Navigating 2025 Advancement Trends: AI-Assisted, Human Led

We’ve covered a lot of ground in this advancement trends series. We confronted the reality that while dollars are up, donors are down—and what that means for building lasting support. We talked inbox exhaustion, and keeping donors engaged when attention is scarce. And most recently, we examined Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) as a growing channel for generosity.

Each of these trends tells part of the same story—advancement is evolving fast, and the smartest teams are building the muscle to evolve with it. In the fourth and final installment of the series, we’ll explore one of the biggest shifts yet: Artificial Intelligence. 

“AI is the new electricity,” said Andrew Ng, entrepreneur, professor, and leader in the machine learning space. Like electricity, it’s not about replacing what we do—it’s about powering every part of it.

AI can’t sit across from a donor over coffee and hear the story of why they made their first gift. But, it can help you find the time to have that conversation. AI isn’t replacing fundraisers—it’s freeing them to focus on what matters most—relationships.

Let’s explore how advancement leaders are already using AI to make fundraising faster, smarter, and more human.

Unpacking the Trend: From Curiosity to Common Practices

Open AI released ChatGPT to the world at the end of 2022, just three short years ago. Since then, LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity have rapidly interwoven themselves into the personal and professional lives of millions of people. According to a 2024 McKinsey report on the state of AI, 65 percent of respondents said their companies regularly use AI—nearly double the percentage from just ten months prior.

That growth is starting to show up in advancement too. According to the 2024 AI Equity Project report, nonprofits are experimenting with AI, but only 12 percent have integrated AI into team-wide processes, and 92 percent say their AI infrastructure is still underdeveloped.

There is a pressing need for sector-wide collaboration and transparent case studies demonstrating AI’s benefits. We believe human interaction is still essential and will remain a crucial component of fundraising work. However, AI can create more time for precious human connection. 

Navigating the Trend : 3 Practical Ways AI is Changing Advancement Work

Below are three key ways where AI can make a measurable difference for advancement teams, while still keeping humans as an integral part of the work. 

1. Blank Page Problem Solved

Starting is often the hardest part when it comes to writing. The blinking cursor can feel like a challenge in itself—daring you to begin. AI changes that. It transforms the blank page into a first draft in seconds, helping you move from “where do I start?” to “how can I make this better?” faster than ever. You still shape the voice, tone, and meaning; AI just helps you find your writing rhythm sooner.

At GiveCampus, we’re bringing that same creative acceleration directly into educational fundraising. Generative AI, powered by GC Intelligence, is built right into the platform and designed specifically for advancement professionals. GC Intelligence isn’t just any AI—it’s been trained to think like a seasoned fundraiser. It understands campaigns, appeals, events, and stewardship. It knows the difference between a reunion invite and a Giving Day appeal, and it can tailor the message accordingly.

With GC Intelligence, fundraisers can generate personalized follow-up emails, Giving Day appeals, event invitations, and more in a matter of seconds. Even better, it leverages the real campaign and donor data already in the GiveCampus platform—so the content it creates is not only fast, but relevant, accurate, and action-ready.

Think of it as your writing co-pilot: it handles the heavy lifting of first drafts, while you bring the human touch that makes each message authentic. The result? Fundraisers spend less time wrestling with words and more time strengthening relationships—the very heart of philanthropy.

2. Simple, Speedy, and Smarter Contact Reports

Streamlining contact report creation is an excellent use case for AI. Filing contact reports has historically been a major time suck for busy gift officers on the go—taking away precious time from cultivating the relationships that ultimately help them hit their goals. 

GiveCampus saw the opportunity to create a solution specifically for frontline fundraisers—with artificial intelligence at its core. The result?  GC Gift Officer—the only solution built by and for frontline fundraisers of every kind. 

GC Gift Officer combines intuitive design with AI-powered tools that eliminate tedious admin work. For example, it can instantly turn raw notes—whether bullets from a quick phone call or a voice memo following an in-person visit—into a polished contact report in minutes. It even delivers custom next-steps recommendations, including the option to draft a follow-up note using the contact report details. And while the raw AI input isn’t perfect, it can get fundraisers 80 percent of the way there, making it much easier to send timely follow-up in the car or plane ride home from their visits.

This time savings adds up fast. At the University of Illinois Foundation, high-volume GC Gift Officer users are now sending personalized emails to 350+ constituents per week with open rates above 60 percent—a pace that would have been impossible without automation. Similarly, at the College of Charleston, frontline fundraisers are leveraging GC GO to reach 85 percent more constituents, sending personalized messages to 50+ prospects per hour.

Learn more about GC Gift Officer

These examples demonstrate how AI can supercharge efficiency without sacrificing authenticity—helping gift officers spend less time on paperwork and more time connecting with the people behind the philanthropy.

3. Meaningfully Better Outcomes with Intelligent Asks 

Data has always guided the appeal strategies of fundraisers (thank you advancement services), but now AI can help take things a step further. Smart Ask Amounts by GiveCampus help fundraisers tailor their appeal approach with precision.

Powered by predictive models trained on tens of millions of real transactions across the GiveCampus platform, the Smart Ask Amounts feature uses constituent data and AI to help you make the right ask at the right time. The model analyzes patterns in each donor’s giving history, capacity, engagement, class year, and affiliation, learning what types of donors tend to make what types of gifts.

From there, the system generates a customized array of donor-friendly ask amounts for every constituent. Each array reflects that donor’s unique history and potential—ranging from their most recent gift to what the model predicts they’re most likely to give next. If a donor hasn’t given in a while, the system automatically adjusts to account for that gap, ensuring that every ask still feels realistic and relevant.

The result is a more strategic, personalized experience for both the fundraiser and the donor—helping you upgrade gifts more often, while keeping each interaction authentic and data-informed.

When looking at GiveCampus Partner data, constituents exposed to Smart Ask Amounts are 41 percent more likely to upgrade from their previous contribution and 46 percent less likely to downgrade their contribution, compared to constituents shown a generic ask array.

While Smart Ask Amounts can be a powerful tool for fundraisers, it is still the human empathy and authenticity added to communications that often help inspire donors to give. Smarter technology makes us faster and more tuned into donor desire—but it’s still people, not algorithms, who inspire generosity.

Wrapping Up: Tech-Assisted, Human-Led

Across this Advancement Trends series, we’ve explored the forces reshaping how institutions connect with their communities. We saw that when inboxes overflow, the answer isn’t more outreach—it’s more intentional engagement. We learned that when donor behavior shifts, new vehicles like Donor-Advised Funds can unlock flexible, meaningful giving. We confronted the fact that dollars are up, but donors are down, underscoring the importance of retention, reactivation, and recurring support. And now, we’ve seen how AI can make advancement faster, smarter, and more personal—helping fundraisers spend less time on busywork and more time on what truly matters: people.

The common thread through every trend is clear: the future of advancement belongs to teams that combine the efficiency of technology with the empathy of human connection. Tools like GC Intelligence and GC Gift Officer are not replacing the work of fundraisers—they’re amplifying it. They create more time for one-on-one conversations, more room for storytelling and stewardship, and more opportunities to inspire generosity.

As we look ahead, the most successful institutions will be the ones that embrace change with both curiosity and care—leveraging innovation to build deeper, more authentic relationships. Because while technology will continue to evolve, one thing remains constant: philanthropy is, and always will be, profoundly human.