FundSvcs Community

 View Only

  • 1.  ROI on AI?

    Posted 04-13-2026 09:15 AM

    Hello everyone,


    Has anyone successfully quantified the ROI of implementing AI within their fundraising program? We're finding it challenging to articulate a concrete figure beyond an estimate that AI could free up roughly 5% of staff time from an FTE perspective.


    If you've developed metrics, models, or benchmarks-or even approaches that helped frame the conversation internally-I would greatly appreciate learning from your experience.


    Thank you in advance for any insights you're willing to share.

    Thank you!
    Molly

    <scribe-shadow id="crxjs-ext" data-crx="okfkdaglfjjjfefdcppliegebpoegaii" style="position: fixed; width: 0px; height: 0px; top: 0px; left: 0px; z-index: 2147483647; overflow: visible; visibility: visible;"></scribe-shadow>



    ------------------------------
    Molly Kaszuba

    Executive Director of Advancement Operations
    New York Law School
    molly.kaszuba@nyls.edu
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: ROI on AI?

    Posted 04-13-2026 10:02 AM
    I would suggest it might be easier just to comment on how all of your baseline metrics have changed.  

    If you used AI in the creation or execution of appeals, how have they performed?

    If you used AI in the identification of planned giving prospects, how have your commitments changed?

    But if you try to estimate the impact of AI by how many FTE you are "saving" or at best "able to repurpose" you might find yourself going down a pretty dangerous road.  

    Just out of curiosity, was AI adopted with the mindset of "It will allow us to save expenses on staff salary"?  Because that's how analysis might be seen.  

    Dave Woodley
    Unlock*Share*Connect
    Chief Data Officer
    University of Alaska Foundation





  • 3.  RE: ROI on AI?

    Posted 04-13-2026 10:24 AM
    I would avoid framing this as a referendum on AI. Instead, identify specific use cases and try to assess their potential impact. AI for prospect research and wealth screening is very different from AI for gift entry automation, for example. Your level of investment, risk, and potential return will be very different across different AI initiatives.


    Thank you,
    Isaac Shalev
    Data Strategy Expert
    Sage70, Inc.
    (917) 859-0151
    isaac@sage70.com

    Schedule a 30-minute consultation now:





    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: ROI on AI?

    Posted 04-13-2026 10:31 AM
    Edited by Molly Kaszuba 04-13-2026 10:31 AM

    Thank you for your replies!  We definitely are not trying to replace a FTE with AI or even suggest that is a possibility, so thank you for calling out that that could be inferred by how we present this.  We were initially thinking of small administrative tasks that AI could relieve a gift officer from having to champion which would allow them to focus on more high level outreach and donor interaction.

    We have yet to utilize AI in creating or executing appeals - but that is an area we are exploring. Same with identifying planned giving prospects.  Are there any specific AI tools anyone has successfully used to identify planned giving prospects?  This would be an area that would greatly help our program.


    ------------------------------
    Molly Kaszuba

    Executive Director of Advancement Operations
    New York Law School
    molly.kaszuba@nyls.edu
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: ROI on AI?

    Posted 04-13-2026 10:32 AM
    Interesting thought.

    I am not sure if it was directed towards my response or the original poster, but it's not clear to me that a general "referendum on AI" was what either of us were thinking. 

    However, I am aware firsthand of multiple executive leaders and boards who have that very mindset and introduce pressures based on that.   I would agree that such mindset should certainly be resisted. 

    Dave Woodley
    Unlock*Share*Connect
    Chief Data Officer
    University of Alaska Foundation





    Original Message


Related Content