The AI Revolution is Here and It’s Redefining the Future of Nonprofit Fundraising

The way people give has always evolved with culture and technology. From telethons to digital fundraising, generosity adapts to the tools of the time. Today, we are at another turning point. Just as the Industrial Revolution reshaped how people lived, worked, and thought about the future, the AI revolution is poised to have an equal, if not bigger, impact. It is redefining how we connect, create, and solve problems. Unlike the industrial revolution, which took over 150 years to unfold, the AI revolution’s effect is almost immediate, and it’s already shifting how people discover causes, engage with them, and decide to give.

For nonprofits, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Customer acquisition costs have jumped more than 200% in the past decade. Nonprofit ad spend rose 11% last year, yet fundraising returns are falling. Teams are stretched thin, and the old playbook is no longer delivering the results it once did. Take, for instance, the fact that fundraising emails generated 10% less revenue last year than the year before. The pressure to do more with less while maintaining authentic relationships with supporters has never been greater.

This is where AI fundraising tools can be transformative. Done thoughtfully, these tools can drive discoverability for nonprofits and help them better meet their specific fundraising goals, while making it easier and faster to both give and ask for help. Not by replacing human connection, but by amplifying it. Drawing on our work at GoFundMe, we’ve identified three guiding principles for using AI for fundraising that deepen trust, scale generosity, and make giving more personal.

Use AI to solve real problems

The most successful AI fundraising tools start with a simple question: what problem are we solving for? This is the question we start with as we leverage AI to build impactful new products at GoFundMe. Take an example from our consumer platform. One of the biggest challenges for fundraiser organizers was the “blank page” moment – figuring out how to tell their story, set a goal, and get started. To solve this, we built AI-powered tools that help craft suggested titles and descriptions from the organizer’s details, while also recommending fundraising goals based on patterns from successful past fundraisers. Today, 80% of fundraiser titles on GoFundMe are created with assistance from AI, dramatically reducing friction for organizers and making it easier to launch a fundraiser.

For nonprofits, Campaign Studio, our high-performance campaign page builder, enables nonprofits to quickly create branded, mobile-friendly, and optimized donation pages that load fast and rank well in an AI-driven search era. The enhanced data capture and SEO integration further enable storytellers to reach and resonate with audiences more effectively.

For organizations like The Salvation Army, this has been transformational. After moving to Campaign Studio, they saw a 46% higher donation completion rate, a 32% increase in donors choosing to give monthly, and faster page loads that kept donors engaged instead of bouncing away.

Make personalization feel human

Not all donors are the same, and AI can help nonprofits cater to their supporters’ specific needs. Our Intelligent Ask Amounts tool uses machine learning to present personalized ask amounts, frequencies, and nudges tuned to campaign goals like revenue, conversion, or recurring gifts.

As nonprofits optimize for specific outcomes, this technology adapts in real time, utilizing insights from over 50 million donor sessions, providing flexibility and precision unmatched elsewhere.

The results speak for themselves. World Central Kitchen saw a 12% increase in average donation size after adopting Intelligent Ask Amounts. The National Civil Rights Museum saw even more dramatic results: A 62% increase in average gift size year-over-year. This isn’t AI for the sake of it; it’s personalization that feels thoughtful and intentional.

What makes this possible is the depth of GoFundMe’s data. Our technology draws from a community of over 200 million and $40 billion raised across both consumer and nonprofit giving. This diverse dataset gives us a richer, more complete picture of donor motivations, behaviors, and giving patterns. As we like to say, data eats algorithms for breakfast. Because without the right data, even the smartest AI falls flat.

Trust is the currency of generosity

In the rush to innovate, it’s easy to get swept up in what’s possible with new technology. But let’s be clear: none of it matters without one essential foundation – trust. Without trust, donations don’t happen, relationships don’t grow, and impact doesn’t scale.

At GoFundMe, we take this responsibility seriously. Every product we create is grounded in our core data principles: security, transparency, and user control. These principles aren’t afterthoughts, they’re woven into the design from day one.

We also know that the privacy landscape is shifting quickly. That’s why we don’t just react to these developments, we stay a step ahead. By embracing a “privacy by design” approach and by working closely with legal and regulatory partners, we ensure compliance isn’t just a box checked at the end but a standard baked into every layer of our products.

This means your data is protected, your supporters’ trust is safeguarded, and your organization can focus on what truly matters – driving impact.

Making generosity effortless

The real question isn’t whether to use AI, but how to use it thoughtfully. We’ve seen this transformation work at GoFundMe Pro. When you use AI to help people instead of replacing them, fundraising gets easier for everyone involved. Because when donors have a better experience, everyone wins. Supporters feel good about giving, nonprofits raise more money, and, most importantly, vital causes get the resources they need to drive lasting change in the world. And this is only the beginning. We are continuing to innovate and roll out new AI-powered fundraising tools designed to help nonprofits connect with donors in deeper, more personal ways to unlock even greater generosity.

If you’re curious about how this could work for your nonprofit, let’s have a conversation.