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“Let me consult my friend, Artie Ficial,” my 76-year-old dad remarks as he searches Gemini while we discuss a variety of random topics on our bi-weekly calls. Despite his somewhat snarky pet name for AI, we find it quite useful for our conversational wormholes.

AI is dominating our collective landscape these days. ChatGPT is one of the highest global search terms in 2026 with hundreds of millions of hits of the brand and variations of it. Aside from maps and weather, AI is a top trending category with phrases like “how to + AI.” Along with AI power demands and data center backlash, the news is saturated with privacy and security, model competition, and legislation. From students and business owners to retired widowers in North Carolina (like Dad), AI has been woven into the very fabric of our lives.

In the nonprofit sector, there is a tidal wave of recommendations and best practices to incorporate AI into our workflows. At the ICON conference in San Diego earlier this year, I counted over 30 sessions and learning labs on the use of AI. It can be nearly impossible to sift through all the content to suss out what could be useful on a daily basis, particularly for small shops with precious little time for new innovations.

At the request of the good folks at Charity eNews, I pulled together the themes from the ICON sessions and put together a practical list of tasks to easily incorporate AI efficiencies and digital strategy into your workflow in just four weeks.

It starts with blocking your calendar for two hours each week*. Each week, select one item from the Simple AI Tasks list and one from the Basic Digital Tactics List. Focus on that task for the entire hour. Combined, these tasks will help you improve your overall efficiency and will contribute to digital growth.

(*Two hours a week too much? Simply pivot to just one hour over the course of eight weeks.)

Four Simple AI Tasks

1. Draft a New Donor Acknowledgement – Refresh your donor thank-you letters using AI to make stewardship more heartfelt and personal
2. Create Meeting Summaries and Next Steps – Use AI to turn your meeting recordings into summaries, decisions, and action items to save time.
3. Use AI for Ideation – Use AI to brainstorm and stress-test your fundraising ideas before you launch them.
4. Build Plans or Calendars – Have AI help build campaign calendars and prioritize your to-do list by impact versus effort.

Four Basic Digital Tactics

1. Audit Your Donation Form – Test your donation form end-to-end to catch friction and make sure post-gift messaging feels warm and gracious.
2. Evaluate Data Hygiene – Clean up your donor data to ensure your communications and acknowledgements are accurate.
3. Map Donor Communications – Document your donor touchpoints on a calendar to spot and fill communication gaps.
4. Scan Your Socials – Audit your social channels for brand consistency and make sure they’re driving website traffic, newsletter signups, and donations.

The buzz around “Artie Ficial” will no doubt become stronger and louder in the coming years. Take an intentional step forward right now to explore how AI can contribute to the innovation and progress of your small shop operations!