Episode 196: How to Use AI to Build a Donor Referral Engine That Grows Your Nonprofit Automatically

If every donor brought just one more, how fast would your nonprofit grow? Double. Triple. Explode. That’s the power of referrals — and the key to sustainable, scalable growth.

In this episode of The Million Dollar Nonprofit, Tom Kelly reveals how to build a donor referral engine using AI and automation. You’ll learn the Identify, Incentivize, Integrate framework to find your best evangelists, motivate them to share your mission, and make referrals easy to track and reward.

Tom breaks down how to use ChatGPT prompts to identify high-engagement donors, create low-cost recognition-based incentives, and write ready-to-share referral messages your supporters can send via text or DM.

Plus, he shares a real-life case study of a food bank that grew new donor acquisition by 28% just by adding referral links into their thank-you emails.

Don’t rely on hope — build a system that multiplies your mission.

Head over to our Instagram and DM us the word "AI' for our Free AI Nonprofit Growth Playbook. https://www.instagram.com/charityauctionstoday