Blog
October 24, 2024
Top 10 Takeaways from the Global Chief Development Officer (CDO) Council
Attain Partners was proud to be joined by more than 40 people from around the world as we hosted the second annual Global CDO Council and Fundraising Leadership Assembly this October in Philadelphia, PA. We were able to talk practically about how AI is being leveraged to support our fundraising teams to be more productive, yes, but more importantly, how AI is helping us to redefine what it means to be truly donor-centric. These tools are allowing us to support our otherwise resource-constrained teams to have the right conversations at the right time with the right donors to support our mission-critical work.
Key Considerations for AI Implementation in Nonprofit Fundraising
1. Bringing it back to predictive AI, start to explore impactful tools and functionalities such as segmentation, propensity models, send time optimization, and next best action.
2. Overcoming the overwhelm can actually allow AI to overcome analysis paralysis by making vast quantities of data digestible and actionable for nonprofit teams.
3. The potential impact of AI on fundraising is immense to understand supporters more deeply than ever before and drive relevant engagement, affinity, and ultimately LTV.
4. This power gives rise to important ethical considerations as well as the need for guardrails, human checks & balances, and wider policies that support the use of this tool.
5. A fundamentally sound data foundation is a necessity with data hygiene, enrichment, and organization opening up the potential to tap into AI tools once achieved.
6. Practitioners must be mindful of navigating misleading AI outputs, hallucinations, and self-perpetuating cycles by focusing in on specific areas or audiences. Feed it, train it.
7. Investment in capacity of teams and the tools they will use is critical—new skill sets must be recruited or nurtured internally, from coding to agency management.
8. While in-house MarTech skills are of value, external partners can play a critical role in building this capacity and specific expertise that can be otherwise difficult and expensive to acquire.
9. Your data infrastructure is key—don’t use your CRM for data storage. Rather, archive or warehouse it and keep aggregate or recent fields close to hand in your CRM.
10. Invest in real change management. No AI project will succeed without strategy, culture, and internal engagement with accessible language and a growth mindset.
Thank you to our incredible panelists—Jon Thompson, Vice President, Philanthropic Strategy & Technology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Elin Stråkendal, Deputy National Director, UNHCR Sweden; and Irwin Fernandez, Chief, Global Individual Giving at UNICEF.
Continue the Conversation with Us in New York
Did you miss our call? Good news! We are doing an encore gathering in person in New York City on November 20th following Salesforce World Tour NYC. Hear from Nonprofit Executive in Residence Sterrin Bird as she leads a fireside chat alongside nonprofit leaders from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, American Cancer Society, and Salesforce discussing AI Agents and Major Gift Fundraising as it relates to Data Cloud. Then, stick around to enjoy drinks, light appetizers, and great company while networking with the nonprofit industry’s leading thought partners.
Attain Partners – Nonprofit Experts
At Attain Partners, we’re familiar with the unique challenges facing mission-focused organizations and use our extensive experience to help nonprofits leverage Salesforce to increase their fundraising efforts, improve communications, manage the entire program lifecycle, and measure impact. Our work with hundreds of leading nonprofits across the country represents Attain Partners’ understanding of adapting technology to meet diverse missions and functional use cases along with complex data migrations and system integrations.
For more, check out our Salesforce Innovation services for nonprofits, read case studies about our transformative work, and explore blog posts from our experts.
Meet the Leaders
Sterrin Bird, Chief Development Officer (CDO) Council Founder and Nonprofit Executive in Residence, Attain Partners
Sterrin Bird serves as the inaugural member of Attain Partners’ Executive in Residence program. As a global fundraising leader and transformative figure in the nonprofit community, Sterrin is universally recognized for her nearly three decades of exceptional dedication to philanthropy. Her expertise spans the future of fundraising, building robust teams, and mastering the art of relational fundraising. With a keen focus on breaking down silos and fostering human-centered change, Sterrin excels in leveraging technology in support of mission outcomes and is an advocate for utilizing AI for fundraising innovation.
Jane Trenaman, Fundraising Leadership Assembly (FLA) Founder and Managing Director, The HX Consultancy
Jane Trenaman is a Nonprofit Leadership & Fundraising Strategic Advisor with over 12 years’ experience in the sector preceded by a decade in consumer insight & experience in the private sector. Previously, Jane has been a Strategic Advisor for Salesforce.org and also held roles from senior leadership to trustee with several Irish nonprofits including Trócaire, Oxfam Ireland, ISPCC, Samaritans, Christian Aid Ireland and the National Opera House.
Jane holds a BA in Business & Economics from Trinity College Dublin, a MA in Business Studies and International Marketing from UCD and Postgraduate Professional Diplomas in Digital Marketing and Customer Experience. Combining her knowledge of business, marketing and expertise within the nonprofit sector, Jane brings a broad variety of experience as a mentor on the For Purpose Graduate Programme.
