AI Can Help You Listen to Donors Better

# Why this conversation matters Fundraising often feels transactional and exhausting. Derric Bakker, founder and CEO of Dickerson Bakker and author of A Better Way to Fundraise: Treat Every Donor Like a Major Donor, argues that reframing how organizations relate to supporters can reduce burnout and raise retention. He pairs a relationship-based philosophy with practical ways AI can help teams listen to donors at scale.

# The central idea: treat every donor like a major donor Bakker's core proposition is simple: approach each supporter as someone who deserves to be seen, valued, stewarded, and invited into partnership. That stance changes everyday choices — how you talk to people, what you track, who you prioritize for outreach.

• Donors across gift sizes respond to meaningful attention and clear invitations to participate.
• Consistent stewardship strengthens long-term retention more than one-off acquisition tactics.

# Where AI fits AI's role is not to replace relationship work but to make listening feasible at scale. Bakker describes using AI tools to analyze signals and surface donor priorities so staff can spend time on high-value human interactions instead of manual data triage.

Concrete uses mentioned or implied:

• Aggregating donor communications and behavior into readable summaries.
• Flagging donors who need outreach or a specific stewardship action.
• Helping teams personalize outreach by summarizing interests, past involvement, and likely preferences.

The point is operational: use AI to reduce repetitive tasks so fundraisers can invest attention where it matters most.

# Relationship behaviors that guide practice

# Impact on burnout and retention Treating donors like major donors and using AI to support listening alters day-to-day work: staff spend less time wrestling with imperfect data and more time practicing meaningful stewardship. That reduces burnout and improves donor retention by delivering the kind of attention supporters value.

# Practical next steps for nonprofit teams

• Audit your stewardship practices against the seven relationship behaviors and identify low-effort changes.

• Choose pilots that preserve human review and consent workflows to protect authenticity and donor trust.
• Track retention changes and staff time reallocated to relationship-building versus administrative work.

# What to watch for AI can help only when data is organized and governance exists. Tools that summarize or prioritize will fail if records are fragmented or privacy practices are weak. Combine technical changes with clear human workflows so AI supports, rather than replaces, authentic donor engagement.

# Bottom line Adopt a donor-centered posture: every supporter deserves thoughtful stewardship. Use AI to make listening scalable, not to substitute for the human work of relationship-building. That combination addresses fundraising fatigue and offers a practical path to better retention and more sustainable fundraising operations.