A ?? Letter to the Nonprofit Community: Part Two – A Year of Gratitude

As 2024 draws to a close, I find myself overwhelmed with gratitude for the incredible work you have done over the past 365 days. Each day, you rise with a burden and a calling—to serve, to inspire, to create a better world. Your resilience, creativity, and dedication have not only transformed lives but have also been a constant source of inspiration for me. This year has been a testament to your unwavering commitment and to the power of the nonprofit community to create meaningful, lasting change.

To the nonprofit leaders, volunteers, donors, and advocates who wake up every day with the calling to make the world a better place—this letter is for you.

Looking back on this year, I am struck by how much we have accomplished together. It has been a truly transformative year, filled with moments that challenged us, stretched us, and ultimately brought us closer to our shared mission to support the essence of philanthropy by improving the wellbeing for this and future generations.

I had the privilege of celebrating my 4-year anniversary as an executive leader at DonorSearch , where I continue to help cast the vision for how Responsible and Beneficial AI can bring unparalleled clarity and precision to nonprofits of every size, enabling them to boost their fundraising efforts and amplify their missions. Leading the incredibly talented, passionate, and hardworking DonorSearch AI team, we are honored to provide data insights, integrations and custom machine learning solutions to many of the nation’s most esteemed nonprofit organizations. Our meteoric rise and market leadership in the “insights” space is a testament not only to the dedication of the entire DonorSearch ch team but also to our clients, whose curiosity and adaptability continue to drive a new era of informed and innovative philanthropy operations.

I'm so honored to work alongside so many talented individuals and wake up every day inspired by the clients we're honored to partner with.

Reflecting on my personal mission to reignite philanthropy through Responsible & Beneficial AI, I am in awe of the 118 incredible opportunities I had this past year to speak about the Generosity Crisis and its intersection with AI. I could never have envisioned a more perfect alignment of my personal commitment to supporting nonprofit missions with my passion for innovation and curiosity to explore new technologies. As the year comes to a close, I am filled with deep gratitude for the experiences of the past and excitement for what lies ahead. I leave 2024 humbled by the chance to advocate for change in our sector and profoundly moved by the vast number of human connections I made within our nonprofit community. Witnessing the sector’s incredible curiosity and openness to embracing new technologies and approaches has been nothing short of inspiring.

There's no doubt I'm easily impaired by hard work, and motivated by selfless ambition. With that in mind, co-leading the second annual Fundraising.AI Global Summit alongside Mallory Erickson and Jen Lau has to be at the top of my proudest life accomplishments. This event brought together more than 10,000 participants from 141 countries and featured 65 of the best minds in AI globally, all focused on advancing Responsible and Beneficial AI for the nonprofit community. I'm blown-away by the partners, sponsors, speakers, hosts and participants that have found community and education in Fundraising.AI I and know that our best days are clear ahead!

The year also couldn't be complete without another labor of love to the nonprofit community, which manifested itself in the completion of my second book, "Nonprofit AI: A Comprehensive Guide to Implementing Artificial Intelligence for Social Good" that I co-authored with Scott Rosenkrans . Our? book, set to be published by Wiley in the spring of 2025, was written with you in mind—to equip you with the tools and insights needed to navigate and leverage AI responsibly. Stay tuned!

These accomplishments would not have been possible without the extraordinary support system behind me. I am endlessly grateful to DonorSearch, my dedicated team, and the inspiring network of individuals and organizations who have shared in this journey. Every milestone we reached this year was built on a foundation of collaboration, shared vision, and a commitment to amplifying the missions of nonprofits around the world.

As I reflect on 2024, five words come to mind that capture its essence: transformative, visionary, grounded, pioneering, and hopeful.

It was a year of seismic shifts in how nonprofits engage donors and leverage technology; a year of bold ideas and innovation; a year grounded in connection and personal growth; a year of breaking new ground; and, above all, a year of hope—hope fueled by the incredible work of this community.

But OUR work is far from over. As we look ahead to 2025, I am reminded that our calling is not just to do good work but to do it better, smarter, and with greater impact.

To do that, and show up each day as our best nonprofit-selves, I hope you will join me in focusing on these five areas:

• Scaling Responsible and Beneficial AI Personally and Professionally: Knowing when and how to say no has never been more important. Technology will continue to present itself with new and impressive things that were entirely impossible weeks prior, and while the technological pace will continue to increase exponentially we must condition ourselves to continuously always ask the question, "just because I can, does it mean I should?". OUR collective focus and duty must be to advance AI practices across the nonprofit sector that support both short-term results while mitigating consequences that could negatively impact charitable giving long-term.
• Strengthening Community Connection: Deepening relationships and fostering collaboration in our personal and professional lives. It's more important to be human and do inherently human things than ever. Get involved in your community, join the book club, volunteer or play checkers with an old friend. It's time to double down on building radical connection.
• Staying Curious: I've written about this a lot, but the inherently human ability to be curious is what will continually set us apart in the AI age. This means learning to question, to experiment, to try new things is more more important than ever. It's also easier than ever to put your thoughts out into the world so I can't wait to hear and learn from you!
• Invest in Personal Well-being: In the competition for connections, it's never been more important to balance your professional aspirations with personal health and joy. for me, moving to Tennessee and walking my dog through the woods each morning while the sun rises is a conscious decision I've made as an attempt to lower stress, and remember what it means to experience life without a screen.

As we embark on a new year, I want to leave you with some practical insights to help you leverage generative AI for success. Here are a few GenAI (pick your favorite) prompts that can help set you up for a strong start in 2025:        

1. “Help me prioritize my goals for 2025 by identifying key opportunities, steps to achieve them, and potential challenges to overcome.”
2. “What practical steps can I take to build deeper connections within my community, foster authentic relationships, and approach challenges with greater curiosity?”
3. “What are the top skills I should focus on this year to amplify my impact in the nonprofit sector?”

Acknowledging that we can't do things the same way and expect a different resolved is just the beginning. Continue leaning-into the hard work that priorities trust in fosters retention, deepens engagement, and promotes radical connection. Flex your curiosity, embrace creativity, and never lose sight of the profound impact your mission has on the world.

Our work is not just a job—it is a calling. And as challenging as it may be, it is also one of the most rewarding and meaningful paths we can walk. I'm honored to walk on that path with you.

Together, we're not only building something extraordinary, we’re preserving community and honoring something we’re biologically wired to do - to promote the betterment and welfare of others. Let us continue to persevere, to innovate, and to bring hope and change to the world in 2025.

With deep gratitude and unwavering hope for the future, Nathan Chappell