Let's Talk Fundraising
Welcome to "Let's Talk Fundraising" with Keith Greer, CFRE! This podcast is your go-to resource for mastering the essentials of fundraising while discovering how innovative tools and technology can supercharge your efforts. Whether you're a new fundraiser looking to level up your skills or a seasoned professional seeking timely reminders and fresh insights, each episode is packed with practical advice, creative ideas, and inspiring stories.
Join Keith as he explores the core principles that drive successful fundraising and uncovers the latest strategies to make your job easier, more enjoyable, and incredibly impactful. From relationship-building and storytelling to leveraging the newest tech, "Let's Talk Fundraising" is here to help you transform your approach and achieve remarkable results for your organization.
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Let's Talk Fundraising
Inbox Freedom: AI‑Powered Donor Replies
Drowning in donor emails while struggling to craft thoughtful, personalized responses? You're not alone. Fundraisers everywhere face this daily challenge—balancing the need for authentic communication with the reality of limited time and mounting inbox pressure.
The secret most successful fundraisers discover is that timely responsiveness isn't just an administrative task—it's a relationship-building superpower that directly impacts donor trust and giving potential. Each prompt, thoughtful reply silently communicates powerful messages: I see you, I value your time, and your relationship matters to our mission.
This episode reveals how to transform your approach to donor emails using a simple, reusable prompt template that works with ChatGPT to generate personalized draft responses in seconds. Rather than diminishing authenticity, this structured approach actually enhances it by freeing your mental bandwidth for the personal touches that truly matter to donors. You'll learn exactly how to implement this system, from creating the perfect prompt to quickly adding those relationship-deepening details that only you can provide.
The fundraisers who initially resist template-based approaches often become their strongest advocates after experiencing the benefits firsthand. Beyond just saving time, this approach reduces decision fatigue, maintains consistent quality regardless of how busy your day becomes, and transforms your inbox from a source of stress into a strategic relationship-building asset.
Copy the 44-word template provided below and try it on one unanswered donor email today. Notice the minutes you reclaim, then message me directly on LinkedIn to celebrate your quick win. While you're at it, subscribe to the podcast, leave a five-star rating, and share what you'd tell a friend when recommending this content.
“Write a <WORD_COUNT>-word reply to <DONOR_FIRST_NAME> who asked about <TOPIC>. Thank them, answer the question clearly, and invite <NEXT_STEP>. Keep the tone <TONE> and avoid jargon.”
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Your phone buzzes three times before 8 am. Three different donors, three separate questions. By noon your CRM queue has 12 more. Suddenly, you're drowning in replies, tempted to copy and paste last month's responses, hoping no one notices the echo. But what if you had one plain English prompt that instantly produced a tailored, thoughtful reply for each message, freeing you to pick up the phone and finally call that donor ready to upgrade their gift? Because the longer your inbox owns you, the less room you have for relationships and revenue. So let's talk fundraising.
Keith Greer, CFRE:In fundraising there's an element we tend to overlook, not because it's unimportant, but because it feels deceptively simple Responding quickly and thoughtfully to donor emails. It's easy to underestimate until you realize how central responsiveness is to trust. Building your ability to reply promptly doesn't just matter for donor relationships. It directly shapes your organization's bottom line. Timely responses deepen trust, and trust is the foundation for generosity. Yet, ironically, responding to emails is also one of the most challenging tasks for busy fundraisers, and let's explore why that is.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Each morning, you open your inbox to a tidal wave of donor messages. They range from quick check-ins to complex questions about programs, impact metrics, upcoming events and giving opportunities. These emails aren't just administrative tasks. They're relationship, invitations, opportunities to build trust and deepen engagement, but the sheer volume quickly becomes overwhelming. The temptation to copy-paste previous replies or rely on boilerplate language grows stronger by the minute. It's not laziness, it's survival. Yet we all sense that these generic replies come with hidden costs. While they may check the box on your to-do list, donors quickly notice when messages feel recycled or impersonal.
Keith Greer, CFRE:And so let's pause right here. Think about how you feel when you get a clearly templated email from an organization that you've supported. It's disappointing, right. It quietly signals that your relationship with them is transactional rather than meaningful. It erodes your sense of connection even subtly. But now imagine your donors feeling the same disappointment. And it's not just about donor perception. Responsiveness also directly impacts your ability to secure larger gifts. Delays and impersonal replies subtly slow down donor momentum. When someone reaches out with genuine curiosity, enthusiasm or generosity, they're looking for reassurance and connection. A slow response, or worse, no response, sends an unspoken message your question isn't urgent, or even your relationship isn't important, or even your relationship isn't important.
Keith Greer, CFRE:But let's step back and ask why responsiveness is so challenging in the first place. It's because, in addition to managing emails, fundraisers like you juggle donor calls, program planning, board presentations, crm updates, galas, silent auctions and other large events, not to mention grant proposals and all the grant management tasks too. Your daily calendar is packed to the brim. Emails, though crucial, become yet another task competing for your limited attention. So here's the hidden cycle this creates you delay your replies because you're busy, which makes each message pile up, which in turn creates anxiety around opening your inbox. And by the time you finally address the emails, your creativity and energy are gone and you resort to quicker, less personalized responses. In other words, this isn't a personal failing, it's a broken structure that is overwhelming, and broken structures require structural solutions. So consider another angle.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Many fundraisers feel a subtle guilt about their inbox backlog, as though unanswered emails are signs of personal inadequacy. But the truth is overflowing inboxes aren't a reflection of your skill or your dedication. It's a reflection of your role's complexity and the sheer volume of relationships that you're stewarding. Recognizing this distinction is freeing. It moves you away from guilt and toward curiosity and strategic problem solving. Think about the psychological benefit of timely email replies. Each prompt response tells your donor I see you, I value your time and your relationship matters deeply to our mission. It demonstrates integrity, it builds credibility and it quietly nurtures loyalty. Timely email responses also have measurable benefits. Studies consistently show that rapid responses improve donor engagement and even increase the likelihood of continued support. The longer an email sits unanswered, the colder the donor relationship becomes, momentum fades and enthusiasm dims.
Keith Greer, CFRE:But let's also acknowledge something else Email responsiveness can feel like a trade-off with your creativity and strategic thinking. You might believe deep down that a thoughtful reply demands significant time and mental energy. You've probably felt it yourself. If you could just get a block of uninterrupted time, you'd craft an exceptional reply. It's like the old phrase if I had more time, I would have written you a shorter letter. But when the inbox pressure mounts, exceptional settles for good enough or worse, the email simply gets lost entirely. Now consider how differently your inbox might feel if you had a system, a repeatable approach to handling donor communication swiftly. Yet personally, what if each reply didn't require deep thinking from scratch, but instead began from a strong starting point?
Keith Greer, CFRE:Here's where technology, especially something like ChatGPT, becomes more than just a convenience. It becomes a strategic partner. By having ChatGPT handle your first drafts, you're not abdicating responsibility, you're reclaiming control. You're moving from reactive to proactive and from overwhelmed to strategic. So imagine this you start your morning with dozens of donor emails. Instead of feeling dread, you calmly apply a structured prompt. Within moments, thoughtful, tailored replies appear ready for your quick edits and your personal touches. You haven't just saved time. You freed emotional and mental bandwidth for strategic activities like donor calls, program oversight or even just a few extra minutes of thoughtful reflection. Timelines stop being an impossible ideal and become a realistic standard. This consistent responsiveness deepens donor trust, and donor trust fuels everything that you're trying to achieve, and here's the crux of the principle we're exploring.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Your donors don't need your every reply to be perfect, but they do need it to be timely and thoughtful. Automating initial drafts of routine replies doesn't undermine authenticity. It actually enhances it, because, with the administrative burden eased, you can focus on adding the one or two personal touches that matter the most. Take a moment and reflect on this. Think about an email you received recently from someone you respect professionally. It probably wasn't perfect, but it was prompt, clear and warm. How did that make you feel Valued, seen, important? That's precisely how your donors want to feel, and now reflect inward again. Feel and now reflect inward again. What if, instead of dread, your inbox sparked excitement? What if each email felt like a fresh opportunity for connection and stewardship, not another burden to endure. That's not just wishful thinking. It's entirely possible when you have the right systems in place.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Ultimately, email responsiveness isn't about ticking boxes. It's about nurturing relationships intentionally and strategically. It's about signaling respect and gratitude consistently. It's about transforming routine tasks into meaningful interactions, and the good news is, technology now makes this easier than ever before, and you don't need specialized knowledge or endless resources. You just need a thoughtful prompt and a simple system. In just a moment, we'll dive into exactly how to build and implement this system, but right now, let yourself embrace this powerful fundraising principle fully.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Timely, thoughtful responses aren't just administrative tasks. They're acts of stewardship, trust and relationship building. When you understand this deeply, your inbox stops being a taskmaster. Instead, it becomes your ally in deepening donor relationships, increasing revenue and ultimately advancing your mission. Let's dive deep into the practical side of taming your overwhelming inbox. Now. How exactly do you put this principle into action consistently, especially when you're already short on time? And that's where ChatGPT comes into play as your reliable writing assistant.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Let me introduce you to a straightforward yet powerful approach building a reusable reply draft prompt. With this prompt, you'll quickly generate personalized email responses without sacrificing your authentic voice. And here's how it works in detail. First, we're going to create a structured template. This template will rely on a few simple variables, pieces of information that you'll customize each time to create personalized and thoughtful responses. Here are the core variables you'll use. I'm putting these in brackets, similar to how you would a mail merge.
Keith Greer, CFRE:So the first one is donor first name. This keeps the message personal and warm. The next one is topic Clearly identifies the subject or question the donor is raising. And the third one is the next step. The next step invites the donor to a specific follow-up action or deeper engagement. And then we have tone, which ensures that your reply matches your organization's style and your donor's expectations. And finally, we have word count. Word count allows you to control the length, helping your message stay focused and appropriate to the context. With these variables, you can handle virtually any email inquiry, question or follow-up quickly and confidently. So let's look at exactly how this works in practice. Here's a clear, actionable prompt that brings these variables together Write a word count word reply to donor first name.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Who asked about? Topic thank them, answer the question clearly. Thank them, answer the question clearly and invite next step. Keep the tone. Tone and avoid jargon. So that kind of sounds a little complicated.
Keith Greer, CFRE:And here's a practical example of how this might look. Imagine you've received an email from a donor named Sarah. She's recently attended an event and asked about opportunities to support your youth mentoring program. You want to reply warmly, clearly, outline the way she can get involved and invite her to meet some of the participants directly. You'd simply input this prompt into ChatGPT, write a 100-word reply to Sarah, who asked about opportunities to support our youth mentoring program, thank her, answer the question clearly and invite her to attend our next mentoring session to meet participants. Keep the tone warm and inviting and avoid jargon. In seconds, chatgpt generates something that looks like this Hi, sarah, thanks so much for reaching out and for your interest in supporting our youth mentoring program. We truly appreciate your enthusiasm. There are several meaningful ways you could get involved, from sponsoring a mentor mentee match to supporting our monthly workshops. I would love to invite you to our next mentoring session, happening next Wednesday evening. You'd have a chance to meet the incredible young people we serve, see the program in action and discuss ways you can make an immediate impact. Would you be available to join us? Warm regards and then a placeholder for your name.
Keith Greer, CFRE:With this draft, you're no longer staring at a blank screen. Instead, you have a solid, personalized starting point you can quickly tweak before sending. The difference this makes to your workflow is profound. Instead of getting bogged down, you now handle email replies efficiently, warmly and with significantly less stress. Now let's talk through the practical steps for using this prompt repeatedly, so it truly becomes a workflow shortcut Paste, tweak and send.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Once your prompt generates the initial draft, the key step is the quick polish. This isn't about heavy editing or rewriting from scratch. Instead, you quickly scan the message to ensure accuracy, adjust a phrase or two to better match your voice, add any special details you know matter to that donor, and then you send it. This entire process, from pasting the prompt generating the draft, polishing and hitting send, should typically take two to three minutes and, crucially, your donor receives a reply that feels thoughtfully crafted and genuinely personalized. Imagine what you could do with an extra hour each week. Maybe you'd use that hour to make a few more donor calls, craft a personalized thank you note, or brainstorm your next fundraising campaign. Maybe you'd simply appreciate feeling less rushed and more thoughtful. Maybe it means that you can actually go home on time to be with your family. Whatever the case, it's a direct, measurable win.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Beyond speed, there's another huge benefit of this workflow it reduces mental fatigue, because decision fatigue is real. Each email reply, when crafted from scratch, requires decisions. How do I phrase this? What details should I include? How formal should it sound? Over a day filled with emails, that adds up. It leaves you mentally exhausted and by the end of the day, your replies suffer in quality. This structured, prompt-based approach removes many of these micro decisions, allowing your brain to stay fresh and engaged for more complex and strategic tasks. You maintain high-quality stewardship even when you're managing a high volume of relationships.
Keith Greer, CFRE:I've spoken personally with fundraisers who started skeptical about using AI for replies. They worried their voice might feel canned, impersonal or cheapened. Yet when they put this method into practice, they consistently find the opposite. Rather than diminishing their authenticity, the structured prompt enhances it, freeing mental and emotional energy to add the thoughtful, personal details that truly matter to your donor. One fundraiser recently told me that the simple act of seeing a clear draft appear instantly lifted a burden she didn't even realize she was carrying. She could quickly add one thoughtful sentence, a personal anecdote, a detail from their last meeting, a specific thank you and send it with confidence.
Keith Greer, CFRE:So now let's pause briefly to do a little reflection. Can you imagine yourself adopting this approach? What donor email currently waiting in your inbox would benefit from this structured, prompt-based reply method? Can you picture how your day might shift, how your workload might feel lighter? How your donors might sense a greater depth of care and responsiveness from you? Might sense a greater depth of care and responsiveness from you.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Ultimately, using ChatGPT in the structured, intentional way isn't just about speed. It's about stewardship. It's about systematically ensuring each donor feels valued, heard and engaged, without overwhelming yourself. It's about transforming your inbox from a daily drain into an asset for deepening relationships. So in just a moment, we're going to dive into the mindset shifts that make this possible, but for now, let yourself fully embrace this practical and proven approach. Recognize the impact that strategic prompts can have, not just on your workflow, but on your relationships and your fundraising success, because this is how technology becomes your ally, not your adversary. This is how you make responsiveness sustainable, authentic and deeply impactful.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Before we wrap up, let's address something that might still be lingering in your mind. It's natural, even wise, to be cautious about adopting new tools, especially when you've spent years carefully crafting your authentic voice. A common fear among fundraisers just like you, is that using templates, especially ones generated by AI, could make your message feel canned, impersonal or even robotic, and let me validate that concern right now. You've invested deeply in building trust and connection through your personal style. Every interaction with a donor, whether in person or written, represents your integrity, your personality and your care. So the hesitation you feel isn't trivial. It's a sign of the seriousness with which you take your role. But let's gently explore this mindset together, because what feels risky at first might actually be a powerful tool in your fundraising toolkit. So consider this when you use a structured, ai-supported reply draft, you're not surrendering your voice. Instead, you're leveraging a resource that protects and amplifies it.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Imagine hiring a junior writer for your team. They wouldn't initially know your voice perfectly. They'd produce drafts you'd carefully shape and refine. Their first contributions might feel a bit generic, but soon you'd guide them into capturing your tone, your warmth and your thoughtful insights. Eventually, they'd become indispensable, freeing you to focus your time and your energy on relationship building and strategic communication. And that's exactly the way to think about using structured prompts with ChatGPT. It's not outsourcing your authenticity. It's delegating that initial framework, giving you back precious minutes that allow you to polish the reply with personal touches that really only you can add. What might those touches look like? Perhaps it's a thoughtful reference to your last conversation with the donor, maybe it's recalling their favorite program or asking about their family. Those small details, often just a sentence or two, create the warmth and the intimacy that you value. And now, instead of spending all your energy structuring the reply, you can pour more attention into those vital personal details. And here's another critical reframe to consider.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Templates don't limit creativity. They actually liberate it. Think of your favorite novels or movies. They follow proven structures a beginning, middle and end but with those structures, endless creativity thrives. The structure provides clarity and focus, allowing the creator to add compelling characters, moving dialogue, emotional depth and rich storytelling. Your emails to donors can function similarly. A reliable framework frees you to think more creatively and personally, enhancing rather than restricting your authentic expression. Structure provides the guardrails that keep your messaging consistent and clear, leaving you ample room to express the warmth and care that defines your fundraising.
Keith Greer, CFRE:There's also a subtle but powerful internal shift worth highlighting here. Some fundraisers secretly believe that taking advantage of automation or AI-supported templates somehow cheapens their skill or professionalism. Perhaps you felt a twinge of guilt around this thinking. Am I taking shortcuts? Am I somehow less committed or less authentic? But let's challenge that mindset. Fundraising at its core is about relationships and impact, not about how long you spend drafting each email. Your donors value responsiveness, clarity and thoughtfulness, not whether each word was painstakingly chosen from scratch. Embracing efficiency tools doesn't cheapen your professionalism. It enhances it, demonstrating your commitment to effective communication and careful stewardship. So let's go deeper into another mindset layer.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Behind the hesitation around templates often lies a belief that authenticity equals doing everything yourself. But authenticity isn't about doing everything manually. It's about intention and genuine care. If a structured approach lets you respond more quickly, warmly and thoughtfully, your authenticity isn't lost. It's amplified. Your donors don't want you overwhelmed, exhausted or stretched too thin. They want your best thinking, your clearest communication and your heartfelt care. Learest communication and your heartfelt care.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Templates and AI-generated drafts allow you to protect your energy, maintaining consistent quality and show up fully for your donors. Still, skepticism is natural and you might wonder will my donor sense this is a template? Will it feel repetitive if I use a similar structure regularly? Let's look honestly at what makes donor communication effective. Your donors don't notice templates. They notice warmth, clarity, gratitude and responsiveness. A thoughtfully used template doesn't raise alarms. It quietly assures donors of your reliability and your care, and each customized detail you add the message feels fresh and genuinely personal. Because it is personal. And here's a practical tip to reinforce this shift Think of your template not as a restrictive tool, but as a gentle starting place.
Keith Greer, CFRE:A template sets the stage, provides clear direction and removes the uncertainty around what to write. From there, your creativity flows easily. Your personalized sentences feel authentic because you're not starting from zero, but you're building from a solid foundation. Imagine for a moment if you could approach your inbox each morning feeling genuinely excited Instead of dread or overwhelm. You have confidence, knowing you can quickly draft warm, responsive emails that reflect your true voice. Your mental and emotional energy stays high, leaving more capacity for relationship-building, calls, strategic planning or simply taking a deep breath and enjoying your work.
Keith Greer, CFRE:And this isn't hypothetical. Fundraisers who've adopted this approach consistently share that the initial resistance to templates quickly fades, replaced by relief, empowerment and a genuine sense of liberation. I'd invite you to experiment yourself. Pick one email this afternoon that's been sitting in your inbox and apply the structured prompt we discussed earlier. Take notice of how it feels, how your mindset shifts from burden to opportunity, how your authenticity comes through easily and how much time you reclaim. Authenticity isn't fragile. It won't break under structure or automation. In fact, true authenticity thrives when supported by thoughtful tools that reduce your stress, free your creativity and enhance your care.
Keith Greer, CFRE:So consider this final reframe carefully. You're not adopting templates despite your authenticity. You're adopting them because of it. You value donor relationships too much to risk burnout or inbox overwhelm. You value thoughtful communication too deeply to allow rushed generic replies to creep in under pressure. Templates help you protect what matters most your energy, your relationships and your effectiveness. You don't have to trust me blindly. Just trust yourself enough to try.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Lean into this mindset shift, if only for a day, and notice the impact. Notice the quality of your replies, the responses you receive and your own internal ease. The proof, I suspect, will show itself quickly. In the end, this mindset isn't about templates, it's about stewardship. It's about consistently giving your donors the very best of yourself reliably, sustainably and joyfully. And that's not selling out, that's stepping up. Now let's bring this conversation toward its close Understanding clearly that your authenticity and care aren't at odds with structure and automation. They're strengthened by it.
Keith Greer, CFRE:Today, we explored one of the most powerful yet misunderstood tools in your fundraising toolbox Structured templates and AI-supported drafts for donor email replies. We started by dissecting the overwhelm of your inbox, learned how to build a clear, variable-based prompt, and saw exactly how quick drafts can reclaim your time for deeper and more thoughtful stewardship. Your next step is simple but powerful Copy the 44-word template provided in the show notes and try it out on one real donor email sitting unanswered in your inbox today. Notice the minutes you reclaim and then message me directly on LinkedIn. I really want to celebrate this quick win with you. Also, if this episode gave you new insights or helped you shift your workflow, I'd deeply appreciate it.
Keith Greer, CFRE:If you subscribe to the podcast right now, leave a five-star rating and write a brief review. Here's a helpful tip when you write your review, share exactly what you'd say to a friend if you are recommending this podcast to them. Your authentic recommendation helps others find clarity, confidence and connection in their fundraising journey. As we wrap today, a quick teaser for the next week. Your board packet is waiting and we'll show you exactly how ChatGPT can simplify that daunting document preparation into a clear, compelling one-pager that your board will actually read. Until then, thank you for your trust, your commitment to your donors and your ongoing dedication to the vital work of fundraising. I'll see you next time.
