Will AI Replace Fundraisers? Why Human Connection Still Wins in Fundraising

August 18, 2025

Will AI Take the Fundraiser’s Job?

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The question everyone seems to be asking right now is: “Will AI take my job?”

Looking back on my fundraising career, which began in 1997, I’ve spent the majority of it fundraising for boutique investment firms. From day one, my philosophy has been simple: cold outreach and face-to-face meetings with potential investors.

When you study the fundraising business, a few things become clear. It’s an opaque and non-transparent industry, with tens of thousands of pools of capital around the globe and just as many investment ideas competing for attention. Allocators are bound by fiduciary responsibility, and while there have been many attempts to build two-sided platforms to match investors with managers, none have ever truly taken off.

Why? Because investments are sold, not bought. They require deep diligence, human interaction, and trust. At the end of the day, allocators need to meet the people behind the strategies they consider... real human beings making real investment decisions.

That’s why the only way to raise money has always been, and continues to be, cold outreach and face-to-face interaction. And that is something AI cannot disrupt.

Don’t get me wrong, AI will make aspects of the job easier. Research, note-taking, summarization, and copywriting will all become faster and more efficient. But investors will still need to perform their own diligence. That means talking directly with the “wizard behind the curtain”: the salesperson, the portfolio manager, the investment professional. It’s a people-first, relationship-driven business.

So, to all my colleagues in the fundraising world: unless the very definition of fiduciary duty changes and investors no longer need to meet the people making the investment decisions, our careers remain safe. If we stay committed to cold outreach, building relationships, and showing up face-to-face, we’ll remain essential to the process.

The personal connection will always be paramount.

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