Using prompts from the prompt library
A prompt is a question you ask or instructions you provide to Gemini, your AI assistant from Google, to generate a desired output. This prompt library is a collection of example prompts related to common work streams at nonprofits. Remember to keep responsible AI practices in mind when using AI tools.
Here are some basic best practices when writing prompts to get help from Gemini
Use natural language
Chat with Gemini just like you would a friend or colleague.
- Instead of..."Qualitative data suggestions for nonprofits"
- Try this...“Suggest some ways to gather qualitative data like stories and testimonials to illustrate the impact our nonprofit has on first-time moms and their babies.”
Be clear and concise
Use precise instructions and avoid using ambiguous language.
- Instead of..."Donor email outreach."
- Try this..."Draft a short, non-intrusive email template to re-engage donors who haven't given to a nonprofit in the past year"
Provide context
Share context so your request is better understood and you generate a more useful response. Give Gemini background details about your nonprofit's mission, audience, and any relevant constraints.
- Instead of..."Write a blog post"
- Try this..."Write a blog post that generates empathy about advocating for women's rights and encourages donations to our nonprofit. Target the language at young adults."
Use specific and relevant keywords
Gemini can understand the meaning of individual words and phrases. Using specific and relevant keywords in your prompt will help the AI generate a more accurate and informative response.
- Instead of..."Draft interview questions for nonprofit volunteers."
- Try this...“Draft 5 engaging interview questions to use in the volunteer spotlight feature for our social justice nonprofit’s website.”
Break down complex tasks into separate prompts
If you want Gemini to perform several related tasks, break them apart into separate prompts. This helps Gemini understand the task and provide useful responses.
- Instead of..."Generate some ideas for a nonprofit fundraiser and how to promote it."
- Try this..."I'm planning a fundraiser for 200 people supporting my nonprofit that focuses on creating and maintaining access to clean and safe drinking water. Suggest some ideas for the event.”
- “Draft an email template for the first idea to send to event attendees encouraging donations.”
- “Now create a 4-week promotional timeline for this idea with a mix of online and offline outreach tactics.”
Have a conversation
Don't feel limited to a single prompt. If Gemini's response is helpful, continue with follow-up prompts to refine it to match your nonprofit's voice and goals. Iterate and experiment with different wordings to find the best results
- “That feels too sentimental, can you tone it down a little in the blog post?”
Drive the conversation with data
If you have specific data available, include it in your prompts
- "Revise the social posts promoting our mentorship program to mention that 90% of participants graduate high school"
Prompt examples
The following prompt examples are organized into categories related to common nonprofit operations and tasks. You can use these prompt examples to guide your own prompt writing in Gemini.
For most examples, you can revise the prompts with details related to your nonprofit to provide context for Gemini. For example, in the first grant writing prompt, you could replace the nonprofit’s mission with your own nonprofit’s mission. You can also type follow-up prompts in Gemini when you want to revise or refine the output. You will find some examples of follow-up prompts in the prompt library.
Fundraising
- “Identify relevant grants that align with our nonprofit’s mission to protect the welfare of animals.”
- “Summarize this grant description to focus on the funder's specific interests and priorities.” Now copy/paste the language from the grant description into the chat, include the link to the website, or upload the relevant file.
- “Our nonprofit is applying for a grant from [funder]. Summarize the top 3 focus areas of importance to this funder using only the information from their website: [include URL]”
- “List different ways to thank nonprofit donors, including personalized letters and creative social media shout-outs”.
- “Outline strategies for increasing donor retention rates for a nonprofit”.
- “Write 3 compelling subject lines for an email requesting donations to help our nonprofit protect marine wildlife.” --- “Thanks, that’s great. Now write an email requesting a donation from a person who has contributed to this cause in the past.”
- “Outline a story arc for a fundraising campaign for a nonprofit that works to improve the lives of people affected by autism. Have the story arc build urgency and motivate giving.”
- “Provide 3 strong call-to-action examples suitable for a donation webpage for a nonprofit that provides higher education assistance for students of color.”
- “Generate concepts for a monthly giving campaign to increase recurring donations to help people and their caregivers deal with the impact of Alzhemier’s disease.”
- “Draft a short, non-intrusive email template to re-engage donors who haven't given to a nonprofit in the past year.”
- “Outline a social media campaign to promote a matching gift challenge grant for a youth leadership nonprofit. Emphasize how donations will be doubled.”
Fundraising Ideas & Events
- “Share creative, low-cost grassroots fundraising ideas for our small nonprofit that helps seniors in our community.”
- “Our nonprofit is hosting a 5K fundraiser for lymphoma research. Generate ideas for a social media promotion targeting fitness enthusiasts in Louisville, KY.”
- “Our nonprofit that focuses on responding to the lack of safe shelter for LGBTQIA+ youth wants to have a presence at local events in Denver. List events nearby and ideas for how our nonprofit can increase its visibility through these events.”
- “I'm planning a fundraiser for 200 people supporting my nonprofit that focuses on creating and maintaining access to clean and safe drinking water. Suggest some ideas for the event.”
- “Draft an email template for the first idea to send to event attendees encouraging donations.”
- “Now create a 4-week promotional timeline for this idea with a mix of online and offline outreach tactics.
Program Management
- “Identify 3-4 key metrics to track the success of a nonprofit youth education program. Explain why these are relevant.”
- “List factors our disaster relief nonprofit should consider when evaluating a potential partnership with another organization or business.”
- “Suggest anonymous and non-anonymous ways to gather feedback from the people our animal rescue nonprofit programs serve.”
- “Provide tips for effective time management for our small nonprofit team with many competing priorities.”
- “Explain some best practices for transforming data on our nonprofit program’s impact on the air quality in our community into clear and compelling visuals to share with donors.”
- “List the essential sections of an annual report for a nonprofit that focuses on the protection of our local natural resources.”
- “Suggest some ways to gather qualitative data like stories and testimonials to illustrate the impact our nonprofit has on first-time moms and their babies.”
- “Suggest some locations where our nonprofit could effectively advertise volunteer opportunities for providing arts programs and services in Arkansas.”
- “Explain what a comprehensive volunteer onboarding process for a nonprofit that works with at-risk youth should include.”
- “List low-cost ideas for expressing appreciation to animal shelter volunteers and keeping them motivated.”
- “Create a pitch for the program coordinator to persuade them to use the last idea.”
- “Suggest some strategies for nonprofits to find and utilize volunteers with specialized skills (graphic design, legal, etc.).”
- “Design a survey to help match volunteers' skills and interests with the program needs for a nonprofit that advances sustainable practices for work and life.”
Marketing
- “Write a blog post that generates empathy about advocating for women's rights and encourages donations to our nonprofit. Target the language at young adults.”
- “Generate attention-grabbing hooks for a nonprofit social media campaign about public education.”
- “Create an image with no words of a musical instrument with wings to include in the newsletter that raises awareness about a fund for musicians.” --- “These are close to what I’m looking for, but include more blue tones in the images.”
- “Suggest a good balance of content types (updates, impact stories, calls to action, etc.) for our nonprofit’s monthly donor newsletter supporting funding for musicians.”
- “Draft 5 engaging interview questions to use in the volunteer spotlight feature for our social justice nonprofit’s website.”
- “Suggest visually compelling ways to represent our early literacy nonprofit in social media posts or campaign videos.”
- “Generate images of open children's books in a colorful and inviting library to include in the social media posts.”