Using generative AI to scale personalisation at year-end in 3 simple steps

This is the fourth post in an ongoing blog series about optimising the performance of your autumn fundraising campaigns by increasing the personalisation of your donor experiences. To read ahead and get the complete checklist of optimisation tactics, download the full guide: 5 fundraising personalisation tactics to wow your donors and smash your autumn fundraising goals.

In today's crowded communication landscape, generic messaging often fails to capture donor attention. While segmenting your donor list is a crucial first step, the real power comes from tailoring your communication to resonate with each segment's interests and preferences. However, manually crafting personalised content for numerous segments can be an incredibly time-consuming task for any fundraising team.

This is where generative AI can become an invaluable asset for your team, helping you increase your capacity for personalising copy, while maintaining human touch and oversight.

The 3-step strategy for using AI to increase your Year-End  content personalisation

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, or specialised tools trained specifically for fundraising like Dataro’s ‍AI Assist, can help you move from generic appeals to highly-targeted communications in a fraction of the time it would take to manually develop personalised versions of each content piece.

Here's how to scale up your content personalisation with AI:

‍1. Analyse donor motivators and build your audience segments

AI models excel at identifying patterns in donor behaviour, including email open rates, click-throughs, and specific content preferences. Dataro's Interest Areas model is a unique tool that you can use to determine which subscribers on your email list respond best to emails about different areas of your work.

While AI will make this process much faster and more precise, you can replicate in manually by digging into your email reporting. Which donors open emails about your education programmes versus your conservation efforts? Which ones respond best to data-driven appeals versus personal stories? These insights are the foundation for effective segmentation.

2. Draft your base copy

The core message of your appeal should still be written by your team. You need to provide the AI with the factual, impactful, and emotional "ingredients" it needs to personalise the message effectively.

Define the key message: What is the central goal of this appeal? What do you want the donor to do? Then gather your core assets: Include things like simple data points that illustrate your overall impact and compelling personal stories from your beneficiaries or team. These are the real-world facts the AI will work with to maintain authenticity.

3. Adapt your content for different audiences

This is where generative AI becomes a true game-changer. Instead of hours of manual rewriting, give your LLM a clear prompt, such as:

"Take this base copy and adapt it for our 'Young Professionals interested in Climate Action' segment. The tone should be urgent and forward-looking, and you must include the specific data point on our recent policy change, while shortening the beneficiary story to one paragraph."

The AI can now take your master draft and swiftly adapt it for various donor segments, adjusting the tone, emphasis, and specific examples to match each audience profile without losing the original message's integrity.

Generative AI doesn't replace the fundraiser; it empowers them. By automating the time-intensive task of rewriting and tailoring content, it frees up your team to focus on the high-value, relationship-building work that only a human can do.

Download the full guide to personalising your Year-End campaign here!