How AI Can Help Year-End Fundraising Overwhelm with Tommy Vacek

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Nov 10, 2025

In this conversation, Tommy Vacek, Chief Technology Officer at Bloomerang, explores how AI can transform year-end fundraising for nonprofits. He discusses the pressure points of donation season and offers practical solutions like automating tasks and personalizing donor communications. Tommy emphasizes the importance of ethical AI use, data privacy, and how AI tools like Penny can enhance donor segmentation and stewardship. With actionable insights, he encourages nonprofits to embrace AI as a partner, making their outreach more efficient and meaningful.

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INSIGHT

Year-End Pressure And AI's Role

Year-end giving compresses 30–40% of annual donations into a short window, creating acute pressure for nonprofits.
AI can shift staff time from low-value tasks to high-value donor relationships by accelerating analytics and execution.

ADVICE

Automate Donor Segmentation Safely

Use AI to automate donor segmentation by combining giving history, interactions, and events to create meaningful groups fast.
Anonymize donor data or use secure vendor integrations instead of pasting raw records into public LLMs.

ADVICE

Scale Personalized Appeals

Apply AI to craft multi-touch appeal plans and personalized outreach for each donor segment throughout November and December.
Use connected donor data to insert personal details and boost response rates over generic appeals.

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🪷Nonprofit Nation is supported by Bloomerang. Download their 12 Year-End Fundraising Checklists and get helpful templates to help you raise more. 🪷

This episode was recorded live on LinkedIn.

The final months of the year can feel like a sprint—and for nonprofit fundraisers, it’s often a marathon on top of that. Between Giving Tuesday, holiday campaigns, and meeting year-end goals, teams are juggling outreach, reporting, donor stewardship, and internal pressure to perform with limited resources.

But what if fundraisers could move from a place of overwhelm to a sense of abundance—not by working harder, but by working smarter?

In this episode of Nonprofit Nation, we’re diving into the power and possibility of AI with Tommy Vacek, Chief Technology Officer at Bloomerang. Tommy brings a unique perspective to this conversation—not only as a tech leader, but as someone deeply invested in building tools that amplify, not replace, human effort in the nonprofit sector.

Together, we explore how AI can become a trusted ally to fundraisers, especially during the high-pressure year-end season. From practical ways AI can lighten the lift—like automating repetitive tasks or drafting donor communications—to more strategic considerations around ethics and human connection, this conversation is full of actionable insights for nonprofit leaders looking to embrace AI with confidence and clarity.

Tommy also shares a behind-the-scenes look at how Bloomerang is approaching AI within its own platform, and how the company is working to ensure its tools are aligned with the values and real-world challenges of the fundraising community.

🔍 We Discuss:

Why year-end fundraising is a perfect test case for smart AI implementation
Real-world examples of how AI can support donor segmentation, appeal writing, and campaign optimization
How nonprofit professionals can upskill to stay ahead of the AI curve
Ethical considerations and how to keep technology aligned with trust and transparency
A sneak peek into how Bloomerang is integrating AI in ways that empower, not overwhelm, fundraising teams

🧰 Resources & Links:

Learn more about Bloomerang's AI tool: https://bloomerang.com/blog/meet-penny/

Connect with Tommy Vacek on LinkedIn

🪷🪷 This episode sponsored by Bloomerang! 🪷🪷

What if we named things for what they're not? We'd give teachers non-apples and fly non-cars. Ridiculous, right? So why is your world-changing organization called a "nonprofit"? Truth is you're for-purpose. And the more you raise, recruit, and retain, the more good you can do.

That's where Bloomerang comes in. Bloomerang's Giving Platform is built for purpose, with easy-to-use tools and powerful insights that help you understand your donors better than ever and unleash generosity! (Slightly faster, more energetic) Imagine... spending less time on admin tasks and more time on what mat

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