In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., is joined by Darian Rodriguez Heyman and Cheryl Contee, MBA, co-authors of AI for Nonprofits: Putting Artificial Intelligence to Work for Your Cause, to demystify what artificial intelligence means for the social sector. Spoiler alert: it’s not a robot apocalypse, it’s an efficiency revolution. From donor research to budgeting, from strategic planning to personalized thank-you letters, AI isn’t just the future, it’s already on your desktop. As Darian puts it, AI is “the new electricity,” and when responsibly leveraged, it can energize every part of your mission.
But hold on to your server, there’s some fear in the air. Cheryl addresses common anxieties head-on, including worries about job loss, high costs, or that AI will take over the planet (or at least the inbox). Her response? “Sweetie, honey, baby… AI is already here.” And you’re probably already using it: think email filters, scheduling tools, and CRMs. The goal isn’t to replace humans; it’s to give them more time to do the human stuff, like building relationships and earning trust. With countless low-cost and free tools available, Cheryl argues that AI offers a chance to double your capacity, without doubling your payroll.
Of course, with great power comes great responsibility. Darian dives into the very real concerns about data privacy, accuracy, and inclusion. Whether it’s protecting donor information or acknowledging AI’s occasional habit of confidently making things up, the solution is human oversight and intentional design. He encourages nonprofits to build custom AI tools trained on their organization’s mission and voice, emphasizing that AI should always serve the people, never replace them. And while the tech is exciting, it’s not the hero of the story. The beneficiaries are. Always.
So what now? Cheryl and Darian offer a roadmap for using AI to raise more money, increase impact, and reconnect with supporters. From segmenting donors to boosting grantwriting, automating admin tasks to predicting major gift readiness, AI can help you do more with less, if you’re willing to learn the tools and keep your mission front and center. Because at the end of the day, AI doesn’t understand hunger or homelessness or the power of live theater. But you do. And now, with a little robot backup, you just might have the time to answer all those emails.
All content for First Day Podcast is the property of The Fund Raising School and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., is joined by Darian Rodriguez Heyman and Cheryl Contee, MBA, co-authors of AI for Nonprofits: Putting Artificial Intelligence to Work for Your Cause, to demystify what artificial intelligence means for the social sector. Spoiler alert: it’s not a robot apocalypse, it’s an efficiency revolution. From donor research to budgeting, from strategic planning to personalized thank-you letters, AI isn’t just the future, it’s already on your desktop. As Darian puts it, AI is “the new electricity,” and when responsibly leveraged, it can energize every part of your mission.
But hold on to your server, there’s some fear in the air. Cheryl addresses common anxieties head-on, including worries about job loss, high costs, or that AI will take over the planet (or at least the inbox). Her response? “Sweetie, honey, baby… AI is already here.” And you’re probably already using it: think email filters, scheduling tools, and CRMs. The goal isn’t to replace humans; it’s to give them more time to do the human stuff, like building relationships and earning trust. With countless low-cost and free tools available, Cheryl argues that AI offers a chance to double your capacity, without doubling your payroll.
Of course, with great power comes great responsibility. Darian dives into the very real concerns about data privacy, accuracy, and inclusion. Whether it’s protecting donor information or acknowledging AI’s occasional habit of confidently making things up, the solution is human oversight and intentional design. He encourages nonprofits to build custom AI tools trained on their organization’s mission and voice, emphasizing that AI should always serve the people, never replace them. And while the tech is exciting, it’s not the hero of the story. The beneficiaries are. Always.
So what now? Cheryl and Darian offer a roadmap for using AI to raise more money, increase impact, and reconnect with supporters. From segmenting donors to boosting grantwriting, automating admin tasks to predicting major gift readiness, AI can help you do more with less, if you’re willing to learn the tools and keep your mission front and center. Because at the end of the day, AI doesn’t understand hunger or homelessness or the power of live theater. But you do. And now, with a little robot backup, you just might have the time to answer all those emails.
In this episode of The First Day from The Fundraising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., sits down with Muhsin Hassan, Managing Director at Lever for Change, to unpack the power, and practicality, of nonprofit collaboration. Drawing from his role advising the Community Collaboration Initiative led by the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Hassan explains why partnerships aren’t just nice-to-have, they’re mission multipliers. From maximizing impact during economic downturns to sparking innovation across issue areas, collaboration can create better ideas, stronger fundraising, and more efficient service delivery.
Hassan shares how the initiative brought together 21 Muslim-led nonprofits from across the U.S., ranging from local to national reach, to explore shared solutions. The three-year effort wasn’t donor-driven from the top down, but intentionally designed to listen to community needs and prioritize equity among partners. Common threads emerged between seemingly different missions: healthcare access, education, civic engagement, and refugee support leading to big-picture strategies like “one-stop shop” service models for new Americans. And yes, there was a built-in incentive: each participating organization received a $250,000 grant to implement their collaborative plans.
The conversation digs into what makes collaborations work: intentional design, time to build trust, and intermediaries who handle logistics so nonprofits can focus on the work. The CCI team acted as that connective tissue, setting agendas, facilitating conversations, and ensuring equity between grantees and donors. This created space for candid dialogue, something that doesn’t always happen in traditional philanthropy, and fostered genuine partnerships rather than compliance-driven alliances. Challenges? Of course. Some organizations realized the timing wasn’t right and bowed out gracefully, underscoring the need for flexibility and openness to think beyond one’s own program lane.
Hassan closes with advice for any nonprofit, regardless of cause area or cultural context; there are always lessons to learn from others. Whether you share a target population or simply share the nonprofit experience, collaboration offers unexpected insights and fresh approaches. Skeptics often leave such partnerships with new allies, new knowledge, and stronger strategies. The key is creating opportunities for cross-sector dialogue, maintaining equity among all players, and giving collaborations the time, and resources, to thrive. The full white paper, Collaboration in the U.S. Muslim Nonprofit Sector: Lessons from the Community Collaboration Initiative, is available at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy’s Muslim Philanthropy Initiative page.
First Day Podcast
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., is joined by Darian Rodriguez Heyman and Cheryl Contee, MBA, co-authors of AI for Nonprofits: Putting Artificial Intelligence to Work for Your Cause, to demystify what artificial intelligence means for the social sector. Spoiler alert: it’s not a robot apocalypse, it’s an efficiency revolution. From donor research to budgeting, from strategic planning to personalized thank-you letters, AI isn’t just the future, it’s already on your desktop. As Darian puts it, AI is “the new electricity,” and when responsibly leveraged, it can energize every part of your mission.
But hold on to your server, there’s some fear in the air. Cheryl addresses common anxieties head-on, including worries about job loss, high costs, or that AI will take over the planet (or at least the inbox). Her response? “Sweetie, honey, baby… AI is already here.” And you’re probably already using it: think email filters, scheduling tools, and CRMs. The goal isn’t to replace humans; it’s to give them more time to do the human stuff, like building relationships and earning trust. With countless low-cost and free tools available, Cheryl argues that AI offers a chance to double your capacity, without doubling your payroll.
Of course, with great power comes great responsibility. Darian dives into the very real concerns about data privacy, accuracy, and inclusion. Whether it’s protecting donor information or acknowledging AI’s occasional habit of confidently making things up, the solution is human oversight and intentional design. He encourages nonprofits to build custom AI tools trained on their organization’s mission and voice, emphasizing that AI should always serve the people, never replace them. And while the tech is exciting, it’s not the hero of the story. The beneficiaries are. Always.
So what now? Cheryl and Darian offer a roadmap for using AI to raise more money, increase impact, and reconnect with supporters. From segmenting donors to boosting grantwriting, automating admin tasks to predicting major gift readiness, AI can help you do more with less, if you’re willing to learn the tools and keep your mission front and center. Because at the end of the day, AI doesn’t understand hunger or homelessness or the power of live theater. But you do. And now, with a little robot backup, you just might have the time to answer all those emails.
