What fundraisers asked about Chat for Blackbaud AI—and what to try next

Heather McLean

If you joined last week’s webinar, thank you. If you missed it, you can watch the full session on demand here: Practical Fundraising Scenarios with Chat for Blackbaud AI.

Our product development goal isn’t to use AI everywhere. 

It’s to use AI in the right moments—so fundraisers can spend more time doing what only they can do well. We designed this session to focus on where Chat is useful in day-to-day fundraising and how to use it responsibly and successfully. 

Where Chat delivers value right now 

The strongest pattern we see, both from customers and in the session, is that value comes from a few repeatable, high-frequency moments. 

• Before a donor conversation, Chat can quickly surface what’s new. 
• When you’re drafting outreach, it can help you get started instead of facing a blank page. 
• And when activities start to pile up, it can help you focus on what matters next. 

These are small things on their own. But they happen constantly—and they’re where time gets lost. 

Chat doesn’t change how you fundraise. It removes friction from the work leading up to it. 

Which creates more space for the work that matters most: 

• Building relationships 
• Understanding donor intent 
• Making thoughtful, personal connections 

Where human judgment still matters 

One of the most important themes of the conversation was this:  
AI works best when it supports human judgment—not when it replaces it. Chat is designed to give you a strong starting point. From there, your role is still critical: 

• Reviewing donor-facing content 
• Validating key details 
• Making decisions about tone, timing, and strategy 

That’s especially important in fundraising, where context and relationships matter. 

Think of Chat as a draft—not a final answer. 

The goal isn’t automation. It’s helping fundraisers spend more time on work that requires empathy, experience, and trust. 

Top questions we heard 

Throughout the session, most questions fell into a few clear areas: trust, capability limits, and how to get started. 

Data, security, and control 

Many of you asked about how your data is handled—and rightly so. 

• Your organization’s data is not used to train shared AI models. It’s used only to serve your environment. 
• Chat cannot make changes on its own. Any updates require explicit confirmation before anything is saved. 

That structure is intentional. It ensures that you remain in control, while still benefiting from the speed and assistance Chat provides. 

👉 For more detail on how data is handled, security practices, and responsible AI commitments, visit the Blackbaud Trust Center. 

What Chat can (and can’t) do today 

Another set of questions focused on capabilities, especially around reporting and data workflows. The short answer is that Chat works well when the request is focused and scoped to a single type of data. It can: 

• Build Constituent, Gift, Opportunity and Action lists with existing filters  
• Summarize activity, such as prospect profiles or recent actions 
• Help prioritize outreach 

It cannot take actions–like build a list—if the filter or fields requested are not currently available in Lists. And it’s not designed (yet) for more complex scenarios—like combining multiple data types in one request or handling advanced query logic. 

If something feels too complex, that’s usually a signal to: 

• Simplify the question, or 
• Search for a specific Standard Report or Query by name 
• Use existing reporting tools alongside Chat 

That combination tends to work best today. 

You also asked about tasks like duplicates or data cleanup: Chat can help surface information and give you context—but it doesn’t replace existing data management workflows. Those processes still rely on the tools you use today.  See an overview of Chat for Blackbaud AI for more details. 

Adoption and governance

A common question we heard: Do we need an AI policy before we start using Chat? 

The short answer is: It depends on how you’re getting started. If you’re running a small pilot with a focused use case and clear guardrails, you don’t need to wait. Many teams begin with just a few fundraisers testing one workflow—like pre-call prep—to see how it fits. 

If you’re planning a broader rollout across your organization, that’s where a policy becomes important. It helps set expectations, build trust with leadership and IT, and ensure responsible use at scale. 

If you don’t already have an AI policy, you can start with the Responsible AI Policy Template provided by our partner, the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Institute. 

Getting started 

Once you’re comfortable with the approach, the best way to begin is simple: Start with one moment in your existing workflow—something you already do every day. For example: 

• Getting ready for a donor conversation 
• Planning out cultivation plans and strategies 
• Drafting donor outreach communications, such as invites or thank you’s 

Try using Chat in that one place consistently for a few days. See how it performs. Adjust your approach as needed. That small, focused start is what helps build confidence—and avoids early frustration. 

If you’re unsure what to ask, the quickest way to get a strong result is to start with a proven example from the Prompt Library. If you are still trying to find Chat in Raiser’s Edge NXT, go back and start with the Quick Start Guide. 

Getting better results 

A few attendees also asked why Chat doesn’t always return exactly what they expect. In most cases, it comes down to clarity and scope. 

Chat performs best when: 

• The question is focused 
• The request is specific 
• The task is singular 

If something feels off, try rephrasing the request or narrowing the scope. You can also use thumbs up/down feedback to help improve results over time. 

If you’re looking for a faster way to build prompting skills, we recommend joining a Blackbaud University Prompt Clinic. These sessions walk through real examples and give you a chance to: 

• See how others are using Chat 
• Refine how you ask questions 
• Get more consistent results 

What to try this week 

Try something simple: 

1. Pick a constituent you know well and from that person’s record, ask:  
   “Summarize what’s new since last month.” 
2. Read the answer carefully. Compare it to what you already know. 
3. Then give quick feedback on whether it was helpful with thumbs up and thumbs down. 

That one interaction is often enough to start building a feel for where Chat adds value—and where you want to use it more.  

Final thought 

The goal with Chat isn’t to change how your team fundraises. It’s to give you more time to focus on what matters most: 

• Understanding your donors 
• Building trust 
• Creating meaningful, personal connections 

Because that’s the part AI can’t replace—and the part that matters most. Start small. Build confidence. And expand from there.