Course overview

This practical and engaging course is designed specifically for fundraising leaders navigating the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence. Learn how AI is being used in donor engagement, campaign planning, and supporter services, and build the confidence to assess and govern AI tools responsibly. Through real-life examples, governance templates, and a clear, non-technical framework, participants will gain the ability to ensure their use of AI is ethical, privacy-compliant and aligned with donor trust principles

Discover how to confidently and ethically use AI in your fundraising work. This hands-on course gives you real-life tools to evaluate AI tools, safeguard donor trust and develop a governance model that fits your organisation. Learn how to unlock the power of AI—safely.

Course aim

The course aims to give fundraising professionals the knowledge and tools to confidently evaluate, implement and oversee AI tools in their operations. By demystifying AI and grounding it in Australian best practice frameworks, participants will leave with a practical checklist, risk assessment model and implementation plan that can be used immediately to enhance donor trust, data safety and organisational impact.

What you’ll learn

• Identify the different types of AI used in fundraising (embedded AI, generative AI, predictive AI)
• Evaluate potential use cases and their associated risks and benefits
• Apply ethical and legal frameworks including privacy and bias mitigation principles
• Use a simplified AI risk assessment tool to make go/no-go decisions
• Create an implementation plan for AI adoption or oversight in their organisation
• Define key governance roles, policy needs and post-deployment monitoring strategies

Targeted skills

1. AI use case evaluation
2. Risk and ethical decision-making
3. Governance planning
4. Privacy awareness in data-driven tools
5. Responsible adoption of digital technologies
6. Social Media Marketing

Participant level

Entry - Intermediate

Who is this course for?

Fundraising directors, marketing managers, advancement managers, and senior fundraising staff working in charities and non-profits who are exploring or already using AI tools in donor engagement, campaign optimisation or supporter communications.

Prerequisite knowledge

Participants should have basic familiarity with fundraising operations and digital tools (e.g. CRM, campaign software). Prior exposure to AI (such as using ChatGPT or CRM-based AI features) is helpful but not required.

This session won’t explore

• This course will not teach participants how to build AI systems or cover technical topics such as model development, coding or engineering.
• It does not provide legal advice.

Delivery

2 x 4hr sessions via Zoom

Meet the facilitator

Guidelines for enrolment

1. 1. Make sure you have a login for the FIA Learning Hub. Click "Sign In" or "Forgot Password" if needed.
   2. You can enrol a staff member if they already have a login.
   3. If you require assistance, please email training@fia.org.au.
      

CFRE

Full participation in Data-Privacy for Fundraisers is applicable for up to 2.5 continuing education points in Category 1. B – Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.

FIA Code

FIA Code of Conduct Integration

• Section 2.0 Compliance: Covers privacy, data governance and compliance with AI ethics principles
• Section 3.0 Ethical Conduct: Focuses on fairness, transparency and accountability in the use of AI
• Section 4.0 Conduct Towards Donors: Emphasises protection of donor rights, consent and data use boundaries
• Section 5.0 Conduct Towards Beneficiaries: Addresses equitable service delivery using AI tools
• Section 6.0 Supplier Relationships: Includes criteria for ethical vendor and tool selection