Nonprofit Tech & Fundraising Tools

This unit explores AI-enabled platforms, SaaS solutions, and sector resources that support fundraising, donor research, grant discovery, collaboration, and secure operations for nonprofits. Students will assess tool capabilities, design integrated workflows, and address privacy, governance, and ethical considerations to prepare organizations for effective technology adoption.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the capabilities, limitations, and fit of AI-enabled fundraising, donor-research, and grant-discovery platforms (e.g., DonorSearch, Dataro, Grantable, Instrumentl, Fundraising.ai) to prioritize tools that meet specific nonprofit objectives
• Apply SaaS and productivity solutions (e.g., Classy, Google for Nonprofits, Microsoft 365, GitHub) to design integrated workflows for donor communications, campaign management, and team collaboration
• Demonstrate secure identity, access, and data-handling practices by configuring account and collaboration settings (e.g., Okta, GitHub, Microsoft 365) and documenting procedures aligned with sector guidance (NTEN, Charity Digital, NetHope)
• Evaluate ethical, privacy, and equity implications of using AI and third-party services (e.g., Browse.ai, Causewriter.ai, Fireflies, Candid.org) and produce a recommended tech stack with governance and monitoring checkpoints for a hypothetical nonprofit project