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AI in nonprofit fundraising strategy is transforming how organizations operate—but using it incorrectly can damage donor relationships and trust. In this conversation, Katie Gaston of Bloomerang opens the box with practical guidance on how to use AI effectively while avoiding the most common pitfalls.

Nonprofit professionals are increasingly turning to AI tools for donor research, reporting, and communications. The opportunity is clear: faster workflows, better insights, and increased capacity. But as Katie explains, AI is not a replacement for human judgment—it’s a tool to enhance it. “AI should be a supportive arm… but it should never replace your judgment as a fundraiser.”

From donor asks to personalized stewardship, the human connection remains at the core of successful fundraising. AI can prepare you for meetings, surface insights, and even recommend strategies—but it cannot replicate the emotional intelligence required in critical moments.

This episode also addresses key operational risks. Sending AI-generated content without review, relying too heavily on automated insights, and failing to maintain clean data can all create serious challenges. As Katie reminds us, “The quality of your data is what AI will know—garbage in, garbage out.”

You’ll also learn how AI can dramatically improve efficiency—reducing hours of reporting work to minutes—while freeing your team to focus on relationship-building and strategic thinking.

The takeaway? AI isn’t replacing fundraising—it’s redefining how effective fundraisers work.

00:00:00 Introduction to AI in Fundraising
00:03:10 Meet Penny: AI Fundraising Assistant
00:06:00 Why AI Should NOT Make Donor Asks
00:09:00 Reviewing AI Output to Avoid Risk
00:11:30 AI vs. Human Donor Knowledge
00:14:30 Data Quality and CRM Accuracy
00:17:30 Protecting Your Nonprofit Voice
00:22:00 Personalization vs. Automation in Donor Care
00:25:45 Using AI to Save Time and Increase Capacity
00:27:00 How Fast Should Nonprofits Adopt AI?
00:30:00 Final Thoughts on AI Strategy

#TheNonprofitShow #NonprofitEfficiency #FundraisingStrategy

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Our national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!
12:30pm ET 11:30am CT 10:30am MT 9:30am PT

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Nonprofit hiring strategy step by step is no longer optional—it’s essential in today’s complex labor market. Katie Warnock, Founder & CEO of Staffing Boutique, shares a practical roadmap to help nonprofit leaders hire smarter, faster, and with better long-term results.

If your NPO is struggling to fill roles, experiencing candidate drop-off, or losing momentum late in the hiring process, this conversation reveals why—and what to do differently.

Katie begins with a foundational truth: hiring success starts before you ever post a job. “It’s kind of like a mishmash of responsibilities… and when hiring, that’s not a good skill set to be efficient.” Clear role definition, department alignment, and realistic expectations are critical to attracting the right candidates.

From there, she walks through how to build a compelling job description, evaluate the psychology of fit, and structure a hiring process that actually moves candidates forward. With hiring cycles now averaging months, nonprofits must eliminate friction—from unclear expectations to inconsistent interview processes.

You’ll also learn why broad job postings fall short. As Katie puts it, “It’s not just putting a general ad on LinkedIn and then… post and pray.” Instead, targeted platforms and sector-specific outreach are key to finding aligned talent.

Finally, the episode addresses one of the most overlooked areas: making the offer. From salary transparency to verbal alignment and negotiation timing, Katie outlines how to close candidates without losing them at the finish line.

For nonprofit leaders, hiring is not just an HR function—it’s a mission-critical business process. The stronger your hiring strategy, the stronger your impact!

00:00:00 Why Nonprofit Hiring Feels Broken
00:02:00 Defining Roles Before You Hire
00:04:00 Writing Job Descriptions That Attract Talent
00:06:00 Psychology of Fit in Nonprofit Roles
00:10:00 Where to Post Jobs (And Where Not To)
00:12:00 Building a Structured Hiring Process
00:15:00 Why Hiring Takes Months Right Now
00:17:30 Scheduling with Boards and Leadership
00:19:30 Structuring Effective Interviews with AI
00:22:00 Reference Checks vs Background Checks
00:27:00 Making the Offer Without Losing Candidates
00:29:30 Final Hiring Strategy Takeaways

#TheNonprofitShow #Nonprofithr #NonprofitHiring

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Our national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!
12:30pm ET 11:30am CT 10:30am MT 9:30am PT

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Nonprofit leadership learning culture is no longer a “nice to have”—it is becoming a business necessity for organizations trying to stay functional, aligned, and mission-ready. This episode is about how nonprofit leaders can move beyond one-time training and build a learning culture that improves decision-making, team alignment, board performance, and organizational resilience.

Jeffrey R. Wilcox of Third Sector Company challenges nonprofit leaders to rethink training, leadership development, board education, and organizational learning.

Jeffrey challenges a familiar assumption: that sending one person to a workshop, webinar, or conference automatically creates organizational progress. His message is sharper than that. Learning happens when knowledge changes behavior, improves decisions, and helps people function differently in a changing environment.

As Jeffrey explains, “Learning is something that I know something has occurred to me that has changed the way I look at the world, talk about the world, or function in the world.” That distinction matters for nonprofit CEOs, board members, fundraisers, finance teams, program leaders, and anyone responsible for organizational performance.

The conversation moves into one of the biggest leadership questions facing nonprofits today: how do we keep core functions strong when the way those functions operate has changed so dramatically? Fundraising, finance, governance, technology, staffing, and board leadership still matter—but AI, fractional work, remote teams, digital systems, and generational expectations have changed how the work gets done.

Jeffrey also makes the case for shared learning. Too many organizations develop deep knowledge inside departments while maintaining shallow understanding across the full organization. That creates silos, weakens mission ownership, and slows decision-making. His recommendation: create cross-functional learning experiences, use dashboards to show organizational health, and shift the narrative from “they” to “we.”

“When you’re a leader, the learning process is something you don’t own,” Jeffrey says. “The leader’s role is to facilitate the learning of self and others’ benefit from that.”

For nonprofit professionals, this episode offers a fresh way to think about leadership development, board learning, staff training, and succession readiness. The takeaway is clear: training tells people what to know. Learning helps people discover what to do next.

#TheNonprofitShow #NonprofitLeadership #NonprofitTraining

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Our national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!
12:30pm ET 11:30am CT 10:30am MT 9:30am PT

Send us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.com
Visit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show