War Child Canada operates in a complex humanitarian landscape where every fundraising decision directly affects children living through conflict. With limited time, lean teams, and rising donor expectations, the organization needed a smarter way to focus effort where it would have the greatest impact.

In this session, DeeAnn Sagar, a long-time professional fundraiser and former Senior Manager of Development at War Child Canada, joins Blackbaud Advisory+ consultant Kimberley Côté to share how War Child Canada embedded AI‑powered predictive analytics into their everyday fundraising strategy using Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT®.

Attendees will hear how War Child Canada moved from broad, manual segmentation to AI‑driven prioritization that supports human decision‑making rather than replacing it. Predictive models helped surface under‑giving major donors, identify lapsed supporters most likely to return, and guide targeted calling and direct mail strategies. These insights enabled the team to focus conversations where they mattered most, contributing to measurable outcomes including strong lapsed donor recapture and exceeding major donor upgrade goals.

DeeAnn will share how her team approached AI adoption thoughtfully, emphasizing transparency, stewardship, and trust, while ensuring insights remained explainable and actionable for fundraisers. Kimberley will provide context on how these tools are designed to support ethical, mission‑aligned fundraising.

This session offers a practical, peer‑led look at how responsible AI can help fundraising teams work smarter while keeping relationships and mission at the center.