AHP Summit on Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly reshaping philanthropy, offering new ways to enhance donor engagement, streamline operations, and drive innovation. In this fireside chat session, we’ll explore how leaders at Inova Health are using AI to build toward their goal of creating seamless donor journeys. Join Inova’s chief philanthropy officer, Sage Bolte, and chief information and digital strategy officer, Matt Kull, for a fireside chat with plenty of real-world insights about:

• How chief philanthropy officers and chief information officers can build a strong working relationship.
• How AI can be integrated into the donor experience.
• The role of Microsoft Copilot in optimizing fundraising communications and workflow.
• Strategies for overcoming resistance and fostering team adoption of AI tools.
• How Inova’s donors are actively funding AI initiatives to drive impact.

Whether you’re just beginning to explore AI’s potential or looking to refine your strategy, this session will provide practical takeaways that can help you harness AI’s power to enhance your philanthropic success.

Presenters:

Sage Bolte, PhD, LCSW, CST, FAOSW, Chief Philanthropy Officer and President, Inova Health Foundation, Interim President Behavioral Health, Inova Health System

Matt Kull, Chief Information and Digital Strategy Officer, Inova Health System

Discover how two health care systems used custom AI models to pinpoint high-impact clinicians and service lines, leading to successful grateful patient and clinician engagement strategies. The session starts by exploring the evolving role of AI in nonprofit philanthropy—showcasing its potential to amplify impact while addressing the ethical considerations of AI-driven decision-making. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of artificial intelligence and data literacy as they learn how predictive AI can revolutionize grateful patient programs by identifying influential physicians and clinicians and matching them with ideal donor prospects. Real-world examples will highlight how predictive modeling revealed key clinician partners—including those previously missed—resulting in more effective engagement strategies. Finally, the session offers actionable takeaways on cultivating successful clinician partnerships, including a practical takeaway tool with key question sets and scripting for impactful conversations.

Learning objectives include:

1. Examine the evolving role of AI in nonprofit fundraising, discussing both the potential for increased impact and the ethical considerations that come with AI-driven decision-making.

2. Discover how predictive AI can enhance Grateful Patient Programs by identifying high-impact physicians and aligning them with the most promising donor prospects, based on engagement, capacity, and likelihood to give.

3. Develop effective clinician partnerships by gaining actionable strategies and tools to foster strong partnerships with clinicians, including communication scripts and key questions.

Presenters:

Debbie Ferguson, CFRE, Principal Consultant for Philanthropy Operations & Data, Accordant Philanthropy

Scott Rosenkrans, AVP, DonorSearch AI

Erin Stitzel, FAHP, CFRE, Principal Consultant, Accordant Philanthropy

This session will explore Northwell Foundation’s evolving journey in integrating artificial intelligence into its fundraising and donor engagement strategies. Participants will learn how AI has helped aggregate and analyze data to gain a holistic view of constituent journeys, improve direct mail targeting, and enhance major gift fundraising through affinity scoring and portfolio management. Real-world examples—including a case study showing increased revenue with reduced mail volume—will highlight both successes and ongoing challenges. The presentation will emphasize continuous learning, realistic expectations, and the Foundation’s commitment to responsible and innovative AI use.

Presenter:

Jacqueline La Gamma, Senior Director, Prospect Research and Analytics, Northwell Foundation

AI doesn’t have to be intimidating or futuristic. You don’t need to code in Python or hire a fleet of data scientists to harness its power. At its heart, AI is simply a set of tools that can streamline workflows, optimize systems, and help your philanthropic operations team elevate fundraising outcomes. But here’s the reality: most nonprofit ops teams feel paralyzed by AI. The terminology is dense. The tech seems too complex. And the fear of breaking something—or worse, wasting precious resources—holds teams back. This session is designed to cut through the noise. We’ll unpack what AI really means for your team, demystify how it can be layered into your existing infrastructure, and show how it can reduce manual lift, sharpen segmentation, and drive more responsive donor engagement. This isn’t about hype. It’s about building smarter systems that help your team—and your fundraisers—do what matters most.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, you’ll:

1. Demystify AI for Fundraising Ops – Gain a clear understanding of what AI is (and isn’t), and how it fits into the day-to-day operations of a modern development team.

2. Drive Efficiency Through Smart Automation – Learn how to use AI-powered tools to reduce manual work—think data hygiene, donor scoring, follow-up workflows, and campaign timing.

3. Enable Human-Centered Fundraising at Scale – See how AI can help surface insights that inform deeper donor personalization, better segmentation, and more relevant engagement journeys.

4. Build the Tech Stack of the Future, Today – Walk away with real-life examples and actionable strategies to begin integrating AI into your current CRM and reporting systems—with confidence.

Presenter:

Erik Tomalis, Chief Evangelist & Revenue Officer, Avid

Integrating AI into healthcare philanthropy requires strategic planning, effective change management, and actionable frameworks. This education lab will guide participants through aligning AI tools with team goals, designing pilot projects to measure ROI, and managing organizational adoption. Through collaborative exercises and case studies, attendees will gain skills to identify barriers, develop tailored implementation strategies, and foster a culture of innovation. Emphasis on change management and stakeholder engagement ensures participants leave with practical roadmaps to integrate AI into their operations and maximize donor impact.

Presenters:

Sarah Clough, Vice President, Philanthropy Insights & Analytics, Marts&Lundy

Bill Gotfredson, Director of Prospect Development, Boston Children’s Hospital

Hospital foundations face a universal challenge: insufficient fundraiser capacity to personally engage every donor. While managed portfolios receive personalized attention, the majority of donors receive only annual campaigns and marketing communications. This engagement gap leads to challenges with donor retention and pipeline development. Parkland Health Foundation pioneered a solution by introducing Nicole, the world’s first healthcare Virtual Engagement Officer (VEO) powered by autonomous AI.

Serving as a trusted liaison between supporters and Parkland, Nicole works to deepen relationships through personalized engagement. In her first month, Nicole secured 142 gifts totaling $40,000, identified a planned giving prospect leading to a $25,000 commitment, and inspired a donor to convert their annual gift to monthly recurring support. This success demonstrates how autonomous fundraising can transform donor engagement in healthcare by providing personalized stewardship at scale while complementing human fundraisers’ efforts.

Presenters:

Daniel Sullivan, CFRE, Vice President & Chief Advancement Officer, Parkland Health Foundation

Adam Martel, CEO, Givzey

Join an operations leader from Cleveland Clinic as he shares the Clinic’s journey in developing an internal generative AI large language model (LLM). Discover the key challenges the team faced, how they overcame institutional hurdles, and the strategies that brought them to their current state of AI integration. This insightful and practical case study offers valuable lessons for philanthropy executives and senior operations professionals looking to explore or advance AI in their own organizations.

Presenter:

Travis Moore, Senior Director of Data & Analytics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Discover how we transformed our philanthropy efforts with AI! Join us as we share our journey of empowering a 300-member team to harness the capabilities of artificial intelligence in their everyday work. Learn how AI became a tool to enhance—not replace—the human connection, enabling us to increase efficiency while dedicating more time to building meaningful relationships with our donors. We’ll walk you through our step-by-step implementation process, timeline, and real-world examples that demonstrate how AI enriched our philanthropic impact. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights and inspiration for your own AI initiatives!

Presenters:

Jane Anderson, Senior Director, Strategic Content, Division of Philanthropy, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy Fund

Ed Testa, Associate Vice President, Information Services, Division of Philanthropy, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Join us for an insightful session where we delve into the transformative power of AI and data-driven KPIs in Major Gifts fundraising. Discover how our organization identified and addressed inequities in prospect distribution and optimized fundraiser portfolios to enhance productivity and efficiency. Learn about the actionable steps we took to set precise KPIs, redistribute prospects equitably, and prioritize outreach efforts. With compelling results showing increased metrics across the board, this case study highlights the importance of rich data in driving continual improvement and fundraising success. Explore our vision for an AI-powered future that promises even greater personalized engagement and enhanced donor insights.

Presenters:

Kristin Garrity, Vice President, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Academic Medical Centers, Mass General Brigham

Lisa Rebello, Associate Vice President, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Academic Medical Centers, Mass General Brigham

AI-driven tools are transforming healthcare philanthropy by optimizing donor engagement and fundraising strategies. However, when these models integrate multiple data sources—such as donor records, medical histories, and patient surveys—ensuring data integrity is vital.

This session will equip fundraisers, database administrators, and philanthropy professionals with practical techniques for end-user validation of AI tools. Attendees will learn how to detect biases, manage inconsistencies across data sources, and establish robust quality control measures that maintain donor trust and improve AI-driven insights. The session will also cover strategies for cross-validating AI outputs, monitoring model performance, and leveraging stakeholder feedback for continuous improvement.

By the end, participants will be empowered to play an active role in ensuring their AI-driven fundraising models are accurate, fair, and aligned with their organization’s goals.

Presenters:

Jane Freitas, bCFRE, Data Services Manager, GOBEL

Meagan Modell, Data Services Manager, GOBEL

Jocelyn Reilly, Senior Vice President, Services, GOBEL

Learn how Beacon Health is using the power of AI and automation to not only identify its most grateful patient prospects, but also create efficiencies through automation. This session will cover data segmentation, CRM automations, email nurture series, and other techniques that have proven successful in boosting gifts.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Learn to develop strategic plans for integrating AI-driven grateful patient fundraising in their organizations.

2. Learn effective donor data segmentation to identify high-potential grateful patient prospects.

3. Grasp basic AI and CRM integration to automate and enhance fundraising efficiency/revenue.

Presenters:

Ashley Teeters, Data & Sustaining Officer, Beacon Health Foundation

Michael London, CEO, London Automation

Discover how a hospital is revolutionizing major gift fundraising through the integration of AI-driven prospect research. Identifying potential donors is just the beginning—aligning their goals with the hospital’s strategic mission is the key to transformative giving. Join a discussion of how leveraging AI has empowered the hospitals major gift officers to achieve unprecedented success in their comprehensive $78 million capital campaign. Expect actionable insights for integrating AI into prospect research, driving efficiency, and achieving philanthropic goals.
Learning Outcomes:

1. Participants will acquire skills to develop efficiencies with operational functions specific to prospect research, including how to integrate AI into the research workflow.

2. Participants will acquire skills to strategize and evaluate their prospect research program, learning key tools and questions to ask.

3. Participants will receive a process document that they can adapt for their own organization and follow for prospect research workflow.

Presenters:

Julie Davis, Director of Operations and Prospect Research, Dayton Children’s Hospital

Kelley McGeehan, Principal Consultant, Conduit Philanthropic Intelligence Partner

Afam Omambala, Account Executive – Healthcare Lead, Xapien

The potential for AI in healthcare philanthropy can seem limitless, yet there are some challenges. Teams need to have an enabled AI environment, with great governance, data, tech, and processes in place. Teams need to evaluate novel applications and potential approaches. Teams need to ensure an emphasis on immediate results despite the potential of long-term utility apparent in AI applications. All of this requires experienced operations partners who can ensure that AI initiatives will be successful. This panel will explore the variables most common to successful AI initiatives, while uncovering the pitfalls to avoid.

Presenters:

Will Curtis, System Vice President, Philanthropy, CommonSpirit Health

Matt Turkington, Chief Operating Officer, Providence Health

Julia Gallagher, Vice President, Development Information Strategy & Operations, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Christopher M. Cannon, Chief Strategy Officer, Zuri Group

For executive leaders in healthcare philanthropy, the AI era demands more than trying new tools—it requires a fundamental shift in strategy, approach, and mindset. Drawing from the latest healthcare AI research specific to fundraising, we’ll explore how leaders can rethink organizational priorities, create cultures of innovation, and position their foundations to thrive in an AI-powered future. Attendees will gain critical insights and frameworks to lead with clarity and confidence, ensuring that AI serves as a transformative ally in achieving long-term impact. This session challenges leaders to move beyond reactive adoption toward proactively embedding AI into their foundation’s core strategic direction.

Presenter:

Cherian Koshy, CFRE, CAP, Vice President of Product Strategy, Kindsight

Join us for a quick yet powerful demo of Donor AI, BWF’s AI-driven solution designed to supercharge your fundraising operations. In just 30 minutes, see how Donor AI identifies high-potential donors, accelerates research, and empowers your team with actionable insights, all within your existing workflows. Perfect for advancement professionals ready to embrace smarter, data-backed fundraising.

Presenters:

Joshua LaBorde, Senior Managing Vice President, BWF

Alex Oftelie, Managing Vice President, Decision Science, BWF

Participants will discover how to leverage AI throughout the donor cycle to transform their fundraising practice. We’ll explore practical applications of AI that not only automate routine tasks but also provide deeper donor insights and enhance relationship building. A case study of how AI is being used at a healthcare system will also be featured.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understanding of AI tools and Best Practices, Privacy and Ethical Guidelines for Prompt Engineering

• Interactive and hands on opportunities to learn how to craft more personalized donor communications

• Recommendations on how to streamline workflows in development operations using AI

Presenters:

Bridget Murphy, CFRE, Principal, Graham-Pelton

Meredith Schneider, Vice President, Graham-Pelton

Mae Hinnant, Executive Director of Development, LifeBridge Health