This toolkit brings together Natalie Bergstrasser’s complete approach to using AI for fundraising: from finding new philanthropic prospects to building a custom GPT loaded with your organization’s voice and documents.
From the Helia Library — based on the article Hold My Beer: AI Skeptic Turned Power User, from our Coffee Chat with Natalie Bergstrasser.
What’s Inside
Three resources, meant to be used in whatever order fits where you are. If you’re staring at a blank funder list, start with 01. If you’re ready to stop rewriting the same grant in 17 different voices, start with 02. If you’re building a knowledge base from scratch, 03 is your foundation.
01 — The Finding Funders Guide
A step-by-step guide with copy-paste prompts for generating, organizing, and verifying a funder list tailored to your organization’s programs and geography. Use this when you need new prospects and don’t know where to start — or when your current list has gone stale.
02 — How to Create a Customized Organizational GPT
A practical guide for building a custom ChatGPT trained on your team’s tone, templates, and real work — so AI outputs sound like you, not a generic chatbot. Use this when you’re ready to stop rewriting every AI draft from scratch.
03 — How to Build Your AI Knowledge Base Using Rick Mulready’s C.O.R.E. Framework
A framework for gathering and organizing everything your AI assistant needs to actually understand your work — constraints, examples, resources, and process. Use this before you build any custom GPT, or when your current one keeps missing the mark.
When resources and templates aren’t enough
These tools will help you use AI for fundraising and get your organization’s voice into your AI outputs. What they can’t do is help you think through your overall funding strategy, figure out which funders are actually worth pursuing for your specific context, or build more sophisticated AI systems for your team. If you’re staring at a budget gap or a grant deadline and need more than a template — that’s usually when having a thought partner makes the real difference.
If you want help with AI or Fundraising
If you want help with fundraising strategy or custom AI tools, Natalie Bergstrasser offers hands-on fundraising strategy support, custom GPT creation, and AI training tailored to your nonprofit’s voice and values.
She’s a good fit if:
- You’re a nonprofit working with vulnerable populations and want fundraising support that’s rooted in your values
- You want someone to build and train a custom GPT for your team, not just tell you how
- You’re preparing for a major grant push and want a thought partner, not just a template
