I built this tool a while ago and forgot to share with you all. It's built on the best practices for writing engaging fundraising emails that convert. But...it's only as good as the information you give it. And ultimately it is up to you to check and refine anything AI produces before you send it to your donors. Hope it helps! AI Assistant for Writing Fundraising Emails

Are nonprofits getting $50,000,000 for AI adoption from OpenAI? That’s what they said...and here's my personal take on it. Last month, OpenAI announced a $50M commitment to support nonprofits and community organizations working at the intersection of AI and public good. (something I'm all about) But behind the single-page press release is something more interesting. OpenAI created a public report that included the voices of over 500+ people making an impact. Teachers, organizers, faith leaders, healthcare workers, youth advocates, people who live the impact of broken systems every day. So what came out of it? A 38-page public report with one clear message: 𝗔𝗜 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀. 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝘁. Here’s what they’re actually calling for in the report: 𝟭. 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀. The money’s not just for “AI adoption.” It’s for retraining workers. Building civic infrastructure. Keeping health systems afloat. Funding local organizing. The things that keep people safe when systems shift. 𝟮. 𝗔𝗜 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿. The Commission called for AI to be made understandable, through translation, storytelling, and trusted local leaders. Because if people can’t understand AI, they can’t shape it. And if they can’t shape it, it doesn’t serve them. 𝟯. 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗽𝘆 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳. Less top-down charity. More power-sharing. More experimentation. More public reporting. And more decisions being made 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 the communities funding is supposed to support, not just 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 them. 🤔 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲: History is full of examples of how new technologies consolidate wealth and power into fewer hands. I worry AI will do the same, unless we fight like hell to prevent it. That’s going to take real intention and real investment, not just PR. I have to admit that I'm skeptical. Is this going to be a real shift in structure and access, or just a shift in language? We don’t know yet. The details are still vague. $50 million is a lot of money, but we don’t know exactly who will get it, what they can use it for, or how decisions will be made.

What’s the Highest-Value Work You Do? The work that matters most. The reason you got into this in the first place. Maybe it’s building deep relationships. Or directly serving the people who need you most. Or growing your organization so you can make an even bigger impact. But here’s the problem—most people don’t get to spend enough time doing it. Instead, their days get eaten up by tedious, time-consuming tasks (yep, we talked about that in the last post). So let’s flip the script. What’s the most important, high-value part of your work? The thing that moves the needle but often gets pushed aside? Drop it in the comments. ⬇️ Because if we can free up your time for this, that’s where AI becomes a 'game-changer'.

HOW TO: Use AI to improve your grant writing by scoring your grant against the rubric and provide suggested improvements It is easy to get bogged down in a complicated grant narrative And forget to compare what you have written directly the rubric To ensure it address the exact points that the reviewers want to see But it is possible to use AI to speed up this process without losing your unique voice and skill as a grant writer. Here's the process I follow: - First, I give AI some initial instructions and context. "You will act as an expert grant reviewer and the goal of this conversation is to improve the grant based on the scoring rubric." - Second, I give it the current draft of my grant narrative. - Third, I copy and paste the scoring rubric. This is key so the AI knows exactly what standards it’s trying to meet. The real power happens when AI scores the draft based on the rubric - It points out where you're doing great - And where there’s room for improvement Lastly, ask the the AI to rewrite the section of the grant with the improvements it identified The most important part of the process is reviewing its suggestions and tweaking them with your expertise. At the end of the day, it’s all about combining AI’s efficiency with human oversight to create a stronger grant narrative. Curious to see how it works? Try following this guide on a grant your working on. It's not always perfect but it can provide some great insights to ultimately let you submit a better grant in less time.