--- title: Will AI Take the Fundraiser’s Job? description: Will AI take your fundraising job? Discover why cold outreach, face-to-face meetings, and trust-driven relationships remain essential in investment fundraising—and how AI can support, but never replace, the human connection image: https://blog.guicostin.com/hubfs/blogOne.jpg --- [![GuiCostinLogo](https://blog.guicostin.com/hubfs/GuiCostinLogo.svg) ](https://www.guicostin.com/) - [Books](https://www.guicostin.com/books) - [Podcast](https://www.guicostin.com/podcast-listing?hsCacheBuster=10754) - [Blog](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog) - [Be Kind](https://www.guicostin.com/be-kind) [![GuiCostinLogo](https://blog.guicostin.com/hubfs/GuiCostinLogo.svg) ](https://www.guicostin.com/) ** - (610) 764-0538 - (610) 764-0538 - [ Books ](https://www.guicostin.com/books) - [ Podcast ](https://www.guicostin.com/podcast-listing?hsCacheBuster=10754) - [ Blog ](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog) - [ Be Kind ](https://www.guicostin.com/be-kind) [ Fundraising Best Practices](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/tag/fundraising-best-practices) August 18, 2025 # Will AI Take the Fundraiser’s Job? [** ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.guicostin.com%2Fthe-gui-costin-blog%2Fwill-ai-take-the-fundraisers-job&url=) [** ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.guicostin.com%2Fthe-gui-costin-blog%2Fwill-ai-take-the-fundraisers-job) [** ](mailto:?subject=Check+out+https%3A%2F%2Fblog.guicostin.com%2Fthe-gui-costin-blog%2Fwill-ai-take-the-fundraisers-job&body=Check+out+https%3A%2F%2Fblog.guicostin.com%2Fthe-gui-costin-blog%2Fwill-ai-take-the-fundraisers-job) ** 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.   *Fundraising is a hard job. Dakota Marketplace helps make it easier. [Book a demo today.](https://www.dakota.com/calendar-blog)* ### Related Content ![](https://blog.guicostin.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Costin/Images/yellowArrowLeft.svg) ![](https://blog.guicostin.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Costin/Images/yellowArrowRight.svg) - ### [The Dakota Way](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/the-dakota-way) [ Read More **](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/the-dakota-way) - [ Leadership](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/tag/leadership) ### [The Rules We Made Up (And Why We Still Follow Them)](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/the-rules-we-made-up-and-why-we-still-follow-them) [ Read More **](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/the-rules-we-made-up-and-why-we-still-follow-them) - [ Fundraising Best Practices](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/tag/fundraising-best-practices) ### [Asking the Two Tough Questions - Why the Follow-Up Should Happen During the Meeting](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/asking-the-two-tough-questions-why-the-follow-up-should-happen-during-the-meeting) [ Read More **](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/asking-the-two-tough-questions-why-the-follow-up-should-happen-during-the-meeting) - [ Fundraising Best Practices](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/tag/fundraising-best-practices) ### [How to Leverage Cold Calling in Investment Sales](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/how-to-leverage-cold-calling-in-investment-sales) [ Read More **](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/how-to-leverage-cold-calling-in-investment-sales) - [ Fundraising Best Practices](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/tag/fundraising-best-practices) ### [The Magic of 25 Asks a Day: Why Consistency (and Rejection) Will Set You Up For Investment Sales Success](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/the-magic-of-25-asks-a-day-why-consistency-and-rejection-will-set-you-up-for-investment-sales-success) [ Read More **](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/the-magic-of-25-asks-a-day-why-consistency-and-rejection-will-set-you-up-for-investment-sales-success) - ### [The Top 7 Things a PE Deal Team Member Can Get Out of Dakota Marketplace](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/the-top-7-things-a-pe-deal-team-member-can-get-out-of-dakota-marketplace) [ Read More **](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/the-top-7-things-a-pe-deal-team-member-can-get-out-of-dakota-marketplace) - [ Fundraising Best Practices](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/tag/fundraising-best-practices) ### [City Scheduling for Investment Sales: The Most Effective Outreach Strategy You’re Not Using](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/city-scheduling-for-investment-sales-the-most-effective-outreach-strategy-youre-not-using) [ Read More **](https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/city-scheduling-for-investment-sales-the-most-effective-outreach-strategy-youre-not-using) [** (610) 764-0539](tel:%20(610)%20764-0539) [** Gui@dakotaLive.com ](mailto:Gui@dakotaLive.com) [**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/guicostin/) [**](https://www.instagram.com/allthingsfundraising?igsh=dWtueTcwdTVzbG5w) [**](https://www.youtube.com/@AllThingsFundraisingByDakota) ![GUI SIGNATURE-3](https://blog.guicostin.com/hubfs/GUI%20SIGNATURE-3.svg) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Gui Costin", "url" : "https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/author/gui-costin" }, "dateModified" : "2026-02-24T16:58:44.009Z", "datePublished" : "2025-08-18T15:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Will AI Take the Fundraiser’s Job?", "image" : [ "https://blog.guicostin.com/hubfs/blogOne.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.guicostin.com/the-gui-costin-blog/will-ai-take-the-fundraisers-job", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" }, "name" : "Dakota- guicostin.com" } } ```