Chinese American Service League · Internal Tool
Major Gifts Studio · For CASL Advancement

Patron.

The difference between output and correspondence.

Patron researches a prospect, frames the strategy, drafts in CASL's voice, and audits the result against six craft tests. From dossier to send-ready copy in one place. Built on codified fundraising practice, not generic AI.

Open the Studio  → See how it works
How it works · Four stages

From a name to a send-ready letter, in four passes.

Each stage is its own model call with its own job. The output of one stage feeds the next, and every stage shows its work.

I.

Dossier

Web search across public sources returns five to seven verified findings on the donor: employment, civic affiliations, philanthropic history, wealth indicators, and recent activity. Every finding is cited. Conflicts between sources are flagged for the fundraiser to resolve.

II.

Strategy

Patron sets the Linkage-Ability-Inclination rating, the Moves Management stage, and the Gift Table tier. If the dossier doesn't support the ask, Patron repositions the move before the letter is written.

III.

Draft

The letter, one-pager, or full proposal. Written in CASL's voice, grounded in CASL's programs and the Hub vision. Every donor claim cites back to the dossier with inline footnote markers.

IV.

Voice Audit

Six craft audits run against the draft. Flagged passages surface as accept-or-dismiss cards, each with a suggested rewrite.

After Barthes, Karr, Williams, Yagoda, Fish, Lanham.
Why this is different

Not another generic AI fundraising tool.

Most AI tools for fundraising train on what already exists on the open web. Patron trains on the practitioners who codified it.

The practitioners Patron is built on

Fundraising

  • Burk on what donors say they want back
  • Schervish on identification, not persuasion
  • Ahern on the donor as hero

Craft

  • Williams on making the subject do the work
  • Yagoda on stealing voices to find your own
  • Fish on what an opening line is for
  • Lanham on the read-aloud test
  • Karr on memoir's honesty contract
  • Barthes on the death of the author

What that means for the letter

A major-gift letter is not a marketing campaign. It is the closest professional analogue to a private letter from one trustee to another. The donor is the protagonist. The organization is the cause she enabled. The ask is specific, named, and not buried.

The voice audit at Stage IV is the part of the pipeline that most AI tools skip. It is the difference between output and correspondence.

Made for CASL

Built around CASL's four paths.

Every draft uses the names CASL uses internally. Not generic nonprofit copy.

Building on the wisdom of generations, CASL catalyzes the transformation of individuals, families, and the community for an equitable future. CASL Mission
Health
For seniors, caregivers, families.

Brain & behavioral. Family services. Preventative and coordinated care. The programs a donor like Margaret Yip cares about.

Education
Early, school, adult, caregiver.

Tutoring, ESL, workforce, mentorship. The programs that follow a CASL family across decades.

Human Services
Immigration, legal, housing, benefits.

The frontline services for new arrivals and elders. The expanded intake space the Hub will house.

Impact & Advocacy
Insight, action, advocacy.

The Anti-Hate Action Center. Policy work, research, and the public face of CASL's mission.

Begin.

Pick a preset donor to see all four stages run end-to-end, or enter a real prospect from CASL's portfolio. Drafts stay private; only the people on the Cloudflare Access list can reach the studio.

Open the Studio  →