Integrating AI without Disintegrating Donor Trust: Time Saving AI Tools and Structures

Integrating AI without Disintegrating Donor Trust: Time Saving AI Tools and Structures
Emily Bocking BA, CFRE, Founder, Brazen Fundraising

What this session is about

Somebody on your team is already using AI. Maybe it's you, at 9 p.m., pasting a board report into ChatGPT and hoping that's fine. You're in good company: 80% of Canadian nonprofits are using AI, and one in ten has any rules about it (Imagine Canada & CCNDR, January 2026). Most of us are winging it with donor data in hand.

This session closes that gap in 40 minutes. The tools that genuinely give fundraisers hours back every week — and the guardrails that keep donor trust intact while you collect them.

Why show up

Because your donors are about to start asking. 76% of donors say it matters that charities disclose when and how they use AI. 26% of organizations actually do it (Blackbaud Institute, 2026). That 50-point gap is where trust goes to die — it's the overhead conversation all over again, and you remember how that one went.

Meanwhile, the tools aren't waiting for your policy. AI is already inside your CRM, your email, your Canva account. You can't opt out of this decision. You can only make it on purpose — or have it made for you by whoever on your staff downloaded something last Tuesday.

What you'll walk away with

• A two-question sorting tool that tells you in five seconds whether any AI task is safe to hand over, needs your eyes first, or should never leave human hands
• The honest read on Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, and Claude: which one's already inside your organization's walls, which one actually writes well, and the risk that comes with each
• The never-enter list — the information that doesn't go into any AI tool, on any plan, ever
• The exact words for the day a donor asks, "are you using AI?"
• The Interview Prompt: paste it into whatever tool you're allowed to use, answer its questions once, and every draft after that sounds like your organization instead of a press release

Emily Bocking is a major gifts professional with 18 years of experience in the charitable sector. She is currently leading a $100 million capital campaign, providing training for charitable professionals, and supporting organizations to create their vision for the future.