:

• Suggests optimal publishing time for the highest engagement
• Helps craft captions and hashtags
• Repackages top content for reuse

Lately – Ideal for repurposing content in new ways

Lately uses AI to turn long-form content (like blog posts or videos) into dozens of short-form social posts, helping nonprofits maintain consistent online visibility. Like some of the other tools on this list, it’s also capable of crafting personalized copy for your target audience.

What we like about it:

• Pulls quotes and key takeaways from past content to create social posts
• Maintains brand voice across multiple channels
• Reduces the time needed to maintain an online presence

Jasper – Perfect for marketing-heavy efforts

Jasper is a marketing-focused AI writing tool that automates workflows across all marketing channels. It can be especially useful for fundraising drives and events. From generating copy for websites to blog posts to ads, it’s a versatile tool that every marketer can use.

What we like about it:

• Offers campaign templates for events and giving days
• Built-in guardrails to ensure your brand voice is always at the forefront
• Helps establish a content strategy around your targeted audience

Canva Magic Studio – Simplifies content creation for everyone

Canva’s Magic Studio generates images, animations, and captions for social media, while their design interface offers pre-made templates for easy graphic creation. It’s a must-have tool for those of us without a background in graphic design.

What we like about it:

• Creates animations, videos, or static posts in minutes
• Easily adapts one design across multiple platforms
• Customize templates with your nonprofit branding

Gemini Advanced – Helpful for graphics and planning across the board

Gemini Advanced stands out for helping with both visual content and campaign strategy in tools like Google Slides and Sheets. With Gemini Advanced in your toolbelt, you can look forward to more impactful campaigns, streamlined workflows, and a more collaborative creative process.

What we like about it:

• Generates custom images for social posts and presentations
• Creates marketing plans and budgets with the help of AI
• Plans campaign timelines and content calendars efficiently

AI data analysis

Microsoft Power BI Copilot – Great for understanding complex data

Power BI’s Copilot helps nonprofits gain deeper insight from their data, all without the need of a data analyst. With Copilot, nonprofits can translate overwhelming amounts of data into bite-sized, easily digestible pieces, allowing them to make more informed decisions.

What we like about it:

• Automatically builds charts and dashboards
• Answers plain-language questions about your data
• Helps evaluate donor trends and campaign outcomes

Salesforce Einstein AI – Simplifies CRM insights to improve stewardship

Integrated into the Salesforce CRM, Einstein AI uses predictive insights taken from your donor data to identify at-risk donors and personalize engagement with them. It’s also great for pinpointing the most promising giving opportunities and forecasting future donation trends.

What we like about it:

• Identifies giving trends and high-value donors
• Suggests personalized outreach actions
• Integrates seamlessly with donor records and reports

AI operations & automation

Otter – Perfect for clear note taking and instant transcriptions

Otter.ai provides real-time transcriptions and AI-generated meeting summaries, ideal for nonprofit board meetings, trainings, or interviews. With Otter working for you, you’ll not only save time, but you’ll also ensure everyone in your nonprofit is up-to-date on the information that pertains to them.

What we like about it:

• Transcribes live or recorded conversations and saves them for easy sharing
• Summarizes meetings with action items
• Syncs notes with video or audio playback

Zapier – Takes care of repetitive tasks for you

Zapier uses AI to connect disparate applications like CRMs, online forms, and email, allowing for automatically updating data entries and facilitating timely follow up interactions. It’s a central hub for all your tools to interact with one another, essentially nixing the middle man so you can focus on more important tasks.

What we like about it:

• Automatically sends thank-you emails after donations
• Updates your chosen CRM with new contacts taken from form submissions
• Saves hours by reducing manual admin work

Notion AI – Great for keeping internal knowledge bases organized within one platform

Notion’s AI assistant is a perfect solution for nonprofits wanting to enhance their internal productivity and streamline operations. Whether you need to draft notes, summarize project plans, or automate knowledge management, Notion AI is a powerful internal productivity tool.

What we like about it:

• Helps write project plans and to-do lists
• Summarizes lengthy documents and identifies key takeaways
• Allows for easy team collaboration within knowledge bases

How to choose the AI tool for your nonprofit

Now that we’ve covered some of the best tools on the market, it’s time to get really clear on the pain points your organization is facing. If you have grant proposals down to a science, you probably don’t need to invest in a program like Grantable. But if your social media is all over the place (or nonexistent) it might be time to check out something like Buffer. Clarifying your pain points will be your guiding star in selecting what category of AI is for you.

Once you’ve done that, now comes the fun of looking at what your organization can afford. As made clear in our list, there are plenty of free tools that are worth getting started with, especially if you’re brand new to using AI. However, free tools are limited in their capabilities, and if you feel you’ve reached the limit of what they can offer, it’s probably time to invest.

Thankfully, many of the tools listed above have special promotions for nonprofits! Here are the services that offer discounts for organizations like yours.

• Google Gemini
  Eligible nonprofits can register to test Gemini for no-cost as part of Google Workspace for Nonprofits. Google also offers discounts for more advanced AI features.
• Open AI Chat GPT
  Nonprofit organizations can access ChatGPT Team at a discounted rate of 20% off monthly or annual plans, and large nonprofits can save 25% by contacting OpenAI’s sales team.
• Buffer
  Buffer offers a 50% discount on all their products and plans for nonprofits.
• Canva
  Canva offers nonprofits free access to all of its premium features.
• Jasper
  Jasper offers a 20% discount to nonprofits after they complete their free trial.
• Microsoft Copilot
  Eligible nonprofits can receive a 15% discount on Copilot.
• Salesforce Einstein AI
  Salesforce offers a wide range of discounts and special pricing options for nonprofits.
• Otter
  In conjunction with TechSoup, Otter offers a discounted rate off their annual business plan for nonprofits.
• Zapier
  Nonprofits can receive a 15% discount on a single Zapier plan.
• Notion
  Notion offers 50% off their Plus Plan for nonprofits.

Now that you know what tool works best for your organization from both a pain point and financial perspective, it’s best to narrow down your options by taking a look at what easily integrates with your existing tools. For example, if you’re already using Bloomerang as your CRM, it would probably make the most sense to make use of its AI Content Assistant rather than learning an entirely new system for your fundraising needs.

Finally, it’s time to take your new tool for a test drive! See how it feels, take the time to learn all the bells and whistles, and then, when you’re ready, scale it to your needs.

How nonprofits can use AI responsibly

We’ve covered a lot in this guide already, but there’s one thing that we cannot forget to discuss—using AI in a responsible and ethical manner. The world of artificial intelligence is evolving rapidly, and while all the tools we’ve discussed are exciting and no doubt beneficial, AI isn’t without its risks. If used improperly, AI can put your organization at risk for data breaches, legal noncompliance, and the spread of misinformation and unintentional biases.

As intense as all that sounds, as long as your nonprofit takes the steps necessary to responsibly use AI, there’s nothing to worry about. But, what exactly does that look like?

For one, proper training is key. Before rolling out the red carpet for your new savvy tool and letting staff run loose, be sure everyone who will be using your tool of choice understands that, while AI supports tasks, it should not be used blindly. Without oversight, AI can lead to sharing incorrect or harmful messaging—two things that could be detrimental to your mission. It’s vital to remember that AI is not a substitute for human judgment, empathy, or context.

It’s also important to conduct regular security checks. Without proper guardrails in place, sensitive donor information may be susceptible to cyberattacks or data breaches. This is also where it’s crucial to thoroughly vet whatever vendor you choose to work with. You’ll want to make sure their platforms are secure.

And don’t forget, transparency is everything! Stakeholders should understand how you’re using AI, and be sure to give donors the opportunity to consent to their data being used in an AI system. Don’t shy away from informing them of how you’ll keep their data private and secure.

Final thoughts

While AI Tools for Nonprofits came on the scene fast, they are here to stay. Although relatively new in the grand scheme of technology, it’s already become a vital tool for organizations trying to do more with less. So, whether you’re looking to use AI for fundraising campaigns, improve donor engagement, automate internal processes, or finally tackle that mountain of data, there’s a solution that fits both your goals and your budget. With so many options on the market today, nonprofits of all sizes can start small, scale smart, and make a real impact with the help of artificial intelligence.

The post AI Tools for Nonprofits: A Complete Guide in 2026 appeared first on Bloomerang.