Microsoft has announced the integration of a range of new AI solutions and enhancements to Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit, aimed at revolutionizing the nonprofit industry and transforming how fundraisers engage with donors, run campaigns, and optimize operations.
The company has also introduced a limited private preview for nonprofits to experience a new AI-powered fundraising propensity model, providing fundraisers with predictive forecasting capabilities and the ability to identify potential donors for campaigns, causes, or major gifts.
Game-changer for Nonprofits
According to Justin Spelhaug, Vice President and Global Head, Tech for Social Impact at Microsoft, "AI can and will be a game-changer for nonprofits and fundraisers. With these new AI solutions, we aim to empower nonprofits and fundraisers to achieve more and to create a more positive and rewarding experience for donors."
In the current economic environment, nonprofits continually face the challenge of maximizing their budgets and achieving more with limited resources. Since 2020, fundraisers have encountered a decrease in the number of donors contributing to their causes, according to Microsoft.
However, many organizations struggle with accessing data and extracting actionable insights from fundraising analytics, which serves as a significant barrier.
A study conducted by the National Council of Nonprofits revealed that merely 18% of nonprofits have reported possessing all the necessary data and utilizing it in their decision-making processes.
Microsoft Cloud for industries offers specialized solutions and workflows that are customized to cater to specific sectors.
With the assistance of AI, Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit introduces innovative capabilities that empower fundraisers to efficiently utilize data, resulting in the attraction, retention, and expansion of their donor base.
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New AI Tools
The new tools introduced include the Fundraising performance dashboard, which provides real-time data and interactive views of campaign performance and fundraising analytics, all built on Power BI's data visualization platform.
Additionally, Dynamics 365 Marketing has been integrated into Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit, streamlining communication generation for donors and volunteers and facilitating personalized engagement through seamless data integration.
Microsoft Viva Sales AI Copilot and Microsoft Teams Premium now offer AI capabilities within the Fundraising and Engagement tools of Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit. Viva Sales assists nonprofits in personalizing and deepening donor engagement by providing AI capabilities that craft email responses based on CRM data, update CRM records, and summarize Teams calls.
The AI-based capabilities of Teams Premium integrated into Fundraising and Engagement improve productivity and ensure the maximum benefit from meetings for nonprofits.
These new tools provide a comprehensive set of solutions for end-to-end fundraising, covering strategy and planning, campaign execution and measurement, gift processing and reconciliation, and gift acknowledgment.
Additionally, Microsoft is in the process of creating an AI-driven donor propensity model to assist nonprofits in identifying potential donors or individuals who are likely to engage with campaigns or causes based on predictive donor behavior.
Nonprofits have the opportunity to take part in a private preview, contributing anonymized data to help enhance the model. The solution is anticipated to be widely accessible later this year.
These new AI solutions are built on Microsoft's Azure cloud platform, offering enhanced security, scalability, and reliability.
They also integrate with Microsoft's existing solutions for nonprofits, including Microsoft 365 (Outlook, SharePoint, Teams), Power Platform, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and LinkedIn.
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