Artificial intelligence (AI) offers exciting opportunities for charities and nonprofits, from automating administrative tasks to gaining insights from data. However, consideration of how it should be used in fundraising has focused mainly on practical applications, with less thought given to the ethical implications that might arise from its use. 

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When attention does turn to the ethics of using AI for fundraising, the focus is often on how generic ethical issues about AI might also apply to fundraising. But AI will throw up ethical issues and challenges that are unique to fundraising and the nonprofit sector.

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A Rogare project team, led by US fundraising consultant Cherian Koshy, has considered what some of these fundraising-specific ethical issues are, and developed a research agenda to explore what else we need to know to rise to these challenges.

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This project considers two related but separate questions:

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1 What ethical issues are associated with using AI in fundraising?

2 Can AI be used to resolve ethical dilemmas in fundraising?

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The project team’s findings and recommendations can be found in the report published in February 2024 – Artificial intelligence and fundraising ethics: A research agenda.