Happy Fresh-Start-ish Day,
Remember that major donor who gave you a beautiful five-figure gift earlier this year? The one who made you cry happy tears in your car?
When was the last time you actually talked to them?
Don't worry. I'm not judging you, because I know exactly why you haven't. From 9:00 AM to now, you're firefighting, managing staff issues, dealing with your board, covering staff's summer break vacations, while trying to fix the jammed office printer. And they don't sell a cloning machines on Amazon, yet. I checked 😣
You didn't stop caring about this donor. You just ran out of hours in the day.
FYI, Industry data shows major donor retention drops by 40% when there's no personalized contact within 6 months of their gift. They don't want to be treated like ATMs. They want to be treated like the friends and partners they are.
I know I know...... Even after 2 Red Bulls and a triple espresso shot coffee, you don't have the mental energy during your "Second Shift" at 9:00 PM to stare at a blinking cursor and try to write a perfectly warm, engaging check-in email.
So, let AI cure your execution paralysis. Let it do the heavy lifting of drafting, using your actual memories and notes.
Actionable Task:
The "Brain-Dump to Best-Friend" Donor Prompt
Step 1: Open favorite AI tool (AKA weird name you gave your AI)
Step 2: Think about your last coffee meeting, phone call, or email thread with this specific donor.
Step 3: Copy-paste this exact prompt:
"I am an Executive Director of a [Org website]. I need to reconnect with a major donor named [INSERT NAME] who I haven't spoken to in [6 months]. Here are my messy, unfiltered bullet-point notes from our last conversation and what I know about them:
-[PASTE YOUR ROUGH NOTES HERE: e.g., kids' names, their recent vacation, why they love our mission, their dog's name, etc.]
Act as my Executive Assistant and turn these rough notes into a warm, authentic 3-part email check-in sequence (spaced one month apart).
- Do NOT ask for money or include a donation link. I just want to add value, show my appreciation and / or make them feel genuinely valued.
- Make the tone gracious, highly personal, and conversational.
- No awkward compliments (make it sound genuine), no corporate jargon or 'fake' polish.
- End the first email by simply offering to grab coffee or hop on a short call just to catch up."
Step 4: Review the drafts, tweak them to match your exact voice, schedule them in your inbox, and then go home to eat dinner with your family.
Remember:
Your donors deserve genuine appreciation. You deserve a life outside the office. For years those felt like competing demands. AI erases the OR. Now you get the hours back AND the relationships deepen.🙏🏾
#ExistToServe
P.S. Drowning in tasks AI could handle? Don't know where to start? Need to save time and money? Sincerely, let's talk.
Let's hop on a 30-minute call. I'll show you how you can clock out on time, get home to your family, and still serve more community members:
Regis Arzu (he/him/his)
[email protected]
ETS AI Consulting | CEO
347.748.5078
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Mondays are rough. It's scary times for Nonprofits. Your time is scarce. That’s why I created the Monday Motivational Minute. Each week, I’ll send you one high-impact, actionable idea to help you leverage AI and save time. It will always be a 1-minute read or less. If it adds value, great. If not, unsubscribe, but I’m betting you’ll want to stay. (Challenge Accepted ☺️)
