A fundraiser
Most providers know the tech. Darren also knows the sector and how to work with trustees. Twenty years in fundraising, three across five continents.
About
Meet Darren Richards
Founder of Charity AI Partners. The AI lead charity leaders turn to when AI feels like a question without an answer.
The founder
A fundraiser first, an AI advisor second
Darren Richards is the founder of Charity AI Partners. He helps UK and international charities raise more money, find more donors and keep them giving for longer, with AI kept firmly under human control.
He spent more than twenty years in charity fundraising and leadership, the last three working across five continents. He has mobilised thousands of volunteers, led teams that have raised millions, and advised CEOs, directors and trustee boards on strategy and income growth. Then he turned his focus to AI for the charity sector.
Darren did not come to AI as a coder; he came to it as a fundraiser. He speaks ‘charity’. Many AI consultants in this sector come from IT or systems backgrounds. Darren knows where AI actually grows income: spotting who is most likely to give, finding more people like your best givers, keeping supporters longer, and getting the ask itself right.
He also takes complex AI ideas, and the decisions boards need to make, and puts them in plain language that trustees and your team can act on confidently.
The question facing charity leaders is not whether their charity uses AI. It is whether leadership is guiding it, or simply watching it happen. That conviction shapes every engagement: humans lead, AI scales.
He is the author of The Plane Parable and Breaking the Chain, and host of the Someday Arrival podcast. Online, he is known as @CharityAIGuy.
In Darren’s words
Watch the launch
A short introduction to why Charity AI Partners exists, and what it means to lead AI rather than simply adopt it.
What makes this different
Trusted, proven and experienced advice from a charity professional
Not a technology sales pitch. Clear, board-ready thinking from someone who has carried the same responsibilities you do. Think of it as decision insurance for the choices that matter most.
A peer
A trusted peer who has sat where charity leaders sit, and speaks their language.
Plans your board will sign off
Everything you leave with is written for a trustee board to read, question and approve. No jargon. Clear, plain-English decisions you can defend.
Beyond the consultancy
Author, host, and voice for the sector
Darren writes and speaks to help charity leaders think clearly about a fast-moving moment.
- Author of The Plane Parable and Breaking the Chain, available on Amazon and Spotify
- Host of the Someday Arrival podcast, on YouTube and Spotify
- Writes for Third Sector magazine
- Over twenty years in charity fundraising and leadership
- Three years working across five continents
- Known online as @CharityAIGuy
Darren’s thinking has featured on The Nonprofit Show in the US and in Third Sector in the UK.
“Darren’s book is both influential and educational. It’s challenging my perspective on how I view leadership whilst giving me practical tools on how to effectively lead my team.” — Romanah Buchanan, TEDx speaker and founder of ELOQUENT
What charity leaders say
“Darren’s clear-eyed vision allows him to connect the dots in innovative ways that really move the needle forward. He played a pivotal role in advising us when we were at a cross-roads decision on a new project, helping us to clarify our vision and purposes. He’s a fount of knowledge on all things leadership, strategy and fundraising related. Always positive and encouraging, but not afraid to challenge and ask difficult questions when needed, Darren is our go-to person whenever we need to think aloud on a new project or strategy.”
Susie Hart MBEFounder of Artizan International
“Darren has an exceptional ability to turn strategic thinking into reality. Give him a complex challenge and he comes back with a clear plan and the energy to carry people with him. I’d put him in front of any leadership team without hesitation.”
Geoff Baxter OBE
“Darren is a creative and passionate professional with a lot of marketing, fundraising and communication skills under the hood. His ability to combine passion for the mission with profound strategic insights as well as operational activities is a great combination.”
Stefan SonessonNational Director, Mercy Ships Sweden
Why we do this
Our vision
A world where
every charity is human-led,
every mission is fulfilled with integrity, and
every supporter is treated with dignity.
What we stand for
Three values, held without exception
Human leadership
Humans set direction. AI scales what humans decide. The order is never reversed.
Integrity
Honest framing, honest pricing, honest recommendations. Alternatives are always named.
Dignity
Every supporter is a person, not a record. Every charity leader is a peer, not a prospect.
Start the conversation
Talk it through with Darren
A focused discovery call to assess fit. If it is not right, he will say so. If it is, you move quickly.