The Intentional Fundraiser Podcast Writing Donor Messages with AI, Not by AI
Mar 31, 2026
A lively conversation about using AI to draft fundraising messages while keeping a real human voice. Practical steps for training AI to mirror your tone are shared. Tips for safe, ethical use and avoiding brand drift come up. Concrete use cases include thank you notes, event follow-ups, proposal edits, and segmented messages.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
AI Amplifies Your Voice Not Replaces It
- AI can amplify your fundraising voice without replacing it.
- Tammy Zonker says tools give a running start but require human editing to preserve authenticity.
AI Lacks Emotional Nuance
- AI is poor at empathy, intuition, and emotional nuance, so human insight is essential for donor motivations.
- Tammy emphasizes AI can't know a donor's life events or personal communication preferences like handwritten notes.
Thank-You Draft Backfired Then Recovered
- A major gift officer used ChatGPT and produced donor-facing phrasing that felt promotional.
- Tammy rewrote her prompts to be conversational, which improved donor response and restored confidence.