Mondays are rough. It's scary times for Nonprofits. Your time is scarce. That’s why I created the Monday Motivational Minute. Each week, I’ll send you one high-impact, actionable idea to help you leverage AI and save time. It will always be a 1-minute read or less. If it adds value, great. If not, unsubscribe, but I’m betting you’ll want to stay. (Challenge Accepted ☺️)

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Happy Weekend Recovery Day,

SHE SAID, "I need more donors," jokingly. And I said seriously, "Here's what you do..."

I've been to many nonprofit events where the presenter says something like, "Let me know what you need, anything besides money, because everyone needs money." And I get it. We all desperately want an ATM we can smile at and it just spits cash.

But at the same time, it's TRUE, you do NEED money.

I was stuck in a similar situation where a nonprofit leader asked me, "What do you do?" I said I help nonprofits save time and money leveraging AI. Rightfully so, she said, "What does that mean?" So I said, "Give me one of your biggest pain points," and she said, "I need donors."

She didn't directly say "I need money," but I could hear the pain in her voice knowing how much a multi-year donor would save her big time. I also knew she didn't really believe I could help her. So I thought and thought. It felt like 30 minutes, but it was just one minute really really slow.

And it hit me... Eureka! (Well, I didn't say eureka out loud. That'd be weird.)

So I told her to do this, which I want you to do to...

Actionable Task: This replaces 5–10 hours of donor research with 5 minutes.

Step 1: Open Gemini(the free version works perfectly. You don't need to buy anything new for this!)

Step 2: Click on the "Open tools" icon, to the right of the (➕) in the chat

Step 3: Click on the "Deep Research" button and paste this prompt and edit to meet your organization’s needs (Heads Up, this is a long one):

"You are an expert nonprofit prospect researcher specializing in identifying high-capacity, mission-aligned donors.

My organization: [paste website or describe mission, budget size, geographic area, populations served]

Research and identify 10-15 potential donors (foundations, corporations, or individuals) who meet ALL of these criteria:

1. Mission alignment: History of funding organizations serving [your specific population - immigrants, refugees, vulnerable communities, etc.] in [your state/region]

2. Giving capacity: Evidence they can give at least $[your minimum threshold - e.g., $25K, $50K, $100K]

3. Recent activity: Made grants/donations in the past 12-24 months (active givers, not dormant)

4. Geographic relevance: Either based in [your state] OR have demonstrated interest in funding [your state] nonprofits

For each prospect, provide in table format:

| Prospect Name | Type (Foundation/Corp/Individual) | Why They'd Care | Estimated Gift Range | Recent Giving Examples | Best Contact Approach | Warm Intro Opportunity? |

After the table, rank your top 3 prospects and explain:

If contact information is publicly available (foundation websites, LinkedIn, nonprofit board listings), include it. Do not speculate on private contact details.

Focus on prospects I can realistically reach in the next 30-60 days."

Step 4: Press Enter and it may ask you to confirm the research. After confirming, whatch the magic happen.

Only if when this adds value and you want to schedule 15 minutes to chat, I can share my strategy on how to leverage AI to get those donors to close, but I hope this list is a great start:

My Calendar

Remember: Your relationship-building skills are perfect, you're just aiming at the wrong audience. AI doesn't make you less human. It makes your humanity more effective by connecting you with people predisposed to say yes.

I pray many blessings and donations go your way this year🙏🏾

#ExistToServe

P.S. Know another NPO leader holding it all together with grit and grace? If you find value in this, pay it forward. Forward this their way. We’re not meant to lead alone, and together, we go farther.

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Regis Arzu (he/him/his)
[email protected]
ETS AI Consulting | CEO
347.748.5078