Using the AI Powered Donor Search Tool

Where to Find It

When you are viewing a donor’s profile, a widget now appears in the bottom right, looking like the icon you see on the left.

This feature is completely optional and carries no extra cost. We want to be clear, that no data will be sent, processed, or used in any way unless you press the button and ask a question.

How it Works

Rather than sending data to a third party AI, we set up our own, relatively small AI server running a local model. Data from Donor Wrangler is sent to this server, where it is processed, the question is answered, and then the data that was sent to it and its response are discarded from memory. No logging is performed. Since we’re using an open source AI model on a server that’s not massively powerful, it can sometimes be overwhelmed if the donor profile contains vast amounts of data. However, our testing was primarily on bloated profiles containing tons of test data, we anticipate profiles that are more normal to perform much better.

The speed to answer questions that are asked is generally decent, 5-15 seconds for most queries where the profile is not bloated and the request is clear. More creative requests can take longer.

What to Ask?

The best things to ask are not connected to any calculations or other math, but natural language questions about the donor themselves. Of course, it will not work if the data is too thin. These questions work best on well fleshed out profiles with a rich history.

Example questions include:

Donor overview

• “Summarize this donor’s background, interests, philanthropic activity, and relationship with our organization.”
• “What are the five most important things a fundraiser should know before meeting this donor?”
• “Create a concise briefing on this donor for an executive who has never met them.”
• “What themes appear repeatedly across this donor’s profile, notes, gifts, and interactions?”
• “What information in this profile is outdated, incomplete, or contradictory?”

Interests and motivations

• “Which causes, programs, or communities appear most important to this donor?”
• “What evidence suggests why this donor gives?”
• “Does this donor appear motivated more by impact, recognition, personal relationships, community involvement, legacy, or another factor?”
• “What personal or professional experiences may connect this donor to our mission?”

Relationship and engagement

• “Describe how this donor’s relationship with our organization has evolved.”
• “What have been the most meaningful interactions with this donor?”
• “Who inside our organization appears to have the strongest relationship with them?”
• “Which staff members, board members, volunteers, or donors may be useful connectors?”
• “What signs indicate that the relationship is strengthening, weakening, or remaining static?”
• “What commitments have we made to this donor that may require follow-up?”

Giving patterns, without heavy calculations

• “Summarize this donor’s giving history and highlight any noticeable patterns.”
• “Has this donor tended to support specific programs, unrestricted needs, emergencies, capital projects, or special initiatives?”
• “Does the profile suggest this donor prefers recurring support, project-based gifts, sponsorships, planned giving, or another form of participation?”
• “What clues suggest the donor may be open to a deeper philanthropic conversation?”

More abstract questions

The following questions are more abstract, and may have more unpredictable answers, or may simply be irrelevant for a given donor. You are welcome to try them, but know that with incomplete or thin data, you’re very likely to get a vague or incorrect answer.

Meeting preparation

• “Prepare a pre-meeting briefing with likely interests, recent interactions, useful talking points, and topics to avoid.”
• “Suggest five thoughtful, open-ended questions to ask this donor at our next meeting based on their profile.”
• “What would make this meeting feel personalized based on the donor’s history?”

Cultivation and next steps

• “Suggest three appropriate next steps for deepening this relationship, based only on the information in the profile.”
• “What is a natural reason to contact this donor now?”
• “What stewardship action appears overdue or especially important?”
• “What could we offer this donor that is valuable but not centered on asking for money?”

Solicitation readiness

• “What questions should be answered before considering a solicitation?”
• “What program or funding opportunity appears most relevant to discuss?”
• “What concerns or objections might arise based on previous notes?”
• “What aspects of the donor’s interests should shape the case for support?”

Stewardship and retention

• “How has this donor previously been thanked, recognized, and updated on impact?”
• “Where might the donor experience feel generic, inconsistent, or incomplete?”
• “What impact stories would be especially relevant to this donor?”
• “What signs of dissatisfaction or reduced engagement appear in the record?”
• “Draft a stewardship brief describing what the donor has supported and how we should report back.”

Networks and connections

• “Identify meaningful relationships between this donor and our board, staff, volunteers, alumni, or other supporters.”
• “What organizations, companies, foundations, or community groups connect this donor to our mission?”
• “Could this donor be a useful advisor, advocate, host, volunteer, or introducer, apart from making a gift?”

Data quality and research gaps

• “What important information is missing from this donor profile?”
• “Which notes contain facts that should be verified?”
• “Are there duplicate, conflicting, or ambiguous details in the record?”
• “What three research questions would most improve our understanding of this donor?”