How to Connect Your AI Bot to FUNDesk Org

Last updated: February 2026

Your AI bot already manages your email, calendar, and whatever other tools you have connected. Adding your fundraising CRM to that list takes about 2 minutes. You generate a skill file inside FUNDesk Org, drop it into your bot config, restart, and you are done. Your bot can then create donor records, update gift opportunity stages, log notes on grant applications, and search your pipeline from wherever you already talk to it.

This tutorial walks through every step. No guesswork, no ambiguity.

Prerequisites

Before you start, you need two things:

A FUNDesk Org account. Sign up at fundesk.ai. You get a working fundraising CRM instance immediately, no infrastructure required. The web UI is your frontend for everything your bot adds.
An AI bot or agent. Any AI bot that can read skill files and make HTTP requests will work. Your bot should already be running and configured with a basic config file.

That is it. No additional dependencies, no paid services required. Your FUNDesk Org account works out of the box.

Step 1: Create an API Key

Your AI bot needs a way to authenticate with the CRM. API keys handle this.

Open your FUNDesk Org instance in a browser.
Navigate to Settings > API Keys (in the sidebar under your workspace settings).
Click "Create Key".
Give the key a descriptive name, something like ai-bot-production or bot-dev.
Click Create.
Copy the key immediately. It starts with fd_sk_ and looks like this:

fd_sk_a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6

Important: You will only see the full key once. If you lose it, you will need to create a new one. Store it somewhere safe.

Step 2: Open the Skill File Generator

In FUNDesk Org, navigate to Settings > FUNDesk Bot.
This is the integration configuration page. It knows your CRM's URL, your workspace schema (donors, grantmakers, gift opportunities, custom objects), and all available API endpoints.

You will see a 4-step wizard that generates a complete SKILL.md file for your bot.

Step 3: Generate the Skill File

The wizard walks you through four panels. Here is what each one does.

Panel 1: Base URL

The wizard detects your CRM instance URL automatically (e.g., https://crm.yourorg.com). Confirm it is correct. If you are running behind a reverse proxy or using a custom domain, update it here.

Panel 2: Authentication

Paste the API key you created in Step 1. The wizard embeds authentication instructions into the skill file so your bot knows to include the Authorization: Bearer fd_sk_... header on every request.

Panel 3: API Endpoints

The wizard includes all 19 API endpoint categories with request/response examples:

Objects (list, get, create, update, delete)
Records (list, get, create, update, delete, search)
Attributes (list, get, create, update, delete)
Record Values (get, set)
Tasks (list, get, create, update, delete)
Notes (list, create, delete)
Lists (list, get, create, update, delete)
Chat (completions, tool confirm)
Search (global search)
Workspace (get, update)
Members (list, invite, remove)
API Keys (list, create, revoke)
Views (list, get, create, update, delete)
Import (CSV import)
Notifications (list, mark read)
Activity (list)
Tags (list, create, delete)
Relationships (list, create, delete)
Analytics (dashboard, reports)

Each endpoint includes the HTTP method, path, example request body, and example response. Your bot reads these to understand exactly what it can do with your fundraising data.

Panel 4: Dynamic System Prompt

The wizard generates a system prompt section that describes your specific workspace: what objects you have (Donors, Grantmakers, Gift Opportunities, plus any custom objects), what attributes exist on each (last gift amount, giving level, donor segment, etc.), and what status/select values are valid (your cultivation pipeline stages, donor segments, campaign categories). This means your bot understands your fundraising schema out of the box.

Click "Generate Skill File" and the wizard produces a complete SKILL.md file. Click "Copy to Clipboard" or "Download".

Step 4: Drop It Into Your Bot Config

Create the skill directory if it does not already exist, then save the file:

mkdir -p ~/.config/fundesk/skills

Paste or move the downloaded file into the directory:

# If you copied to clipboard:
pbpaste > ~/.config/fundesk/skills/SKILL.md

# Or if you downloaded the file:
mv ~/Downloads/SKILL.md ~/.config/fundesk/skills/SKILL.md

Step 5: Add the Config Snippet

Open your bot's configuration file and add the CRM skill reference. If you already have other skills configured, add this to the skills array:

{
  "skills": [
    {
      "name": "fundesk-crm",
      "path": "~/.config/fundesk/skills/SKILL.md",
      "description": "Manage fundraising CRM data: donors, grantmakers, gift opportunities, tasks, notes, gifts received, and more.",
      "enabled": true
    }
  ]
}

If you already have other skills configured (such as Slack, Discord, or email), add the new entry alongside them in the same skills array. Save the file.

Step 6: Restart Your Bot

Your AI bot picks up new skills on restart. Stop the bot and start it again:

# Stop and restart your bot
# (exact commands depend on your bot framework)

On startup, you should see a log line confirming the skill was loaded:

[info] Loaded skill: fundesk-crm (19 endpoint categories)

If you see an error instead, double-check that the file path in your config matches the actual location of your SKILL.md file.

Step 7: Test It

Time to verify everything works. Open a conversation with your AI bot (in your terminal, chat interface, or wherever you normally talk to it) and ask:

List all objects in the CRM.

Your bot should respond with something like:

Here are the object types in your CRM:

1. Donors (slug: "merchants") - 14 attributes
2. Grantmakers (slug: "funders") - 10 attributes
3. Gift Opportunities (slug: "deals") - 16 attributes

You have 3 object types configured.

If you see Donors, Grantmakers, and Gift Opportunities (plus any custom objects you have created), the connection is working.

A Few More Test Commands

Try these to confirm the full range of operations:

Search:

Search for all donors in Texas.

Create:

Create a new donor called "Dallas Community Foundation" with primary contact "James Wilson" and phone 555-987-6543.

Update:

Update the Dallas Community Foundation gift opportunity stage to "Proposal Sent".

Fundraising-specific queries:

Show me all major-gift opportunities over $50k.

Tasks:

Create a task to follow up with Dallas Community Foundation next Monday about their pledge.

Notes:

Add a note to Dallas Community Foundation: "Donor interested in a $100k gift for the capital campaign. Has given for 4 years. Typical annual gift around $35k."

Your bot handles each of these through the REST API, using the authentication and endpoint details from the skill file.

Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized: Your API key is missing, expired, or incorrect. Verify it in Settings > API Keys. Generate a new one if needed, then regenerate the skill file.

Bot ignores CRM commands: Confirm the skill is in your config with "enabled": true and restart the bot. Check startup logs for the loaded skill confirmation.

Connection refused: Your CRM is not reachable from where the bot runs. Verify the base URL in the skill file matches your FUNDesk Org instance URL.

Stale schema: If you add custom objects or attributes after generating the skill file (for example, adding a new grantmaker field), regenerate it from Settings > FUNDesk Bot, replace the old file, and restart.

What to Try Next

Once your AI bot is connected to FUNDesk Org, here are some fundraising-specific workflows worth exploring:

"Show me all gift opportunities in the Proposal Sent stage and their total value." Your bot queries the pipeline, filters by stage, and gives you a summary without opening the CRM.
"Which grantmakers fund youth-education programs under $50k?" Combine grantmaker profile data with program requirements to get a targeted list.
"What did we raise from gifts received this month?" Your bot totals gifts received across the pipeline using the gift amount, designation, and campaign fields.
"Find all donors in Florida with gift opportunities that have been in Cultivation for more than 5 days." Identify stalled relationships so you can follow up before momentum fades.
"Create a donor record for the prospect I just spoke with and start a gift opportunity for $75k." Your bot creates both the donor and the gift opportunity in one conversation, linking them automatically.

The real power is not any single command. It is your bot working across all your tools at once, with the fundraising CRM as one of them. Your donors, gift opportunities, grant applications, gifts received, and tasks are now part of every conversation you have with your bot.

Start Free at FUNDesk Org | Documentation | API Reference

Related: