AskGive & Building Trust with AI - Jeremy Kirshbaum & Ezra Vázquez-D’Amico

How can AI actually increase donor trust rather than erode it? In this conversation, Bennett Weiner (President & CEO, BBB Wise Giving Alliance) speaks with Jeremy Kirshbaum (Founder, Handshake) and Ezra Vázquez-D’Amico (Director of Digital Partnerships & Strategy, BBB Wise Giving Alliance) about AskGive—Give.org’s AI Powered Donor Advisor that helps people make wise, trust-centered giving decisions using Give.org’s vetted resources. 

To draw out broader lessons on AI for the charitable sector, we cover why AskGive was built, how brand-safe AI is different from a generic chatbot, and what’s next (structured charity data for cause-based discovery) while keeping donors—not algorithms in the decision seat.

Key takeaways

- Trust by design: AskGive only draws from Give.org’s vetted content (charity reports, standards, advice), aligning AI answers with BBB Charity Standards and avoiding unverified sources.

- Brand-safe AI is not the same as a generic chatbot: Tone, accuracy, and “no ranking charities” guardrails were co-designed with staff (from subject experts to frontline donor support) to reflect Give.org’s culture.

- Help donors act, don’t decide for them: The tool surfaces facts, standards results, and advice—then puts the final choice back in the donor’s hands.

- Cause-based discovery for new donors: Younger/values-driven givers can start with “I want to support animal welfare” and move into credible options without already knowing a charity’s name.

- The Path From 70% to 100%: Spinning up a chatbot is easy; getting to on-brand, brand-safe, reliable, repeatable guidance takes custom work, evaluation checklists, and ongoing monitoring.

- What’s next for AskGive: Structured data queries (e.g., “Show me five BBB Accredited environmental charities in my state”) to give donors more relevant, self-directed ways to explore.

Why this matters for nonprofit professionals and people who care about social good 

- Practical AI path: Start small with mission-critical content, define tone/guardrails, and set evaluation criteria early.

- Trust signals win: Transparent sourcing and standards-aligned answers reduce friction for donors and strengthen credibility.

- Human-centered by default: Keep people in the loop—let AI inform, not decide.

Try AskGive: https://give.org/askgive