Case Studies • READ TIME: 4 mins

How fundraisers are putting Bonterra Que to work

A volunteer facilitator points to a whiteboard listing donation items while meeting with a group of volunteers.

Fundraising teams are under constant pressure to raise more, move faster, and stay true to their mission. Whether they are a small team doing everything themselves or a growing organization managing complex, multi-channel programs, capacity is often strained. Bonterra Que is ethical AI built to meet fundraisers where they are, embedded directly into the tools they already use, and designed to help them act, not just analyze, with confidence.

This testimonial collection brings together what nonprofit fundraisers are saying about using the Que AI fundraising assistant inside Bonterra’s solutions today.

The shared reality fundraisers face

For many nonprofits, fundraising strategy and execution live with the same small team, or even the same person. Time is limited and knowing what to do next can feel overwhelming.

For larger and more complex organizations, the challenge looks different: coordinating teams, managing data across systems, and scaling campaigns without slowing down or losing consistency.

Across nonprofits using Que, a clear pattern is emerging. Fundraisers are saving time, gaining clarity, and improving how their teams work, without losing their voice, values, or control.

More confidence in what to do next with AI for nonprofit fundraising

Fundraisers consistently describe Que as a source of clarity and strategic guidance. Whether they are building confidence in day-to-day decisions or validating more sophisticated fundraising strategies, Que provides the insight and action needed to get it done.

For our annual appeal, we used Que's donor segmentation as a starting point, including suggested ask amounts, and combined that with team knowledge and personalization. Using Que's segmentation, we increased our revenue from that campaign by 41% year over year, from 2024 to 2025.

Merrin Bethel
Director of Marketing & Communications, Emmanuel Hospice
After using Bonterra Que’s fundraising coaching skills, I felt way more confident, especially as somebody new to fundraising. Que has allowed me to better craft communication to my donors and has made me a more effective fundraiser.

Josh Winfield
Engagement Coordinator, Crescent Cove
After using the coach, I felt very confident about tackling my fundraising tasks because it could pull real data from my database and help me make a strategic plan. [It uses] not only best practice fundraising techniques, but also real data from my database and my donors.

Allison Morrissey
Director of Philanthropy & Impact, Arts District Liberty Station
I used Bonterra Que to plan a March fundraising campaign from start to finish. I shared our goals, metrics, and criteria with Que and asked for strategy, a timeline, audience segmentation, messaging themes, and campaign initiatives. Once the plan is solid, I’ll plug it into EveryAction for workflow and automation.

Nia Richardson
Director of Communications & Engagement, Meals on Wheels Durham

For small teams, this confidence removes guesswork and anxiety. For larger teams, the same coaching capability shows up as strategic reinforcement — helping leaders pressure-test ideas and align teams around proven approaches.

Less time spent figuring things out

Beyond guidance, fundraisers point to the practical value of Que helping them move faster by acting, reducing manual work, and turning insight into execution. They rely on it to support tasks like email building and donor segmentation that can often take up a lot of staff time.

Que helps me understand our donor data in a way that’s easy to act on. I can break down our audience, dive deeper into the results, and personalize outreach without spending hours doing it manually.

Emily Archambault
Assistant Director, City of La Porte Park and Recreation
"During Giving Tuesday, I gave it a run because I was looking for some quick donor segmentation. I asked Que to segment my donors into more impactful groupings, and it did. I thought, oh, this is handy. Then, just like some of the prompts suggested, I asked what kinds of emails I should send, to create a schedule for me, and to make an end-of-year giving plan — which was really great.

Erin Angelo
Founder and Executive Director, Rx Ballroom Dance
It almost feels like another team member. Que lets us deepen our bench in a way that supports our fundraising goals without requiring a major investment in another person or tool. The human element will always be indispensable, but Que sparks creativity, asks challenging questions, and helps us continuously refine our strategies. It gives us intelligent, data-driven insights in a matter of moments, which makes it feel sustainable for the long term.

Merrin Bethel
Director of Marketing & Communications, Emmanuel Hospice
A tool like Que is going to make fundraising more effective for us and help us better target those potential sponsors and donors that are most likely to engage with what we’re doing.

Mike Christensen
Founder, Pass It On Outdoor
My organization was looking to have a digital year-end giving receipt to send to donors. So, I told Bonterra Que what I wanted it to say, and Bonterra Que created it in targeted email, and I could tweak it a bit. It also told me the merge fields I needed and now it's ready to go when we're ready to deploy. That was something I recently asked Bonterra Que to help with.

Nia Richardson
Director of Communications & Engagement, Meals on Wheels Durham

By not just analyzing data but acting on it — pulling lists, drafting emails, and building forms — Que helps small teams reclaim hours of manual work and helps larger teams streamline workflows across campaigns.

Support that still feels human

I had it write my year end letter based on some things I uploaded…It was a good letter…Came to my boss and you know, she added a few things to make it her own wording and was excited that she didn't have to rewrite a whole letter.

Kathy Bull
Director of Institutional Advancement, Piedmont School
It was pretty impressive that Que was already embedded in Bonterra Network for Good — not all platforms have AI features embedded right into it.

Development Specialist, Nonprofit Organization
I curate the message, AI refines it. I make sure content sounds like Meals on Wheels Durham by giving it our language, our tone, and our audience context…It’s a creative partner, not a replacement. I still own the thinking.

Nia Richardson
Director of Communications & Engagement, Meals on Wheels Durham

A common hesitation around AI in fundraising is the fear of losing authenticity, transparency, or human judgment. This rings true for both small teams protective of their donor relationships and larger organizations with established brand standards.

That’s why we intentionally designed Que to be AI that keeps people in control and understands the complexities of fundraising.

Why Que works differently:

Built with human-led controls, not automation-first defaults.
Designed so nothing is sent, built, or activated without review.
Grounded in Bonterra’s ethical AI commitments around transparency, accountability, and trust.

Being embedded into tools fundraisers already use saves time and builds trust, so they don’t need to move data or switch platforms. Human control comes from how Que is built, with clear explanations, reviewable recommendations, and people always making the final call.

Learn more about our approach by reviewing our Responsible AI Commitment.

Ethical AI that’s powered by years of fundraising expertise

Bonterra Que’s fundraising skills are embedded directly into Bonterras software,, including Network for Good and EveryAction. And it doesn’t just analyze — it acts. Que can help fundraisers pull donor segments, develop emails, build forms, and more directly inside the tools they already use.

What makes those actions credible is the foundation behind them. Que is powered by the Bonterra Network — years of real fundraising activity, coaching expertise, and anonymized data across thousands of organizations. That depth of experience means recommendations are grounded in how fundraising actually works, not generic assumptions.

I feel like the tone in Que is so much better than [generic AI], which I've used in the past for donor emails and newsletters. Que has a warmer, more genuine tone that's easier to send without having to edit, compared to [the other AI’s] generic tone. [Generic AI] just has its limitations, and people are becoming tone deaf to those generic platitudes. I can tell immediately when I receive a generic update from other nonprofits, but Que creates messages that don't sound generic.

Erin Angelo

Founder and Executive Director, Rx Ballroom Dance

A volunteer coordinator smiles while reviewing notes on a clipboard and talking with another volunteer in a park setting.

I already use AI, but Bonterra Que is even better because it pulls information directly from my system and uses industry knowledge that's more specific to what I need for fundraising and donor communications.

Nia Richardson

Director of Communications & Engagement, Meals on Wheels Durham

The specific skills available depend on the product and package in use, but the goal remains the same: help fundraisers save time, improve workflows, and scale their impact with confidence.

Take the next step

Across these stories, one thing is consistent: Que helps fundraisers move from insight to action without adding complexity or sacrificing control.

Whether you’re exploring Bonterra for the first time or looking to get more value from the tools you already use, Que is designed to strengthen the way you fundraise — from first campaigns to complex, multi-channel programs.

Explore Que in Network for Good software and EveryAction software.