Fundraising.AI

The Framework

Fundraising.AI

Episode 50

THE PODCAST

50 Episodes of Fundraising AI: Milestones, Challenges, and the Road Ahead

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OVERVIEW

Nathan and Scott celebrate the 50th episode of the Fundraising AI podcast, reflecting on their journey and the rapid evolution of AI technology. They discuss the balance between AI scale and safety, noting the industry’s focus on expansion over responsible use. The conversation highlights advancements in deep research, AI’s impact on nonprofits, and the growing importance of generalists in the AI era. They introduce agentic AI, which can take actions beyond simple responses, raising concerns about regulation. 

Nathan and Scott emphasize responsible AI use in fundraising, ensuring technology enhances human connection. They discuss their upcoming book, Nonprofit AI, and their role in guiding nonprofits through AI’s transformation. Looking ahead, they express excitement for the next 50 episodes and the future of AI in philanthropy. 

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

  • [00:01] Reflecting on 50 Episodes of the Fundraising AI Podcast
  • [01:23] Evolution of AI Technology and Industry Challenges
  • [02:33] The Arms Race Between Scale and Safety in AI
  • [05:17] Deep Research and Its Impact on Nonprofits
  • [11:17] The Role of Curiosity and Generalists in the AI Era
  • [14:58] The Future of Agentic AI and Its Implications
  • [22:34] The Role of Fundraising AI in Shaping the Future
  • [25:16] Looking Ahead to Episode 100

TIPS AND TOOLS TO IMPLEMENT TODAY

  • Embrace the generalist mindset to adapt to AI-driven changes.
  • Leverage AI to generate detailed, accurate reports quickly.
  • Evaluate AI tools against nonprofit values and ethics.
  • Advocate for responsible AI adoption with safety in mind.
  • Automate tasks like scheduling while maintaining oversight.
  • Use AI to enhance relationships, not replace them.
  • Keep learning as AI evolves to make informed decisions.
  • Support AI policies that prioritize ethical use.
  • Test AI-powered donor engagement tools.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

FAVORITE QUOTES

  • "Fundraising AI was created not to promote the use of AI, but to promote the responsible and beneficial use of AI, so things that are helpful in the short term and the long term." - Nathan Chappell
  • "I think for our resolve, our commitment to our mission, our commitment to our values, I think we are absolutely going to be tested because we'll be presented with technology that will seemingly do things that will be helpful, but maybe not good for philanthropy overall in the long term." - Nathan Chappell
  • "AI changes the rules of the game for all businesses—nonprofit, for-profit, for everything that we were taught growing up." - Nathan Chappell
  • "A year ago, I'd have been like, incremental changes, and this is cool. We're getting better at doing things faster and smarter. But now, all bets are off. The world belongs to the curious generalist, and that's a lot of people out there. If they decide to point that imagination and curiosity for good, I get excited about what's possible." - Nathan Chappell
  • "These tools are becoming strategic—appearing to be empathetic. They're not actually empathetic, but they can appear they are. They can be amazing creative partners, but they can't wonder. And so I think that's this inherently human thing we can do and own forever. I don't think AI will ever wonder on its own. And therefore, this is our inherent human superpower in this day." - Nathan Chappell
  • "I think no doubt, from a technological perspective, AI is going to look so different a year from now that it's already out. We're already there, and it's going to grow exponentially as it does—or double exponentially, in fact—because agents are creating agents, and it just gets wild." - Nathan Chappell
  • "The technology a year ago was baby versions compared to now. The new text-to-video, the new voice capabilities, like advanced voice mode—it's all here. The capability for deepfakes is much worse than it was a year ago, and safety and responsibility have been lagging even further. So it's concerning." - Scott Rosenkrans
  • "Hopefully, by episode 100, what are we going to say looking back at this year? I think we both agree that this year is probably going to be agentic." - Scott Rosenkrans
  • "All you have to do is ask questions. Before now, just asking those questions might not have moved you far ahead—you might just be spinning your wheels. But now, you can actually turn that into something, have someone always bouncing ideas back to you, and create something of value within that context of curiosity." - Scott Rosenkrans

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MEET YOUR HOSTS

Nathan Chappell

As a thought leader, public speaker, author and inventor, Nathan is one of the world’s foremost experts on the intersection between Artificial Intelligence and philanthropy. Nathan serves as Senior Vice President of DonorSearch AI, where he leads AI deployments for some of the nation’s largest nonprofit organizations. Nathan’s subject matter expertise has been featured in several publications, including Fast Company, University of Notre Dame and the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy. In 2021, Nathan founded Fundraising.Ai as a member-centric collaboration of nonprofit professionals with a focus on data ethics, data equality, privacy and security, sustainability. Nathan presented the first TEDx on the topic of artificial intelligence and the future of generosity in 2018. Nathan is a member of the Forbes Technology Council and holds a Masters in Nonprofit Administration from University of Notre Dame, an MBA from University of Redlands, a certificate in International Economics from University of Cambridge and a certificate in Artificial Intelligence from MIT.

Scott Rosenkrans

Scott Rosenkrans is the Assistant Vice President of DonorSearch Ai and has been with the organization for three years. He began his journey in the nonprofit sector twelve years ago as a prospect researcher. He quickly became fascinated with data as he noticed the organization that he previously worked for was amassing a wealth of information but was unsure how to efficiently use the data and resources to its full potential. This led him to become interested in predictive modeling and data analytics. During this time, he began to create an immense commitment to delivering tailor-made machine learning models to nonprofits.

The thing that Scott loves most about working for DonorSearch is the ability to prioritize what is best for the client and nonprofit sector above all else. He believes that growth is our most important core value because the DSAi team continuously evolves and brings a unique perspective that provides value to our clients. He stays ahead of industry trends because of his insatiable drive to constantly try out new things.

Favorite nonprofit: Shriner’s Children Hospital because of their extreme commitment to providing exceptional medical care, while also alleviating the financial burdens on families.