Series - Editorial Fellowship: Transforming Funding Models

Thinking about using AI to fundraise? Here’s what you need to know — including the ethical questions.

Author Gabe Oatley
Some Canadian charities are using AI to boost donations, helping fundraisers do faster donor prospecting, to better target their donation requests and to create more compelling asks — but there are ethical concerns, too.

Why It Matters

40 percent of charities are still seeing decreased revenue since the start of the pandemic. In this context, fundraisers need all the help they can get. Artificial intelligence tools can help fundraisers to work smarter.

This story is part of the Future of Good editorial fellowship covering the social impact world’s rapidly changing funding models, supported by Community Foundations of Canada and United Way Centraide Canada. 

Fundraisers, the robots are not coming for your jobs. But they are smarter than you will ever be at spotting patterns and identifying trends in your data. And the good news is: That’s fine! Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are here to help you do your job better.

That’s the pitch from Canada’s crop of AI technology companies, start-ups like FundMetric, Keela and Wisely — who are keen to offer charities access to tools that are already ubiquitous in the

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