Charities should overcome their reluctance to using AI and embrace the technology to boost their relationships with supporters, a group led by University College London researcher Angela Aristidou has recommended.
Writing for the Stanford Review, the authors argued that while many charities have been reluctant to employ AI within their organisations, the technology can enhance, rather than replace, the human relationships at the heart of their work.
“We see enormous potential in advancing how AI can responsibly support and even reshape the future of giving,” Aristidou, Andrew Dunckelman and Sam Fankuchen wrote.
“We believe the next wave of mission-driven work will be led by organisations that learn to use AI not to erode, but to strengthen, the relationships that drive their impact.”
According to the Charity Digital Skills Report 2025, three-quarters of charities have now reported adopting AI, however the Chartered Institute of Fundraising has reported that some concerns about the ethics of AI use remain.
Using AI to maximise donor retention
The report recommended five ways in which charities could harness AI to boost their impact, all of which focused around improving donor engagement and retention.
One such way is using AI to “experiment with personalisation at scale”, tailoring donor engagement to individual interests, behaviour and communication patterns in order to maximise donor retention.
The report also recommended leveraging predictive AI to predict which donors are at risk of disengaging, and prevent them from doing so with targeted follow-ups.
It also suggested that “AI-enhanced cause matching”, whereby AI would match donors with causes that resonate with them, could pre-emptively promote better engagement to begin with.
Further suggestions included optimising giving experiences with “AI-powered fundraising campaigns, microgiving, and crowdfunding”, and deploying AI chatbots for 24/7 donor support and engagement.
Clear AI guidelines needed for safe use
However, the report concluded by warning that charities should implement strict principles when using AI so as not to deprioritise the human relationships central to charities’ work.
If implementing more AI technologies, charities must adopt “clear AI guidelines that prioritise human relationships” to ensure that human oversight remains key to decision making, it said.
Charities should also continuously seek feedback to assess whether their AI is having an impact on donors, it said, avoid leaving AI tools unchecked, and charity leaders should “deploy staff time strategically” by letting AI handle tasks, rather than interpersonal relationships.
The report authors noted that ultimately, despite the significant benefits of AI, charities should ensure that it “never fully replaces the human touch”.
