In an era where personalization and efficiency are paramount, artificial intelligence (AI) in fundraising opens novel avenues for your organization to enhance its outreach and engagement strategies.

At the heart of this revolution lies the potential of Custom Generative Pre-Trained Transformers (GPTs), a cutting-edge no-code AI feature allowing users to create customized chatbots. This unlocks incredible potential for nonprofits, including tailoring donor communications, proposal writing, and processes to unprecedented specificity, efficiency, and relevance. However, “with great power comes great responsibility.” The landscape of AI tools, like Open AI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini, is rapidly evolving and reshaping the sector’s ethical boundaries and operational norms. Knowing how to adapt and evolve with these changes is equally as important as understanding what AI can do for you.

What is Generative AI?

At its core, AI is the digital simulation of human intelligence programmed to think and learn—a digital brain that can process information, make decisions, and even predict outcomes based on data.

Generative AI platforms play a crucial role for nonprofits by creating text, images, and ideas from large data sets. ChatGPT, for example, excels in understanding and interacting in human language, making it invaluable for creating personalized communications. The landscape of generative AI is dynamic and other platforms like Copilot and Gemini are gaining relevance as well. Viewing ChatGPT as the initial benchmark rather than the ultimate solution acknowledges the rapidly evolving nature of the field.

What are Custom GPTs?

The latest advancement to ChatGPT and Copilot suites for nonprofits is Custom Generative Pre-Trained Transformers (GPTs). These tailored, no-code user-created versions of ChatGPT carry out specific tasks or purposes aligning with an organization’s specific needs. Among other applications, Custom GPT models can be trained to match your nonprofit’s voice, values, and fundraising goals. It can act as an efficient assistant who understands your organization and provides insights and creativity to support your mission.

Custom GPTs allow fundraisers to automate and personalize donor communications and create compelling fundraising campaigns. They can also handle repetitive tasks, freeing your team to focus on the more strategic and creative aspects of fundraising—they enhance, rather than replace, human effort.

Custom GPTs are a Transformative Fundraising Tool

Imagine moving out on your own and receiving a toolbox as a housewarming gift. Inside, you find various tools: screwdrivers, a hammer, pliers, and some unfamiliar tools. Initially, you might only use those you recognize, like the screwdriver and hammer. However, you learn about the other tools over time and discover their unique purposes, realizing the toolbox’s full potential.

In the context of nonprofits, ChatGPT and other generative AI models are like this toolbox. Many organizations already use basic AI tools (e.g., the screwdriver and hammer) for tasks like writing an email or a thank you note. But just like the unused tools, there is untapped potential in the less familiar tools hidden in AI technologies. Custom GPT models may seem complex at first, but hold immense potential for those who take the time to understand and utilize them.

For example, a standard AI tool might help you draft a generic thank-you letter to donors. In contrast, a Custom GPT can be trained to write personalized messages tailored to each donor’s interests and history with your organization. This shift moves from generic, one-size-fits-all solutions to bespoke communication strategies that significantly enhance donor engagement and fundraising effectiveness.

The key message is that AI’s potential is vast and largely untapped. Just as you wouldn’t use a hammer for every household task, it’s essential to understand the various AI tools available and strategically apply them to maximize impact.

4 Benefits of using Custom GPTs for fundraising

In our experience, the main benefits of Custom GPTs for nonprofits include the following.

1. you can Tailor them to Your Brand Voice

One of Custom GPTs standout benefits is their ability to adapt to and replicate your organization’s specific brand voice. This ensures that all communication—whether donor outreach, campaign materials, or social media content—consistently reflects your organization’s values and tone. For example, if your nonprofit has a compassionate and empathetic voice, you can train a Custom GPT to mirror this style so that your messaging resonates deeply and authentically with your audience.

2. they can Enhance your Fundraising Strategies

Custom GPTs can revolutionize how you conceptualize and execute campaigns. They can assist you in drafting personalized proposals, creating dynamic content for different donor segments, and suggesting ideas based on data trends. This customization makes your campaigns more engaging and likely to succeed.

3. They can Streamline your Operations

We cannot overstate the way Custom GPTs enable efficiency. They can streamline routine tasks like donor communication and report generation, freeing up valuable time. Your team will be able to focus on more strategic and creative projects to help your nonprofit grow.

4. they are Scalable and Adaptable

As your nonprofit grows and evolves, so can your suite of Custom GPTs. They are designed to learn and adapt, ensuring they remain an asset regardless of your organization’s needs changing over time. This adaptability is crucial in the nonprofit sector, where shifts in donor interests and giving trends are common based on the season and year-over-year.

an illustrative example of leveraging Custom GPTs

Imagine a scenario at a large university where the development team plans to approach a donor interested in supporting a specific program and associated research lab. The team utilizes a Custom GPT trained with the university’s customized endowment language and giving opportunities. The AI helps draft a proposal aligning with the donor’s interests, incorporating the latest research initiatives and potential impacts of their contribution. It also suggests a tailored ask level based on the donor’s previous giving history, wealth capacity rating, and engagement, resulting in a highly personalized and compelling proposal, significantly increasing the likelihood of a successful endowment.

In these fundraising applications, Custom GPTs enhance human creativity and strategic thinking, acting as a force multiplier and enabling teams to achieve more with less in a way deeply aligned with their organization’s mission and values.

Ethical considerations and Limitations of Custom GPTs

Ethical AI use in fundraising revolves around transparency and respect for donor privacy. Verifying that your organization conducts all AI-driven communications and analyses with the donor’s knowledge and consent is paramount—it’s how you maintain donor data integrity and confidentiality. AI is a tool for your organization to enhance human connection, not replace it. Custom GPTs personalize communications, but the human element’s authenticity and sincerity must remain at the forefront.

AI has a limited ability to Understand Human Nuance

While ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini can process and generate information based on data, they lack the innate human ability to fully understand complex emotional nuances and ethical considerations. This limitation is particularly evident in sensitive situations, such as communicating with a donor who recently experienced a personal loss or during crisis communications. In these cases, a human fundraiser’s nuanced understanding and empathy are irreplaceable and crucial for reviewing all AI-generated communications.

Artificial intelligence is Not a Standalone Solution

It’s also important to recognize that AI is a tool, not an end-state solution. Relying solely on AI for all fundraising aspects can lead to a lack of personal touch and potentially overlook unique opportunities only identifiable to humans. We recommend that you take a balanced approach, with AI complementing your human skills and intuition.

Regular Monitoring and Updating of ai systems is crucial

AI is rapidly evolving, as are its ethical considerations and best practices. Regularly updating and monitoring the AI systems for biases, inaccuracies, or ethical concerns is crucial to ensure the technology aligns with your organization’s values and current standards and continues to serve your mission effectively and ethically.

Generative AI Outputs require Editing

Another Custom GPT consideration is that you cannot rely on the output as-is. For example, ChatGPT has been known to write untrue or exceptionally biased statements. Similarly, the dangers of making a custom GPT include misuse, users getting access to proprietary data, and harm to an organization’s brand. Do not use any document or data that you do not want to become public in these custom GPTs.

there are data privacy CONCERNS around ai use

The fundraising opportunities offered by ChatGPT and other generative AI tools are not without any ethical and legal concerns. ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini are open-knowledge AI models, meaning all the information they gather comes from what is publicly available on the internet (although ChatGPT and Copilot lag a couple of months behind in their respective knowledge bases), as well as any data they collect from users. This can cause apprehension: how can we use AI models while ensuring data safety? How can we adhere to data and research policies so that we can be proud of the work we do through AI? How do we ensure that the work remains ours?

options to maintain Data Privacy with AI usage

Generative AI models use all the prompts, responses, and information fed into them as additional training material. This feature is a crucial part of machine learning, but providing a chatbot with confidential information may, unfortunately, also breach data privacy policies.

What are your options for maintaining data privacy?

  • Offer anonymous and nonspecific information: Opt to be more conscious of how precise you are in information sharing. Rather than providing all the necessary information, it can be helpful to curate slightly more general prompts. How can you find a balance between altering prompts to allow for individualization and avoiding giving away too much private information?

  • Pay for data privacy: Custom GPTs offer an additional settings option to turn off ChatGPT’s ability to learn from your data. This setting is locked behind a paywall but is currently the only way an individual account can ensure that confidential information is not leaked.

Regardless of your approach, it is important to confirm your AI engagement aligns with your institution’s risk and data protection policies.

There are also PLAGIARISM AND ETHICAL concerns around ai use

Another concern is regarding ownership. How can you feel that AI-produced work—even a rough draft—is still the result of your efforts? While generative AI chatbots appear capable of creating individualized content out of thin air, this is not entirely the case. Generative AI cannot generate anything nonexistent; it mimics reality but does not create novelty. Ultimately, we must curate accurate, well-developed prompts if we want ChatGPT or other models to create a useful draft document.

To address ethical concerns, fundraisers using AI chatbots must be extremely conscious of how they craft their initial prompts and follow-ups, as well as how they review, fact-check, and work from any of their responses. Take the steps to transform the AI model’s writing into your final deliverable, a process requiring time and effective planning.

While AI’s efficient, customizable generation is not without drawbacks, knowing what to be vigilant of is the best way to maximize what generative AI can do for you.

Custom GPTs are the Future of Fundraising

As we look to the future, one thing is clear: integrating AI in nonprofit fundraising is not an option but a necessity for those looking to stay relevant and effective in a rapidly changing world. Embracing AI with a thoughtful, strategic approach will enhance your fundraising efforts and assure that your organization continues to make a meaningful impact in the communities you serve.

However, the journey to effectively integrating AI into your fundraising strategy requires a deep understanding of the technology, a commitment to ethical practices, and a readiness to adapt to continually evolving tools. We encourage you to continue educating yourself with our growing library of AI resources and reach out to CCS Fundraising if you need a customized partnership.

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You may already know that predictive AI can unearth new major gift prospects. But how can predictive modeling help you optimize major gift portfolios that are already assigned?

Predictive modeling evaluates two critical factors for fundraising success:

  • Portfolio Quality (Are the right donors assigned?)
  • Portfolio Performance (Have we captured the available fundraising potential?)

At CCS Fundraising, we leverage these factors to evaluate and optimize our clients’ major gift portfolios.

Step 1 to Optimize major gift portfolios: Evaluate Quality

A quality major gift portfolio includes prospects with both capacity and affinity, meaning they have the financial means to donate and an interest in supporting your organization.

capacity and affinity

To estimate capacity, we perform external wealth screening research, analyzing assets, real estate, income, and public giving data to estimate how much a household can donate to all charities over five years.

Nonprofit CRM data provides valuable insights into donor affinity. CCS uses this internal data to create predictive models that score the likelihood of each donor contributing to your organization.

CCS visualizes portfolio quality by combining affinity and capacity data into a quadrant chart. Prospects scoring high on predictive models and showing significant gift capacity fall in the upper right quadrant.

A quadrant chart showing how to optimize major gift portfolios by scoring major gift prospects on capacity and affinity.

Key questions arise from this visualization:

  • What proportion of our portfolio is in the upper right quadrant? Ideally, the entire portfolio should fall there. Realistically, portfolios with at least 50% of prospects in this quadrant are considered high quality.
  • Which prospects are of lower quality than expected? CCS often recommends removing certain prospects from the portfolio for optimal use of gift officers’ time. Displaying capacity and affinity together helps pinpoint donors for removal.

Step 2 to optimize major gift portfolios: Evaluate Performance

Beyond assessing portfolio quality, it’s crucial to evaluate portfolio performance. Even with ideal prospects, a portfolio might not reach its full fundraising potential.

We estimate portfolio performance using the capacity capture rate metric, the ratio of a prospect’s last five years of giving to the minimum value of their estimated gift capacity range. Essentially, the capacity capture rate measures the percentage of a donor’s total giving capacity directed to your organization.

Remove Outliers

A client example shows how outliers can skew the average capacity capture rate. When the average rate significantly differs from the median, outliers likely influence the data. Removing these outliers clarifies the underlying capture rate for the entire portfolio.

Analyze seemingly strong major gift portfolios

CCS typically sees an average capacity capture rate of 10% and a median of 1%. Higher values indicate strong portfolio performance. However, even if overall numbers are positive, deeper analysis can uncover valuable insights.

The capacity capture rate graph reveals key data for portfolio segmentation and prioritization, including:

  • The percentage of the portfolio that hasn’t donated in the last five years.
  • The percentage of the portfolio underperforming relative to donor gift capacity.
  • The number of prospects giving more than 100% of their estimated gift capacity suggests an underestimation by the wealth screening vendor.

In the case of the client example above, we know there are outliers who unduly influence the average. When the average capacity capture rate is meaningfully different than the median capture rate, there is a good chance that there are some outliers. Removing the outliers can help us get a better sense of the underlying capture rate for the portfolio as a whole.

CCS typically sees an average capacity capture rate of 10% and a median capture rate of 1%. Values greater than that indicate a portfolio that is performing well. However, even if the overall numbers indicate good portfolio performance, digging a bit deeper can uncover more valuable information.

The chart above illustrates the capture rate ranges. This graph shows some key pieces of data that can help inform the segmentation and prioritization of the portfolio, including:

  • The percentage of the portfolio that hasn’t made a gift in the last five years.
  • The percentage of the portfolio underperforming in the context of a donor’s gift capacity.
  • The number of prospects who are giving more than 100% of their estimated gift capacity indicates that the wealth screening vendor has underestimated the capacity.

Step 3: Bring Quality and Performance Data Together to optimize major gift portfolios

The chart below shows a segmentation we recommended to a client considering their major gift portfolio’s quality and performance data.

A chart showing donor segmentations based on quality and performance data to optimize major gift portfolios.

Combining quality and performance data provides a comprehensive view of your portfolio. This approach helps make data-driven decisions to optimize your portfolio, identifying prospects for removal, further research, or new engagement strategies while confirming successful current strategies.

Fundraising teams that optimize major gift portfolios with predictive modeling ensure their limited time and resources yield the best possible results.

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Is your nonprofit acquiring new donors but finding it challenging to keep them? If so, you’re not alone. The 2024 CCS Philanthropy Pulse report reveals that donor retention remains a top challenge, as only 48% of nonprofit organizations reported keeping over half their new donors from the previous 12 months.

Successful stewardship builds trust and loyalty. Further, donors who feel appreciated and connected are likelier to become repeat contributors, increase their giving over time, fulfill multi-year pledges, and even advocate for your organization among their networks.

What Is Donor Stewardship?

Stewardship is a relationship-building process requiring the strategic management of donors through consistent communication, personalized engagement, and demonstrated impact.

A successful stewardship program:

  • Improves your donors’ experience through engagement and appreciation
  • Educates the donor about your organization’s mission, particularly as new programs emerge
  • Highlights donor impact
  • Accelerates pledge fulfillment through consistent interaction
  • Builds personal relationships between the donor and the assigned relationship manager
  • Increases donor retention as donors feel valued and appreciated

A positive stewardship experience has the power to turn a one-time donor into a longstanding partner of your organization.

best practices for strengthening your donor stewardship program

1. timely and grateful acknowledgement

Promptly thank a donor for their contribution—ideally within 24 to 48 hours. Express sincere gratitude and mention how their support will make an impact. Acknowledgment should be tiered based on the donor relationship, with some donors receiving standardized, personalized, letters while major donors should receive phone calls and hand-written notes. For transformational gifts, senior leadership should make personal, immediate outreach to the donor.

2. regular, personalized communication

Utilize data analytics to understand donors’ preferences, interests, giving history, and communication styles. Tailoring communication based on a donor’s preferences and interests will foster a stronger connection. Use existing touchpoints and think outside the box to maintain donor engagement, such as events, volunteer opportunities, or guided tours. Provide updates on the organization’s programs, achievements, and impact—ensure you are connecting with the donor throughout the year in ways beyond solicitation.

3. Involving donors in your mission

Engage donors beyond financial support and let donors experience your nonprofit’s mission in action. This could include engaging them as volunteers, event attendees, committee advisors, or key stakeholders or having them share their expertise with your organization.

4. recognition opportunities

Discuss recognition or naming opportunities with the donor to identify what would be most meaningful, depending upon the size of their gift. These opportunities should be customized for each prospect—many donors are not looking for public recognition, so it’s important to know their preferences.

5. impact reporting

Show donors the tangible impact their support has made on the organization through individual impact reports, newsletters, annual reports, or other creative storytelling opportunities. Use data to quantify the outcomes of their support as much as possible. Visual representations such as infographics or success stories can make donors feel closer to the mission and see the impact they make with their gifts.

6. seeking feedback

Solicit donor input via surveys, focus groups, or one-on-one conversations to understand their preferences, satisfaction levels, and suggestions for improvement. With so many organizations making timely donor stewardship a standard practice, creativity can make all the difference in retaining strong donor relationships.

7. diversifying your approach to donor stewardship

Think outside the box to create memorable and meaningful donor interactions. Innovation can look like sending a personalized video message from beneficiaries expressing gratitude, an invitation to insider events, or behind-the-scenes access to the organization’s work. Creative stewardship approaches leave a remarkable impression and deepen the donors’ emotional connection to the cause.

8. placing a premium on efficiency

Maximize your capacity—effective stewardship does not necessarily require additional resources. Organizations should leverage existing resources such as volunteer networks, social media platforms, and current staffing infrastructure to enhance a donor’s experience. For example, volunteers can write personalized thank-you notes, or donors can be invited to a behind-the-scenes day in the office.

donor stewardship helps you find—and keep—your donors

Stewardship and fundraising should be viewed as the same: a continuous journey of nurturing relationships, building trust, and inspiring generosity. Organizations can cultivate an engaged and committed loyal donor base by prioritizing donor relationships and implementing best practices. We repeatedly see that effective stewardship drives donor retention and increased giving.

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 New York, NY – CCS Fundraising, a leader in nonprofit fundraising and strategic consulting, proudly announces the release of their latest position paper, AI in Fundraising. This comprehensive report examines the rapidly growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the nonprofit sector. 

In the dynamic and ever-changing philanthropic landscape of today’s nonprofit sector, harnessing the power of AI is paramount to enhancing operational efficiency and fundraising impact. This paper – researched, written, and produced by CCS’s Data Analytics team – explores how AI enables nonprofits to leverage data, automation, and personalized communication to engage prospects and donors effectively, ultimately advancing their mission and achieving financial goals. 

“As the nonprofit sector continues to evolve, it’s essential for organizations to embrace the innovative applications of AI to achieve fundraising efficiency, increased generosity, and more impactful philanthropy,” stated Greg Hagin, Principal and Managing Director at CCS Fundraising. “I’m excited to share this research by CCS to leaders in the nonprofit industry, as it provides invaluable guidance on leveraging AI to drive meaningful impact and achieve long-term success.” 

The AI in Fundraising position paper comprises five insightful themes for nonprofits to study: 

  1. Understanding AI: Tracing the evolution of AI from traditional algorithms to modern generative AI, providing a historical context and overview of key advancements. 
  2. AI Fundraising Applications: Exploring how both types of AI, machine learning and generative, empower nonprofits to acquire, segment, upgrade, and retain donors, with real-world examples and case studies. 
  3. Implementing AI in Your Fundraising Strategy: Offering a practical framework for nonprofits to effectively integrate AI into their fundraising initiatives, including goal setting, infrastructure development, and ethical considerations. 
  4. Harnessing Your Fundraising Power with AI: Advocating that with the power of AI, nonprofit organizations can automate and optimize their fundraising practices to more effectively engage donors and make a more significant impact. 
  5. Generative AI Use Cases: Showcasing how AI can be implemented to help with fundraising tasks, such as identifying prospects, generating proposals, and developing cultivation strategies. 

Ashutosh Nandeshwar, Senior Vice President and Head of CCS Data Analytics, emphasized the practical applications of AI highlighted in the report, saying, “AI offers unparalleled opportunities for nonprofits to optimize fundraising efforts, from predictive modeling to personalized communication. By integrating AI into their strategies, organizations can enhance donor engagement and streamline operations.” 

What industry leaders are saying about AI in Fundraising

“Traditional AI and generative AI are moving the efficiency frontier in many industries, fundraising included. With these technologies, organizations will be able to create more personalized and deeper donor relationships while being able to use their resources more effectively.” ~Nicolaj Siggelkow, David M. Knott Professor, Vice Dean MBA Program, and Co-Director, Mack Institute for Innovation Management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and co-author of Connected Strategy 

“It’s a very thorough and easy to understand overview of how AI can be used in the fundraising space. I imagine many nonprofits are overwhelmed with where to start, and this can serve as a useful roadmap.” ~Jeff Kula, Senior Vice Chair, Philanthropy, Cleveland Clinic 

Elevate your nonprofit’s potential with AI in Fundraising. This insightful guide examines how AI technologies, from predictive modeling to generative AI, can be implemented to boost fundraising efforts, enhance donor satisfaction, and secure a sustainable future for nonprofits.” 

~Max S. Bennett, co-founder of multiple AI companies, author of A Brief History of Intelligence 

For further information on AI in Fundraising and to download the report, visit CCS Fundraising Data Analytics

About CCS Fundraising 

CCS Fundraising is a strategic consulting firm that has partnered with nonprofits for transformational change for more than 75 years. CCS provides various services to support and strengthen nonprofit fundraising programs, including campaign management, strategic planning, data analytics, gift planning, systems and change management, and major gift strategy. The firm’s expert consultants, skilled in campaign and development strategy, work closely with organizations of all sizes across nonprofit sectors and geographies. 

For more information on CCS Fundraising, please visit www.ccsfundraising.com. 

Jeff Kula, Senior Vice Chair, Philanthropy, Cleveland Clinic

Learn About:

  • The history of AI
  • Implementing AI in your fundraising strategy
  • Benefits and considerations of using AI
  • AI example cases and making the most of AI chat prompts
  • And more!

AI is changing the way nonprofits fundraise

Nonprofits often operate with limited resources and staff but are responsible for securing funding, engaging with supporters, and fulfilling the organization’s mission. AI makes this easier. 

Traditional AI—algorithms and techniques that group or separate objects, transactions, or entities—and Modern AI—used to generate content, images, or video based on simple text prompts—can be instrumental to an effective fundraising strategy. Traditional and Modern AI (Gen AI) allow you to work more efficiently and productively.  

With AI, you can obtain accurate, rich data to build custom predictive models around acquiring, segmenting, reassigning, and retaining donors. AI can also create a targeted list of major donor prospects, identify which donors to upgrade based on their donation history, and personalize donor communications by segmenting their interests.  

streamlined donor management

Managing your nonprofit’s donor database manually can be incredibly time-consuming and prone to errors. AI can help you automate your data entry, clean up existing data, and ensure that current and prospective donor data is accurate and updated.  

Further, AI can segment donors based on various factors, including donation history, interests, and engagement level with your organization. You can use this information to tailor your fundraising and communication strategies to each donor group. One example is using AI to identify previous donors who have lapsed and automatically generate reengagement appeals to encourage them to become donors again. 

automated processes

Gen AI can automate processes for nonprofits with lean support staff, including acknowledgment letters for all donation designations—you can edit and approve these automated versions before sending them to donors. Gen AI-powered automation can also create impact stories of significant gifts to share with current and prospective donors. 

likelihood prediction

One of the most promising uses of AI in fundraising is predicting which donors are likeliest to give to your nonprofit again. By analyzing donation histories, AI algorithms can forecast future donations and help segment donors, allowing for more tailored communication and targeted fundraising strategies.  

One such prediction method is Random Forests, or “decision trees,” which use specific conditions to visually map out all possible outcomes of a decision. This AI-driven approach removes the need for manual decision-making and helps you enhance your targeting efforts for potential donors and donations. 

enhanced fundraising campaigns

AI can analyze your organization’s past campaign performance and predict which strategies are likeliest to succeed by assessing criteria such as donor demographics, previous donations, and contribution frequency to recommend the best outreach timing and methods. 

content generation

AI language generation models like ChatGPT can create qualification emails, thank-you letters, and proposals as well as research profiles. By automating content creation and testing variations, AI ensures you present the best possible content to donors. This boosts efficiency, allowing you to focus on other important tasks.  

leverage the power of aI for your nonprofit

Relationship-building is essential to successful fundraising, and AI is not designed to replace but augment human work. When it comes to efficiency and productivity, AI has the potential to transform not just nonprofit operations but donor engagement and retention. By automating routine tasks, personalizing donor engagement strategies, and providing data-driven insights, AI allows you to focus more on your organization’s mission.  

Embracing AI technology can help you secure the necessary resources to achieve your nonprofit’s goals and drive your mission forward for an even greater impact. 

Still have questions about AI?

Our industry-leading Data Analytics team is here to help!

Explore Our Reports

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The Philanthropy Outlook 2024 and 2025

March 13, 2024

Strengthen your fundraising strategy this year and next with this data-driven publication, revealing predictive insights for the philanthropic sector in the years ahead.

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CCS Philanthropy Pulse

February 13, 2025

Uncover the latest fundraising trends in the 2025 CCS Philanthropy Pulse report! Packed with data-rich insights from 600+ nonprofit organizations across diverse nonprofit sectors, this free report will help you plan for success in 2025.

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2024 Philanthropic Landscape, 13th Edition

September 9, 2024

This report provides a comprehensive look at the current state of US philanthropy, compiling and analyzing annual data from Giving USA and other prominent research to ensure your organization stays up-to-date on the most significant industry trends.

Many parishes opt for a campaign when considering capital projects or debt reduction, but often become intimidated by the tremendous needs and the equally tremendous goals associated with such an endeavor. CCS Fundraising always recommends doing a thorough analysis to assess the feasibility of a capital campaign before deciding whether to move forward in that direction. If your conclusion is that your parish is not ready for a large or extensive campaign, it would be wise to consider an alternative approach: conducting a campaign to increase weekly collections.

Like most charities, operational funding in churches often comes from annual giving. To keep up with inflation and growing expenses, such as maintenance, compensation, and benefits, it is vital that churches also grow donor giving over time. An increased offertory campaign can help begin that process.

Increased Offertory Programs Are an Easy alternative to large Fundraising campaigns

Many religious denominations have used pledging and annual stewardship drives for years and, as a result, encourage their members to grow their giving regularly. But what about those churches (especially Catholic parishes) that haven’t developed such programs?

CCS’s experience shows that Catholic churches (and even entire archdioceses and dioceses) are more often turning to increased offertory programs to overcome financial challenges and fulfill unmet needs. These programs can be easy to implement and can help you accomplish the following:

  • Educate parishioners on the need to be responsible stewards of the gift that is their church
  • Commence discussions regarding the importance of increasing giving annually to keep up with growing expenses
  • Get more parishioners involved as volunteers
  • Start a pattern of written commitments that can aid in real-time budgeting
  • Address real financial needs in a fair approach that doesn’t negatively impact a parish’s ability to run a campaign at a later date

Increased Offertory programs Have a High Return on Investment

These programs are indeed easier to run than a traditional capital campaign, and can often be completed in a period of seven weeks. They have also proven to be very effective. Through our work in this sector around the world, CCS has found our tailored increased offertory programs to elevate parish giving as much as 25% with sustained levels of increased giving during the years that follow our engagement. When combined with broad implementation of electronic giving by parishioners, these increases can be “locked in” and generate a steady stream of additional revenue for the parish.

For over a decade, CCS has helped parishes in the US and UK conduct over 170 increased offertory programs. These programs engaged 1,040 volunteers, and saw more than 9,740 commitment forms returned. Parishes gained an average 21% increase in giving, ending with a projected $8,676,111 (in current US dollars) increase in annual offertory. Some parishes even experienced an increase that approaches capital campaign results when calculated over five years.

Just as important as the results, however, is the cost. Most of these increased offertory campaigns saw a complete return on their investment after just five weeks of increased collections.

volunteer leadership and clear objectives are key

Volunteers are the key to generating the highest response and keeping the costs. A well-run program will take advantage of every communication channel a parish has to offer: the bulletin, the pulpit, mail, email, social media, and the personal contacts made by parishioners. These contacts need not be solicitations, but rather a personal reminder to respond and a testimonial about why the parish is so important to them. These personal contacts help reduce the number of mailings needed in the program and have been proven to generate higher rates of commitment.

When planning an increased offertory program, it is important to have a very clear sense of what you hope to achieve. In addition to increased financial support, an increased offertory program should focus on achieving the following objectives for the parish:

  • Identifying parish strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
  • Increasing the clergy and laity’s understanding of the principles of stewards
  • Developing ongoing educational and faith formation opportunities
  • Obtaining parishioner commitments of time, talent, and treasure
  • Increasing parishioners’ active involvement in parish and diocesan life
  • Growing Mass attendance
  • Upsurging registration
  • Increasing giving
  • Developing and implementing a plan for ongoing commitment to the principles of stewardship

Increased offertory programs support a culture of giving

In the end, however, the ultimate objective of an increased offertory program is changing the pattern of giving. At the conclusion of each program, CCS offers parish leaders training on conducting annual renewals of these commitments. Permanent change in parishioner giving behavior is only possible through regular attention and communication. It takes some work, but as any “stewardship parish” will attest, the process becomes automatic and expected by parishioners after a few years.

As an additional benefit, conducting an increased offertory program will not impact your parish’s ability to conduct a capital campaign in the near future – in fact, the process may help get you closer to campaign readiness.

So, when a campaign seems out of reach, or maybe you just need another year before starting one, consider an increased offertory program.

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Perspectives on Philanthropy | Giving USA 2025

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Explore this on-demand video presented by CCS Fundraising in partnership with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, which reveals and discusses the key findings from Giving USA 2025: The Annual Report on Philanthropy.

Article

Nonprofit Communications Strategy: A Generational Guide

June 6, 2025

Leverage the latest research on donor communication preferences to support your personalized nonprofit communications strategy.

SEE ALL IN: Catholic Episcopal

Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, currently hold the largest share of US wealth and reflect 43% of total charitable giving— but that’s about to change. The Great Wealth Transfer is on the horizon, and it’s time for your nonprofit organization to start preparing for when assets will pass to the next donor generation, reshaping the philanthropic landscape.

Now Is the Time to Think About the next Donor Generation

Despite wealth concentration in older demographics, Millennials and Generation Z are the two largest in the US. As Boomers grow older, an anticipated $84.4 trillion in assets will transfer to Millennials and Generation Z through 2045, including $72.6 trillion going directly to Boomer heirs. Inevitably, nonprofits are already seeing this transfer reflected: between 2016 and 2022, the average Millennial household increased its annual giving by 40% (from $942 to $1,323), contrasting the decrease in Gen X’s (-4%) and Boomers’ annual giving (-12%) during this same period.

With this impending shift comes a pivotal moment for your nonprofit to adapt as new donors bring new perspectives and giving priorities. Longtime, reliable donors have different values than their children—even if wealth stays within a family, giving priorities and personal motivations may not. The organizations that have taken the time to invest in the younger generations in preparation for this great wealth transfer are seeing rewards and a strong pipeline for the future of their organization.

Understand the Next Donor Generation

With this transfer, most wealth will pass directly to the heirs of current donors. You can begin establishing yourself with your next donor generation by learning about the descendants of your current donor base and getting to know them as individuals with interests and values separate from their family name.

Philanthropic parents raise philanthropic children, and family foundations make up over half of all private foundations, often staying within the family for several generations. However, recent trends show a departure from this norm, with some family foundations transitioning management to non-family members. This shift underscores the importance of engaging with both current and future generations of donors.

Millennial and gen z giving motivations

Millennial and Gen Z donors are driven by a desire to create meaningful change in the world and support causes that align with their values while also expecting transparency, authenticity, and community engagement in their philanthropic endeavors.

millennials

Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, are adaptive to technology but much less dependent on it than Generation Z. Millennials make up a large percentage of today’s workforce, balancing the demands of building a career, raising a family, and giving back to organizations they are most passionate about. Like Generation Z, Millennials are closest to organizations that directly reflect their values about current societal and economic issues. Millennials typically research a nonprofit or make a connection before making a gift.

Gen z

Generation Z (Gen Z) refers to those born between 1997 and 2012. Considered the most technologically advanced generation, the internet, social media, and smartphones are part of their everyday life. They have witnessed global issues ranging from economic downturns, domestic and international safety concerns, gender inequality, racial injustice, and climate change. Unsurprisingly, Gen Z cares about impact and wants others to know they are a part of specific causes, focusing more on public recognition.

where to find your next donor generation

The Great Wealth Transfer provides opportunities to discover new donors whose interests and values align with your organization in a way those of other generations did not, but where can you find them?

Young donors spend time online

Millennials and Gen Z donors have moved away from desktops in the last decade and are online, specifically on mobile devices. As the world becomes increasingly virtual, so does philanthropy. Even when responding to direct mail campaigns, which are still popular among nonprofits, Millennials and Gen Zs give online more often than their predecessors.

millennial and gen z donors crowdfund

The COVID-19 pandemic helped fuel the recent increase in online giving while also creating a significant shift toward crowdfunding, proven by the popularity of sites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter. These small-scale, collective aid efforts help cultivate young donors by introducing philanthropy and planting the seeds to one day become consistent donors. Crowdfunding, fueled by 24- to 35-year-olds, also allows individuals to directly support causes they care about, regardless of organization size or complexity.

millennial and gen z donors use social media and explore your website

Exploring Gen Z and Millennials’’ behavior on social media will help you understand what organizations young donors want to give to and how to market your nonprofit work to them. Nonprofits should leverage social media for outreach and invest in user-friendly online giving platforms, as a seamless online experience enhances donor engagement and retention, particularly among tech-savvy Millennials and Generation Z. Undertaking website optimization assessments can further enhance searchability, branding and design, user experience, security, and content, to name a few.

how to engage the next donor Generation

So, you know where to find young donors, have built out your website, and created an easy path for online donations… now what? The following three principles will help you engage Gen Z and Millennials.

demonstrate authenticity

Like those before, the next generation of donors has various interests and will give across sectors. Whether addressing climate change, education reform, healthcare support, or social justice advocacy, Millennials and Generation Z respond generously to causes aligning with their values. Nonprofits must demonstrate authenticity, emphasizing tangible outcomes to resonate with these donors.

be transparent

Transparency is paramount for younger donors accustomed to readily accessible information—public financial statements and annual reports are crucial in fostering trust and accountability. Whether through social media, email outreach to your current database, or an event celebrating your end-of-year impact, make sure people know that their donation, no matter how small or what type, supports your cause and not just your organization.

get donors involved

Allow up-and-coming donors to give to your organization beyond financial gifts. Millennials and Gen Zs can volunteer, act as social media ambassadors for your cause or fundraising events, peer-to-peer fundraise, attend events, or obtain corporate sponsorship through their employment.

how to retain the next generation of donors

Once you’ve found and engaged young donors, the next challenge is keeping them engaged. Here are some important tactics for ensuring donors stay committed to your nonprofit’s mission past their initial donation.

communicate effectively

When communicating with Millennials and Gen Zs, using multiple channels, particularly social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, X, or Facebook is most effective.

  • Ensure emails, your website, and giving pages are all mobile-friendly.
  • Articulate the action step you want the recipient to take (e.g., raise awareness, attend an event, donate, volunteer, etc.).
  • Use images or video, when possible, for more interesting storytelling.

Because this next donor generation gives to the causes it cares about and wants to know it makes a difference with its gifts, being open and celebratory about what donations allow your organization to achieve is paramount. Share success stories early and often with donors, including quotes or other personalized features.

involve the next donor generation on your board

Another key strategy for young donor retention is involving them on your nonprofit’s board. Here, we’ll delve into two approaches to engage the next generation through board activity, each with its own benefits for building lasting connections with up-and-coming supporters.

create a junior board

Unfortunately, a shift in values is not the only difference between generations, as Millennials and Generation Z are more likely to experience affordability challenges, such as delayed homeownership. Millennials are also the generation most likely to live paycheck to paycheck. Despite this lack of resources, Millennials and Generation Z are the most likely to volunteer their time with organizations they care about.

Junior boards effectively involve young donors, create interest and investment in your organization’s goals, and encourage other young donors to give. People like to see themselves represented—an organization showing genuine interest in the next generation’s opinions will attract more young people.

create a more inclusive board

If your nonprofit doesn’t have a junior board, consider ways to make your board more inclusive for young people by examining why there aren’t Millennials and Generation Z in organizational leadership. Explore ways to break down financial barriers to involvement, such as sliding scale contributions, non-traditional give-and-get policies, and mentorship or sponsorship programs. Include younger generations now to create lasting relationships.

the next donor Generation Is changing philanthropy

You now have the resources to cultivate young donors before the Great Wealth Transfer. Get to know your donors and volunteers of all ages and explore new ways to connect on your shared values, beliefs, and unique purpose. The next donor generation is speaking up and wants to help solve the world’s most pressing issues, so focus as much on your nonprofit’s future philanthropists as you do on your traditional donor base. By actively engaging the next generation, your organization can harness the opportunities of the current and continued changes in the philanthropic landscape.

*This article is a refresh of “Engaging the Next Generation of Philanthropists” by Courtney Labetti, CFRE, CAP, Vice President; Kaleigh Wagner, Assistant Vice President; Alexander Fruin, Assistant Vice President

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Do you believe your donor database could reveal untapped major gift prospects but find it too challenging and time-consuming to dive further into major donor fundraising?

Fortunately, advances in technology and data analytics have created ways to streamline and maximize your efforts. Specifically, predictive AI and statistical modeling offer powerful tools to help nonprofits leverage their resources more effectively and achieve fundraising success. Just as for-profit businesses often use predictive analytics to grow revenue, nonprofit organizations can use it to improve fundraising results. At CCS Fundraising, we use predictive AI with our nonprofit client partners to identify new or unmanaged major gift prospects efficiently, methodically, and accurately.

What Is Predictive AI?

Predictive Artificial Intelligence (AI) uses statistical algorithms and machine learning techniques to analyze data and predict future outcomes. In major gifts fundraising, predictive AI can reveal the donors most likely to make a large gift based on their past giving behavior, demographic characteristics, wealth indicators, and other relevant factors.

How We Use Predictive AI to supercharge major donor fundraising

CCS has developed a multi-step process to assess donor potential in your database that, once completed, gives you a list of the most promising new major gift prospects.

A graphic showcasing a sample predictive modeling process.

Step 1: we use predictive statistical modeling

In essence, a predictive model describes your promising donors in statistical terms. The process starts by building a suite of predictive models predicting future donor behavior based on past tendencies, interests, and demographics. Using this information, the model finds constituents who look like those high-potential donors but aren’t yet. This statistical characterization is a formula to give each constituent in the database a numerical score, rating the prospect’s quality.

At CCS, the predictive models we develop for nonprofits incorporate diverse data elements from the donor database, encompassing contact details, donation records, event participation, volunteer engagement, and organization-specific data fields.

step 2: we wealth screen your top model scorers

The predictive model scores tell us which donors have an affinity for your nonprofit. Constituents who scored well are interested in your organization and will likely give you a gift. But it won’t tell us their financial ability to make a large donation.

For this reason, the next step is wealth screening research on the constituents who scored well in modeling. We can estimate how much a constituent might donate by using external wealth screening vendors and then combine the wealth screening and modeling scores to isolate ideal major gift prospects between affinity and ability.

Step 3: we Remove the Assigned Constituents and Those Above a Certain Age

The process aims to identify new major gift prospects, so we remove constituents already assigned to a major gift officer’s portfolio. We also filter for age to ensure a solid list of prospects in a life stage where it makes sense to be cultivated for a major gift.

Step 4: we Use Model Scores, Wealth Screening Data, and Recent Giving to Generate the Final List

We have found that concise lists of compelling new major gift prospects are most beneficial for development teams. We create a more manageable list for your organization by adding extra filters towards the end of our process—like fine-tuning model score thresholds, gift potential, and recent donations.

What is the value of using predictive aI to find new major gift prospects?

CCS has seen a tremendous return on investment in predictive AI for our clients.

How else can predictive AI be used in Major Donor fundraising and Beyond?

Predictive AI and statistical modeling can support development strategies and objectives such as:

  • Convert crisis donors to long-term donors.
  • Strategize engagement and outreach for planned giving prospects.
  • Develop acquisition, retention, and segmentation strategies for annual giving.
  • Build a pipeline of young alums most likely to be future major donors.
  • Prioritize grateful patient outreach.
  • Optimize major gift officer portfolios by adding new prospects and identifying prospects to remove from portfolios.

Leverage the Power of Predictive AI for Major Donor Fundraising

CCS has an expert Data Analytics team dedicated to helping nonprofits worldwide harness innovative techniques like statistical modeling and machine learning for more successful fundraising, including major donor fundraising. Our in-house data scientists use various analytical tools to develop customized, creative, and actionable fundraising strategies unique to each client’s needs. Discover our Services for more details on our Data Analytics offerings, or contact us today .

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Our independent school client partners increasingly—and now with greater urgency—ask us, “Can we raise money for endowment?”

Those who ask this question know without sufficient endowment savings or investment income operating dollars, they could be financially vulnerable or even face closure due to affordability challenges and budgetary constraints.  

The question “Can we raise money for endowment?” reflects the widespread perception that these funds are harder than capital dollars to raise without the tangibility of campus facilities like classrooms, gymnasiums, or libraries. However, endowments have a greater long-term impact on programs and beneficiaries; independent schools reported a 9.2% return on investment in endowment assets in 2023.

Unsurprisingly, there’s a growing interest in and need to raise these funds. The following are tactics to focus on when sharing the power of endowment dollars at your independent school.

1. demonstrate the impact of your endowment by showing, not telling

Showing prospective donors how endowment gifts directly support your independent school’s students and faculty helps them understand their gift’s critical impact and proves that it doesn’t disappear into an obscure savings account but makes a real difference for your school. For example, to make the case for a financial aid endowment, consider highlighting students who would not otherwise be able to afford your tuition.

Similarly, you can make a strong case for a professional development endowment by sharing specific faculty work and travel examples. Consider hosting an open house for donors at the beginning of the school year where they can interact with faculty and learn about the experiences their gift enabled. The donor will feel a lasting sense of personal impact and a clear understanding that their gift creates a legacy of these life-changing moments.

2. recognize and steward donors

Named funding opportunities are an important strategy for countering the misconception that endowment gifts lack direct impact. Your school can recognize donors by name through opportunities, such as:

  • Faculty chairs
  • Student scholarships
  • Professional development funds
  • Programs

When a donor meets a student scholarship recipient or the faculty teaching chair, this powerful stewardship opportunity reflects an endowment gift’s profoundly personal and lasting effect while humanizing endowment giving—they create powerful stories of personal and professional enrichment for the donor while celebrating them as an inspiration to the rest of the school community.

These stewardship opportunities can also be significant for emerging philanthropists. Families building their wealth might establish a fund for a partial scholarship, hoping to grow it to a full scholarship over time. For families with multiple connections to a school, a family fund provides opportunities to cement a common bond and allows multiple members to participate meaningfully, regardless of capacity.

establish a bequest society

Establishing a bequest society is easy and provides a straightforward recognition and stewardship opportunity. A school can recognize donors in every issue of the school magazine, on a campus plaque, and through website profiles. Regularly featuring bequest society members in the school magazine and featuring them prominently on the website will tell compelling stories of those committed to making a profound and lasting impact on generations of students and faculty.

Considerations for small endowments

A word of cautionstewarding and recognizing minimal endowment funds is difficult. Small funds can be an administrative headache for the business office, and their returns are so small that recognition opportunities are limited. For example, a $10,000 endowed fund generates just $500 annually at a standard 5% draw. To avoid this, many schools have set minimums for establishing named endowed funds to ensure that the administrative costs are worthwhile—perhaps $50,000 for a faculty development fund, $500,000 for a partial scholarship, etc. A higher investment threshold also ensures that stewardship opportunities are more meaningful.

3. demystify the endowment

Independent schools may struggle to attract endowment giving if they assume their donors and school communities understand what endowments are or how they’re used. Few donors understand the ins and outs of school financial management—even trustees on a school’s finance committee might be surprisingly misinformed about an endowment’s role in the school’s revenue strategy. For example, donors may equate endowments with reserve funds, although endowed assets often have legally binding usage restrictions.

help donors understand endowments through strategic communications

Your independent school can demystify the endowment by sharing regular updates and examples of fund uses. For instance, a recurring feature in the school magazine could highlight a faculty chairholder and share the donor story behind the gift. You could also set and share a goal for long-term endowment growth to articulate the impact of the incremental gains that, over time, lead to a larger endowment. This becomes particularly important when your school is ready to show the human-scale impact of the endowment today and the potential impact of a properly sized endowment.

explain endowments in the context of school finance

Beyond defining endowment mechanics, it’s essential for your donors and school staff to clearly understand how it functions within the operating budget. Independent schools have limited revenue sources, typically defined by tuition, voluntary support (annual giving), and the draw on endowment income. Schools with little or no endowment income contributed to their operating budget put tremendous pressure on tuition as the primary revenue source. While many schools publish pie charts showing the revenue breakdown for tuition, annual fund contributions, and investment income, few schools take the extra step to explain the key role of each and, specifically, how a larger endowment and the subsequent endowment draw becomes critical in containing tuition growth.

Regular communication outlining the role of each revenue source creates important context and helps even those closest to your school (board members, insiders, and leadership) understand the need to raise endowment funds. Consider using an interview feature in one of your school’s publications, a website landing page, or a campaign salon event to help donors understand the important endowment metrics and their role in your school’s broader financial strategy.

You can make a strong case for your independent school’s endowment

Raising funds for your endowment is possible. Creating recognition and stewardship opportunities and demonstrating human-scale impact are critical steps to make it a rewarding gift opportunity. With thoughtful communication, your school can make endowment fundraising as tangible as fundraising for capital projects. Context matters—clearly communicating the endowment’s role in your school’s broader financial strategy helps build a culture of giving that benefits your school and your donors.

Very Informative and well presented.

feedback from a Webinar Attendee

Noncash assets are proven to be directly tied to organizational growth. Learn effective ways to include them in your proposals and how to confidently discuss their benefits with your donors and prospects so that you can secure transformational gifts for your organization.

Gift Planning Practice Group members Christianna Robertson and Hannah Yaritz help you understand how gift of noncash assets impact organizational growth and show you how to add illustrations to your blended gift proposals—with and without software.

PRESENTED BY

Christianna Robertson

Christianna Robertson

Senior Vice President

Hannah Yaritz

Hannah Yaritz

Senior Vice President

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