Ai, Nonprofits, and 100 Custom GPTS in 48 Hours w/Anne Murphy

I’ve been out of the nonprofit world for a while now, but I still have a soft spot for those scrappy marketers trying to make magic happen on shoestring budgets. And let’s be honest – nonprofit marketing is some of the toughest work out there.

Unlike selling products where you can tap into pain points, convincing people to donate is a whole different challenge. Nobody wakes up thinking, “Man, I really need to give away $1,000 today!”

But something exciting is happening in the nonprofit space that could level the playing field in ways we’ve never seen before: AI is becoming the great equalizer.

Why AI Matters So Much for Nonprofits

Nonprofits have always been at a massive disadvantage when it comes to marketing muscle. They typically don’t have:

• The budget for sophisticated martech stacks
• The ability to retain specialized marketing talent
• The bandwidth to create personalized content at scale

But as I learned in a fascinating conversation with Anne Murphy (fundraising consultant turned AI specialist), artificial intelligence is changing that equation dramatically.

Here’s what’s really interesting – contrary to the stereotype of nonprofits as slow tech adopters, many are jumping on AI with surprising enthusiasm. The sector has even developed its own Framework for Responsible AI in Fundraising (available at fundraising.ai).

How Custom GPTs Are Transforming Nonprofit Work

Recently, Anne and her colleague Kyle Shannon (from the AI Salon) launched a 24-hour challenge to build 100 GPTs specifically for nonprofits. They ended up with over 150, created by people passionate about various causes.

Some of my favorite use cases:

1. The Introvert’s Fundraising Companion

One participant created a GPT designed to help introverted volunteers prepare for donor events. It provides conversation starters, helps craft talking points about the mission, and even offers self-care tips for those dreading social interactions.

As an introvert myself, I know how valuable this kind of guidance can be. Sometimes you just need someone to explain “the rules of the game” that seem to come naturally to others.

2. Personalized Thank-You Note Generator

Another brilliant application is a GPT that creates highly personalized thank-you notes – something nonprofits desperately need to improve.

If you’ve ever donated to a nonprofit (I have), you’ve probably received those generic thank-you cards that feel about as personal as a form letter. They technically check the box, but they don’t build connection.

With AI, nonprofits can now create messages that actually sound like they were written by a human who cares – because they’re trained on the organization’s voice, mission, and the specific actions of the donor.

The Next Level: Automation + Personalization

What really got me excited was learning how these tools can be tied to automation. Imagine:

1. Uploading a CSV of donor information
2. Having AI generate personalized content for each person
3. Outputting another CSV that feeds directly into your mail merge or email system

This is game-changing for small teams. What used to require days of tedious work can now happen in minutes – with better results!

And it’s not just about efficiency. It’s about giving small nonprofits the ability to deliver the kind of personalized experiences that previously only organizations with massive budgets could achieve.

Making Your Own Custom GPT (It’s Easier Than You Think)

One of the biggest misconceptions about creating custom AI tools is that it requires technical skills. It doesn’t.

As Anne put it, “You can make a GPT in 5 minutes if you have instructions.” It’s essentially copying and pasting, uploading a few documents, and configuring some basic settings.

Here are a few pro tips if you’re building your own:

• Be explicit about using your knowledge base. Tell it multiple times, especially at the top of your instructions.
• Include your contact information and a call-to-action within the GPT.
• Set a schedule to regularly test your GPT to make sure it hasn’t “drifted” from your instructions.
• Consider adding “jailbreak prevention” language to protect your intellectual property.

The Real Challenge: Finding People With AI Skills

Here’s what’s fascinating – the bottleneck isn’t the technology. It’s finding people who know how to use it.

Anne mentioned she can’t even find marketing contractors with both nonprofit expertise AND AI skills. It’s such a problem that she’s personally trained over 1,500 nonprofit staff on how to use ChatGPT.

This presents both a challenge and an opportunity. If you’re in the nonprofit world, developing AI skills now puts you in an incredibly valuable position. And if you’re a marketing consultant, specializing in AI for nonprofits could be a wide-open niche.

What’s Coming Next Will Change Everything

As we wrapped up our conversation, it hit me – we’re at the iPhone moment for AI. Remember how the original iPhone was cool but limited? Then the App Store launched and everything exploded with creativity?

With OpenAI’s marketplace opening up, we’re about to see an explosion of custom GPTs that will change how we think about this technology. Unlike app development, which had a high barrier to entry, anyone can create a custom GPT – which means we’ll see innovation from unexpected places.

For nonprofits that have always been at a disadvantage in the marketing arms race, this democratization of AI tools represents perhaps the biggest opportunity in decades to level the playing field.

The question isn’t whether to adopt AI – it’s how quickly you can start experimenting and finding the use cases that will transform your organization.

If you’re interested in learning more about implementing AI marketing at your nonprofit or business, I’d love to hear about your experiences and challenges.