Don’t Be a Bot

Let me start by saying, I’m not here to just be another voice in the mix to tell you to embrace AI. That said, let me just underscore its importance 😂, because we are living in an AI-powered era. 

The way we fundraise, communicate, and build relationships is being reshaped before our eyes. Artificial Intelligence isn’t just a futuristic concept, it’s here, it’s evolving fast, and it’s fundamentally changing how we operate as fundraisers. From predictive analytics to personalized donor journeys, AI brings extraordinary potential. It can help us uncover hidden prospects, optimize campaign timing, tailor content at scale, and give fundraisers the kind of insights we used to dream about.

Shoot, in building our own business, AI has been FUNDAMENTAL in allowing Amplify to get started fast, and to build and create systems that would normally take another full-time employee and years of infrastructure.

We KNOW that as fundraisers, we must embrace it, or risk being left behind.

But while AI can do a lot, it can’t replace the soul of fundraising. It can’t replicate true connection, heartfelt gratitude, or the authenticity that builds trust over time. That’s where you come in.

Because while AI can help us amplify our message, it cannot define our message. That’s your job and is only discovered through the lens of our donors. AI can help us reach more people, faster and more efficiently, but what it delivers is only as good as what we put into it. And what we need now, more than ever, is your authentic voice, not your polished facade.

Your voice, your values, your humanity, that’s what moves donors.

So yes, use the tools. Leverage the power of AI. Let it help you scale your reach, test what resonates, and operate smarter. But let’s be clear: technology is a vehicle, not the destination. AI is the microphone. Your voice is the message.

That’s why, in this moment of innovation and evolution, we must come back to what’s timeless:

Being Human.
Not perfect.
Not polished.
Just real.

I know, I know, we’ve built entire fundraising ecosystems around systems and strategy (and yes, some of that is necessary). But somewhere along the way, in our rush to optimize, in our desire for quick and easy, we’ve forgotten the most important element of all: connection.

Because people don’t respond to perfection.

They respond to presence.
To care.
To being seen.

So if you’re looking for a guiding principle, a gut-check, a reminder when you’re tempted to default to templates or hide behind marketing jargon, here it is:

Don’t be a bot.

This means stop sounding like a templated email.
This means resisting the urge to copy-paste your way through relationships.
This means ditching the buzzwords, the formulas, and the “per my last email” tone.

This also means:

• Not opening emails with “Dear Friend,” or not addressing them by name at all, when you could just say their name.
• Stop just talking to your donors about you, your organization, and what you want to achieve or the money you want to raise.
• Not scheduling your “engagement” a month after their donation, just because that’s what your CRM says.
• Not ghosting your donors between campaigns.
• Not treating real human generosity like a marketing funnel.

It means showing up like a human. Messy, sincere, flawed, warm.

Not like a bot.

Bots deliver messages.
Humans build trust.

Your donors aren’t just rows in a spreadsheet. They’re not a segment or a persona. They’re people, with real lives, real fears, real joys, and real inboxes filled with way too many marketing emails (many of them from some of us!).

And that means the best thing you can do is show up like… well, you.

Because when we do, REAL change in your programs happens.  

One of my favorite experiments in my entire career (truly) that shows the power of a human-first mentality and approach was with an organization that, when we first began working together, had unknowingly become very “bot-like” in their communications.

They didn’t mean to be robotic. Like so many others, they had simply defaulted to the “best practices” of fundraising and found it difficult to break out of the mold they’d always known.

What made it especially striking was that their mission was deeply human. Their entire purpose was to help people; specifically, husbands and wives working to restore their marriages.

But before my engagement with them, here’s what that looked like in practice:

When someone joined their email list seeking help, they received a 7-part email series. Every single email was organization-centric. Branded. Template-heavy. Clinical in tone. And each one included a donation ask (You know the big, bold, “DONATE” button front and center of the email template?)!