AI for Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy
Dates
4 Nov 2026 -11 Nov 2026
Course Type
OnlineLength
2 x half daysPrice
£82.50 + VATLevel
Suitable for all levels
AI for Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy
Artificial intelligence tools are developing rapidly, and arts, culture and heritage fundraisers are increasingly encountering new opportunities and challenges around how these technologies might support their work. AI can assist with research, writing, planning, analysis and communication, but it also raises vital questions around accuracy, bias, confidentiality, copyright, environmental impact and responsible organisational use.
This practical course is designed to support arts, culture and heritage fundraisers to better understand current AI tools and explore how they might be used thoughtfully within fundraising and philanthropy context. The session will introduce key AI concepts and terminology in an accessible way, while focusing on practical fundraising contexts such as donor and prospect research, bid development, reporting, communicating impact, and turning complex organisational information into clear and compelling narratives.
The course takes a neutral and critically engaged approach. Rather than presenting AI as a fixed set of answers or shortcuts, it will help participants build the confidence, judgement and shared language needed to experiment safely, evaluate outputs carefully, and make informed decisions about where AI may or may not be useful in their own work.
Who is it for?
This course is for arts, culture and heritage fundraisers who want to better understand AI and its possible relevance to fundraising and philanthropy. It is suitable for people working across trusts and foundations, individual giving, development, communications, leadership and small-team fundraising roles.
It will help you:
- An accessible introduction to current AI tools and key terminology
- How generative AI tools create text, images, video, audio, code and research outputs
- How AI can support fundraising tasks such as research, drafting, summarising, planning and communicating ideas
- Practical examples connected to donor research, reporting and impact communication
- How to use AI to explore and organise complex information while maintaining critical judgement
- Prompting approaches that support clearer, more useful and more reliable outputs
- The limitations and risks of AI, including accuracy, hallucinations, bias, copyright, data protection, confidentiality and environmental concerns
- How to think about responsible AI use within an arts, culture or heritage organisation
- Hands-on demonstrations and guided activities to support confident, independent exploration
By the end of the course, participants will have a stronger understanding of what current AI tools can and cannot do; a clearer sense of how AI might support fundraising; practical starting points for experimenting with AI in research, writing and communication tasks; and a more confident approach to assessing risks, limitations and organisational responsibilities.
This course will be delivered virtually via Zoom in two separate 2.5-hour sessions. The first of these will take place on Wednesday 4th November from 10am to 12.30pm and the second will take place on Wednesday 11th November from 10am to 12.30pm. It is necessary to attend both sessions to complete the full training.
Alongside access to this live course, you will receive follow-up resources and guidance from Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy, as well as access to our alumni network, offering first-hand insights of new opportunities and discounts on future courses.
Price
The cost of this five-hour online course is £82.50 + VAT.
A concession rate of £55 + VAT is available for freelancers and organisations with a turnover of £500,000 or under. To access the concession rate, please email artsfundraising@cause4.co.uk
Package Deal! Book four courses for the price of three. Whether you are booking four places on one course or four separate courses, pay for three and get the fourth completely free! Just get in touch with us at artsfundraising@cause4.co.uk once you have booked and paid for your first three spaces to receive your free code!
Refund Policy
Please see https://artsfundraising.org.uk/courses/ for our refund policy
We believe everyone in the cultural sector deserves access to fundraising skills. That’s why we offer a low-cost entry point to our arts fundraising training programme via our £10 bursary tickets. If you’d like to receive a bursary ticket, please complete this form and we’ll be in touch with more details.
Trainer: Jocelyn Burnham
This course will be delivered by Jocelyn Burnham, founder of AI for Culture. Jocelyn is a leading independent artificial intelligence communicator, workshop leader and speaker, specialising in AI learning for the creative and cultural sectors through creativity, playfulness and critical discussion.
She has been commissioned by organisations including Arts Council England, Tate, The Church of England, Historic Royal Palaces, Art Fund, Shakespeare’s Globe, RADA, Kew and Bloomberg Philanthropies to produce bespoke AI workshops and resources. Jocelyn has also delivered talks and lectures for organisations including the Royal Academy of Arts, The Open University, The British Library, The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, The London School of Economics, the University of Exeter and the Northern Ireland Science Festival. Her work focuses on helping arts, culture and heritage organisations build confidence, literacy and shared understanding around AI, while creating space to consider the ethical, practical and emotional questions these technologies raise.
Programme staff
