Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to infiltrate nearly every sector of technology these days. Artists use AI to fix elements of their unique artwork, writers use it for research on topics they don’t understand well and marketers use it to come up with campaign ideas. Nonprofits can turn to AI for some of their needs as well.
Raising money for a cause requires trust from donors and the community and accountability in how the organization spends the funds. AI nonprofit benefits mean charities can build trust and accountability quickly and more efficiently. Here are the benefits of tapping into the power of technological advances.
1. Reduce Errors
Humans are prone to making mistakes, but tapping into AI means a reduction in errors. While programs such as ChatGPT and Bard are not 100% foolproof, a machine is much more likely to shift through massive amounts of data and spit out accurate information.
The Charity Digital Skills Report polled 100 charities and found around 27% are already using AI in their daily operations. An additional 26% said they’d use it soon. The accuracy of bots may lead to more charities using the technology moving forward.
2. Tap Into AI for Nonprofits 24/7
Unlike a human worker, a machine works around the clock. If a donor has a question at 3 a.m., a bot can theoretically answer it. If a company had to staff a chatbot with human workers, they’d pay premium prices for the second and third shifts. The business would also have to spend time and money on training.
An AI bot is ready to chat anytime and has a set of pre-programmed responses that highlight the brand’s personality.
3. Add the Human Touch
Tools such as AI are useful for charities but shouldn’t take over the human aspect of reaching out to donors and making connections. Tap into the power of AI to figure out where to fundraise and gather research on potential philanthropists.
Think of AI as a tool used to gather information more quickly and accurately. When a nonprofit reaches out to someone and asks for a donation, they need the person to see them as trustworthy. Sharing accurate and consistent information develops trust between donors and not-for-profit organizations.
4. Manage Donors
Keeping track of those who support a mission isn’t always easy. Patrons come and go, and databases become outdated quickly. AI nonprofit tools include software that automatically updates records.
If someone hasn’t donated in a long time, the bot can send them an automatically generated email reminder, remove them from the list or update contact information. All the repetitive tasks humans once did are now taken over by computers, freeing time to seek out more donors or develop personal relationships.
5. Write More Content
Organizations are still figuring out the best ways to use AI to generate or plan content. Experts predict the chatbot market will reach $1.3 trillion by 2025. Programs such as ChatGPT come up with text based on prompts.
However, pulling generated material may cause any number of problems yet to be discovered. For one thing, the text may not be as SEO-friendly as human-written text. It doesn’t have the depth or current research other material does.
Some companies use AI to edit or come up with outlines. However a charity utilizes AI to produce content, proceed with caution and keep things as personal and unique as possible.
6. Assess Program Effectiveness
AI for nonprofits ensures charities can see what programs work to bring in revenue and which ones should be replaced. Volunteers and staff might spend countless hours sifting through data and figuring out which parts of a marketing campaign were most successful. AI returns results in a matter of minutes.
Seeing which efforts bring the best results allows charities to repeat the efforts that bring in the most revenue or create the most buzz about an organization. Drop the things that don’t work and repeat the things that do.
AI-generated reports also help keep leadership accountable. When someone comes up with an idea, it’s natural to take ownership of it. However, numbers tell the whole story, and if programs aren’t bringing in donations, it may be time to let them go.
7. Price Offers Correctly
Configure Price Quote (CPQ) technology is most often associated with the travel industry, such as figuring out ticket tiers for an airline. It can be used for any type of business, including a nonprofit. The airlines regularly have an after-tax profit of $4.8 trillion or more per quarter. Automated quotes drive much of the success.
How can charities utilize CPQ for fundraising? Tap into the power of automation to build trust with supporters. Automate sending out regular updates about how the organization uses funds and why the organization needs more.
AI can look at former donations and make estimates about who might be most likely to give and how frequently to contact them.
The Benefits of AI for Nonprofits
Finding enough hands to complete the many tasks the average charity does is challenging. Machines can take over much of the grunt work, forming social media posts, creating emails and automatically contacting donors and potential new givers.
Whether using the software to assess better fundraising efforts or segmenting the email database, AI takes what nonprofits already do and makes it more intuitive and efficient. Add a few elements to any not-for-profit agency and see if it frees up time to build a better outreach in the local community.