How Admins Can Help Fundraisers Start Strong with Chat for Blackbaud AI

Heather McLean
Heather McLean Blackbaud Employee
Ninth Anniversary Kudos 5 Name Dropper Participant
edited July 24 in Raiser's Edge NXT Blog
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With Chat for Blackbaud AI, the best rollout often starts small, with one familiar workflow, clear expectations, and a simple way to verify results. When admins offer support to fundraisers in starting to use Chat, they can have more confidence that they’re using Chat responsibly—and gain more time back for their own strategic work. 

This was the message from Liz Dixon Eversole, Director of Advancement Operations at Milton Academy, who shared how her team introduced Chat in a practical, low-risk way. 

The conversation builds on Blackbaud’s webinar, Practical Fundraising Scenarios with Chat for Blackbaud AI, which was recently presented as an encore. You can watch the recording for the full discussion. 

Start with trust, not hype 

Liz started by acknowledging that skepticism is reasonable, especially when teams are learning a new AI feature. For her team, confidence started with understanding that their data stayed protected within Blackbaud and that existing security, permissions, and user rights still applied. 

Admin takeaway: before asking fundraisers to try Chat, explain how data is protected, what still requires confirmation, and how to verify results before acting. 

Pick one workflow admins already support 

For Milton Academy, transformation with Chat for Blackbaud AI did not look dramatic. At first Chat absorbed the steady stream of small questions advancement operations teams hear every day about open pledges, recent events, giving history, and quick constituent checks. 

Chat gave Milton Academy fundraisers a first place to ask focused questions and validate what they were seeing in the record. These questions matter, and if fundraisers can find their own answers, they save time—–as do the admins who support them.  

What this means for admins: start with a workflow that already creates repeat questions for your team. Pre-call prep, quick constituent summaries, and portfolio gift checks are good first candidates. 

Coach fundraisers with prompts they can validate 

One of Liz’s favorite scenarios is using Chat for quick constituent summaries before outreach: “I’m going to make a phone call. I’m going to have a meeting, and I just want a quick summary.” 

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Suggested starter prompts:

  • Summarize what’s new with this constituent since last month.
  • Show me recent giving and outreach activity for this constituent.
  • Who in my portfolio gave $10,000 or more to the annual fund this month?

How to put this into practice: start with prompts tied to familiar records and existing data fields. If a prompt misses, coach users to simplify, use known field names, and try again rather than assuming Chat cannot help.

Keep human review in the workflow

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Treat Chat output as a helpful draft or starting point, not an authoritative source. Fundraisers should verify key facts, review donor-facing content, and apply relationship judgment before acting on recommendations.

Admin takeaway: the goal is not just faster fundraiser answers. It is fewer repetitive requests, better follow-through, and more capacity for strategic operations work.

A simple admin rollout model

If you are introducing Chat for Blackbaud AI to your team, keep the rollout manageable: review the rollout guide, choose one workflow, pilot with willing users, and train with real examples before expanding.

  1. Start with trust. Explain data security, permissions, and user control.
  2. Choose one workflow. Begin with donor call prep, quick constituent summaries, or portfolio gift checks.
  3. Pilot with willing users. Capture what works, what does not, and where people need guidance.
  4. Train with real examples. Use examples from your own organization and the Prompt Library.
  5. Share resources and feedback paths. Point admins to the rollout guide, share support guidance, and encourage thumbs up and thumbs down in Chat.

After the first few weeks, look for simple signals: fewer routine questions, faster fundraiser prep, stronger prompt examples, and clearer guidance on what Chat can and cannot answer.

Try this next

To try this safely, ask a fundraiser to start with a constituent they know well and use one focused prompt, such as “Summarize what’s new with this constituent since last month.” Review the response together, compare it to the record, and decide which workflow to test next.

Helpful resources: start with the rollout guide, then use the support and prompt resources as your team begins trying Chat.

When admins start with these rollout suggestions, Chat for Blackbaud AI becomes less about introducing a new technology and more about giving fundraisers and advancement operations staff time back for the relationship-centered work that matters most.

If your team is starting to use Chat, what is the first workflow you would want fundraisers to try?

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