AI is making its way into the nonprofit sector. Everyone is experimenting with what it can and can’t do for a nonprofit, and they’re starting to welcome AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
A perfect AI use case for nonprofits is drafting content for fundraising events, like charity auctions. It’s challenging to find the right words for social media announcements or to brainstorm new auction item ideas, and that’s when AI can become your event management assistant.
Your AI assistant can save you time during event prep and help you raise more funds for your fundraising event.
- Thirty percent of nonprofits say that AI has boosted their fundraising revenue in the past year.
- We’ve helped some of our nonprofit clients raise about 40% more on items at auctions by teaching them how to leverage AI for descriptions.
- We’ve also helped nonprofits obtain more promotional partners for their events with AI-assisted outreach, with up to a 50% response rate.
But, understandably, a lot of nonprofits are hesitant to use AI. The sector is still discovering the implications of integrating AI and its effects on the quality of their work.
In this article, we’ll talk about how to use AI correctly as a nonprofit and we’ll share our library of AI prompts tailored to the specific needs of charity auctions.
How to Use Our AI Prompts for Quick Auction Setup:
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Understand ethical AI use.
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Prep your AI chatbot.
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Pull from our library of charity auction AI prompts.
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Edit your AI-generated content.
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Take advantage of AI integrations in auction software.
Auction Software with AI Integration
Get personalized AI recommendations to improve your auction performance.
Start Your Auction for FreeHow to Use AI Responsibly as a Nonprofit
Nonprofit professionals are rightfully wondering whether using AI in fundraising is ethical in the first place. Can it be misleading? Does using it break trust with donors?
Ethical AI use has a lot to do with how you utilize this new tech. It’s important to stay true to your organization’s values while using AI.
While every nonprofit should create their own guidelines for AI use, here are some guidelines and tips to consider while using our AI prompt library.
AI Can Speed Up Your Auction Setup, Not Do It For You
The first thing you should keep in mind is that AI can assist you in your work, not do it for you. AI is not a replacement for real, human insight. The quality of work simply can’t compare.
To avoid relying too heavily on AI, follow these AI DOs and DON’Ts:
- DON’T use 100% AI-generated content. You’ll have to do some editing, and you’ll have to input some of your own information into your chatbot, which it can then use to write descriptions, messages, etc.
- DON’T use AI to generate photos as a nonprofit. Donors expect a higher level of transparency from nonprofits than for-profit businesses. They want to see the real work and real people behind your organization. (Find options for quick and affordable design instead of using AI).
- DO proofread. AI isn’t always accurate, and it may add in extra (untrue) information.
- DO add personalization, especially to content like thank you letters for major donors.
- DO edit to add in your voice. This adds an important human touch, so you can connect authentically with donors. Use AI for first drafts, then tweak the content with your own voice.
- DO be transparent about AI use. Make a statement on your website about your AI policies and AI usage in fundraising.
Understand When it’s Appropriate to Use AI
Another thing you should understand is that there are certain tasks that AI can assist you with, and other tasks that aren’t a good fit for AI. There are also certain tasks that nonprofits should avoid even if we see for-profit businesses using AI for those very same tasks. That’s because nonprofits should always operate from a place of heart and authenticity.
When to Use AI as a Nonprofit:
✔ Menial administrative tasks
✔ Transcribing and summarizing meeting recordings
✔ Brainstorming strategy
✔ First drafts of letters, grant requests, newsletters, etc, with editing by a human
✔ Editing of human-written content
When NOT to Use AI as a Nonprofit:
✘ Full drafts of letters, grant requests, newsletters, etc.
✘ Replacing staff, volunteers, and authentic human work
✘ Making decisions
✘ Pulling AI insight that replaces surveys or real feedback from your beneficiaries
✘ Using AI in ways that go against your mission and values
How to Prep the AI for Your Fundraising Event: AI Prompt Template
AI will output generic, low-quality results if you don’t provide it with any context. In this case, providing context to your AI chatbot means sharing specific information about your organization and your event (which you can do with our first AI prompt below).
Whatever you input here doesn’t have to be well-written—the AI will do most of the writing for you. Writing a list of details is fine, or you can copy and paste information from your organization’s website where you can.
Do not invent details or fill in missing facts. Reference stories where applicable, and always act as if the story is being introduced for the first time. Explain each story in emotional detail and show impact, but keep it brief.
My nonprofit organization will be hosting a charity auction. Here is some information I need you to reference throughout this conversation.
Do not invent details or fill in missing facts. Reference stories where applicable, and always act as if the story is being introduced for the first time. Explain each story in emotional detail and show impact, but keep it brief.
# Organization Details
Organization name:
Location:
What we do:
Our brand voice:
Our story:
Number of email subscribers:
Number of social media followers:
A few recent data points of our work:
Details of a few recent stories from our work:
# Event Details
Event name:
Date(s) and time:
Location:
Price of entry:
Number of attendees expected:
What we're raising funds for:
Fundraising goal:
Star items:
Other activities at our event:
Save your completed prompt template somewhere so you can re-enter it anytime you start a new chat.
If you have a premium ChatGPT subscription, you can create a project and add this information into your instructions. The chatbot will store the information there.
Charity Auction AI Prompt Library
Copy and paste these AI prompts for fundraising into your chatbot to make charity auction prep easy. Just add in your organization’s information where indicated.
Don’t forget to edit your AI outputs with your authentic voice and edit for accuracy!
Write a list of 30 creative ideas for items or experiences for our auction. Include 10 ideas tailored to our location and 10 ideas themed around [your organization or event’s theme].
Read here for companies that will donate items, plus easy auction item ideas.
Using the details I provided about my organization and event, write three donation request letters: one for general donors, one for local businesses, and one for corporations. Make the requests personal, emotional, and authentic. Make them short but comprehensive.
Include a blank where I can request an item from our wishlist or something specific from each business. Add a short P.S. about tax deductions for donations to auctions. Include instructions for images to include in my request.
For the business and corporate requests, include the benefits they’ll receive by donating to us, including positive brand exposure in front of the number of attendees we expect to receive and our number of followers and subscribers.
Using the details I provided about my organization and event, write a sponsorship request for potential sponsors.
Include our data points, sponsorship tiers, and the benefits our sponsors can receive by sponsoring us, including positive brand exposure in front of the number of attendees we expect to receive and our number of followers and subscribers. Use blanks where I can customize the request for each sponsor.
Also write a follow up message for when we don’t receive a response. Include a respond-by date.
# Sponsorship Tiers
[Insert sponsorship tiers here.]
Write a short, friendly, and casual outreach message for local influencers in our area who support community causes. Invite them to collaborate on a quick video or campaign share for our charity auction.
Also write a gentle follow up message for when we don’t receive a response.
Micro influencers can be teachers, local businesses, or anyone popular in your area. They don’t need huge followings to spread the word about your event through either word of mouth or on social media.
Create a promotional plan for my auction for email, social media, and community promotion. Include a schedule for content, full captions for all social media posts, full text for emails, and text for flyers.
Use the details I provided about my organization and event. Make all content engaging, fun, and exciting. Briefly introduce our recent stories where applicable.
Write a one paragraph description for the home page of our auction that welcomes donors, lets them know what they’re supporting, and lets them know that they can donate directly if they don’t want to bid. Also write a short description of our event to advertise on our website.
Write fun and engaging item descriptions based on the following item information to entice donors to bid on each item without sounding too salesy. Include some information about the donor of each item, and limit the descriptions to two short paragraphs. Use bullet points for item features. Create catchy titles for items when appropriate.
# Item Details
[Import your full list of items and item details here]
Write friendly but urgent text notifications for our attendees that includes a space for a link back to our auction. Write two to remind donors of the upcoming event, one to announce bidding start, one countdown, one for a last minute call for bidding, one to announce bidding end, and one thank you message.
Include reminders about how their bids support our cause or highlight items where appropriate. Keep messages short and don’t include stories.
Write four thank you letters for our charity auction: One to donors who attended, one to major donors, one to sponsors, and one to influencer partners.
Make the thank you letters authentic, emotional, and grateful. Emphasize the difference they made by contributing and create a spot for us to acknowledge their specific contribution. Include a gentle ask to join our [newsletter,monthly giving program, etc.]. Keep the letters short but comprehensive.
Use the information provided about our organization and the following auction results. Briefly feature impact stories from these auction results if applicable.
# Auction Results
Money raised from our event:
The impact from our event, or impact stories:
Item pickup information:
Auction Software with AI Integration
CharityAuctions fundraising software features an AI Insights tool that will give you smart recommendations for your auction. Our feature analyzes all of your auction data in-platform, and automatically gives you smart tips and feedback to improve your event.
Register for free today to receive personalized, AI-powered auction tips.
Looking for more ways to save time with your auction? Check out our complete Online Auction Quick Setup Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it ethical for nonprofits to use AI for fundraising?
It’s up to your organization to make this call, but if you do use AI, you have to take steps to use it responsibly. The key is to use AI as an assistant, not a replacement for authentic human insight. Always edit AI-generated content to add your voice, proofread for accuracy, and be transparent with donors about your AI use.
Will donors know if I use AI to write auction content?
Only if you leave it completely unedited. The AI lacks a human voice and AI-generated content can have errors sometimes. Again, be transparent about your AI policies with donors.
What's the best free AI tool for charity auctions?
ChatGPT and Claude work well with the prompts in this article. ChatGPT has free options, and Claude is free up to a certain limit of usage.
CharityAuctions also comes with a built-in AI Insights tool, which gives you AI-powered recommendations for your events.
Do I need a paid ChatGPT subscription to use these AI prompts?
No. These AI prompts work with the free version of ChatGPT. Paid subscriptions will give you access to smarter models that can produce better results, but they’re not necessary for small nonprofits looking for budget-friendly options.
💡 Try this in ChatGPT
- Summarize the article "AI Prompts That Make Charity Auction Prep Easy" from https://blog.charityauctions.com/charity-auction-ai-writing-prompts/ in 3 bullet points for a board update.
- Turn the article "AI Prompts That Make Charity Auction Prep Easy" (https://blog.charityauctions.com/charity-auction-ai-writing-prompts/) into a 60-second talking script with one example and one CTA.
- Extract 5 SEO keywords and 3 internal link ideas from "AI Prompts That Make Charity Auction Prep Easy": https://blog.charityauctions.com/charity-auction-ai-writing-prompts/.
- Create 3 tweet ideas and a LinkedIn post that expand on this AI Tips topic using the article at https://blog.charityauctions.com/charity-auction-ai-writing-prompts/.
Tip: Paste the whole prompt (with the URL) so the AI can fetch context.
