If you believe the Frankenstein movies, it seems every Lab comes with a helpful assistant who does all the busy work for you. Their name is Igor (sometimes pronounced “Eye-gore”), and you can count on them when things are difficult.

The Fundraisingology Lab now has an Assistant too!

It is an AI tool that has been fed thousands of hours and pages worth of fundraising knowledge and advice. You can ask it pretty much anything, and it will give you a good answer, in a spritely and non-Frankensteinish manner!

We at Moceanic realized that we have an enormous amount of fundraising knowledge to offer. Basically an encyclopedia worth of useful knowledge. Which is great, but also a problem. How do you find the specific thing you need in all that material? Until now, you could ask one of us Fundraisingologists. We have a decent chance of remembering.

But a robot knows and remembers all of it.

And it recalls it immediately.

To see the Assistant at work, I asked it a few questions. Here are those questions and the answers it gave me:

First, I asked, “What reading ease level should my appeal have?”

The answer was short and to the point:

The reading ease level for fundraising should be at or below a 6th grade reading level on the Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level scale and above 80 on the Flesch Reading Ease score.

Then I thought I’d give it a much less focused challenge. I asked it, “Why aren’t my donors responding to my fundraising?” I thought this was going to stump it because it was so broad. Nope. Here’s the answer:

Hello! Based on the provided context, there are several reasons why your donors might not be responding to your fundraising efforts: 

List Quality: Your list may include too many people who are unlikely to donate, such as:

• Beneficiaries of your services who are not donors.
• People who donated to event participants or peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns.
• People who signed up for an online newsletter or other free resource and have not yet donated.
• People who have only ever made a donation in memory or honor of someone.
• Donors who haven’t made a gift in two or more years.
• Fundraising Approach: Common errors in fundraising include:

Focusing on your organization rather than the donors. Being narcissistic, braggadocios, impersonal, irrelevant, unclear, snooty, fake, or inconsiderate in your communications.

Donor Psychology: Understanding that what people say about their charity or your fundraising has little to do with what they do. Their opinions and actions do not always align.

Attitude Towards Donors: Blaming donors for fundraising failures can worsen your attitude and make it harder to connect with them. Most fundraising failures are self-inflicted.

To address these issues, consider getting expert advice or coaching to improve your communication strategies and better understand who you should be targeting.

That’s basically a mini-seminar on fixing your fundraising. Bravo, Lab Assist!

My next question wasn’t even a question, really, I typed, “grant writing.”

Look what I got for that vague query:

Hello! Grant writing can be a highly effective way to secure funding for your organization, offering a fantastic return on investment. Here are some key points to consider:

Time Management: Ensure you allocate enough time to read the guidelines carefully and, if possible, contact the funder to clarify any doubts and gauge their interest in your project.

Investments: Consider investing in a subscription to a grants database and possibly hiring a writer or finding a volunteer passionate about your organization to help with the application process.

Experience and Success Rates: Success rates can vary widely depending on your experience, the sector, and the funder, ranging from 1 out of 10 to 8 out of 10.

Challenges: Be aware of the competitive nature of grant writing and the specific requirements, such as charitable status and the difficulty in finding untied project funding. 

Grant Writing Process: It can take anywhere from 20 to 30 hours or more to complete a grant application, depending on the complexity. It’s crucial to have a reasonable expectation of success given the time investment.

Benefits: Grants often come with larger awards and potential media recognition, which can help promote your organization’s mission.

Professional Help: If hiring a grant writer, ensure they have relevant experience and check their writing samples and turnaround times. Your involvement is crucial to provide the necessary information and ensure the application reflects your organization’s voice and goals. 

If you have any more specific questions or need further details, feel free to ask!

Wow. That’s a great start for someone looking into grant writing.

But I was getting annoyed. I wanted to trip up the AI! So I tried a sort of whiney, super-general question, thinking there’s no way it can be helpful for this: “why am I so tired?”

Hello! Based on the provided context, it seems that feeling unusually tired can be attributed to stress and uncertainty. Many people are experiencing similar feelings of exhaustion, even if they haven’t worked more hours than usual. This tiredness might be due to the emotional roller coaster and the overall stress of the current situation. You’re not alone in feeling this way.

Even in this situation, it managed to be helpful!

Can you stump it?

With every answer, it cited where the information came from. I could click through and read and watch the material. So more depth is easy if you want it.

The Lab Assist gets its knowledge from these sources:

• All Moceanic Courses, workshops, and webinars, and office hours. That’s hundreds of hours of teaching. On almost every topic you can imagine.
• The Moceanic Blog. More than 1,000 posts dating back to 2016.
• The Future Fundraising Now Blog (more than 3,000 posts dating back to 2009).

Here’s the thing about this powerful tool: It’s available only to members of The Fundraisingology Lab by Moceanic. It’s one click away from every page on members’ personal “MyMoceanic” web portal.

Would you like access to the Lab Assistant and all the material it can give you in a matter of seconds. Join The Fundraisingology Lab by Moceanic. You’ll get the tools, the information, and the supporting community that will take you to new places in your fundraising career. Join the waiting list now and you’ll be the first to hear when the doors open again!

Related Blog Posts:

• 3 Habits of Highly Effective Fundraising Writers
• Show Your Boss Why They Can’t Skimp on Your Growth and Training
• 7 Ways to Make Yourself a Better Fundraiser