Overview
Slate AI System Instructions help institutions define the default behavior, tone, and boundaries that should guide AI-assisted work across Slate. For advancement teams, this is an important first step because AI may be used in contexts involving donor records, gift history, prospect strategy, stewardship language, and institutional communications.
Use System Instructions to give Slate AI a consistent operating framework before individual users begin prompting it in records, queries, dashboards, communications, or other workflows.
Why this is useful
Advancement work depends on trust, accuracy, and discretion. A fundraiser may ask Slate AI to summarize a donor record, an advancement services user may ask for help interpreting query results, and a communications user may ask for draft language. In each case, the AI should operate within the same institutional expectations.
System Instructions can help reinforce that Slate AI should:
Use plain, accurate language.
Avoid inventing donor data, policies, links, or metrics.
Distinguish confirmed facts from assumptions.
Respect the institution’s mission and constituent relationships.
Keep recommendations practical and grounded in available information.
This is especially helpful when Slate AI is used by many different roles across advancement. A shared baseline helps reduce inconsistent prompting habits and supports responsible use. Slate’s activity guide positions System Instructions as a configurable building block for reusable AI behavior, including options to apply instructions globally or in contexts such as HTML and Reader, with optional path matching for more specific areas of Slate.
How to configure System Instructions
Navigate to Database > Slate AI Snippets.
Click Insert.
Select Type > System Instructions.
Add a user-friendly Name.
Enter the instruction text that should guide Slate AI.
Select the appropriate Context:
Global applies broadly throughout Slate.
HTML applies when HTML popups are open.
Reader applies within the Reader tool.
Optionally add a Path Match if the instructions should apply only on certain Slate pages. Path matches should begin with
/manage.Save the instruction.
Sample Prompt
You are an AI assistant supporting advancement work in Slate. Help users communicate, analyze, and operate clearly, consistently, and responsibly. Prioritize accuracy, plain language, institutional mission, and respect for the people represented in the data.
Use only the information available in the current Slate context. Do not invent donor data, giving history, policies, links, metrics, or institutional decisions. If something is unclear or unavailable, say so and suggest what the user should verify.
When summarizing records, gifts, interactions, or query results, distinguish facts from assumptions. When drafting donor-facing language, keep the tone warm, professional, and human, and assume a staff member will review before sending.Recommended practices
Keep System Instructions broad enough to apply across many AI interactions, but specific enough to establish responsible behavior. Avoid overloading global instructions with process details that only apply to one workflow. Use snippets, dashboards, or bot-specific instructions for narrower use cases.
Review System Instructions with advancement services, communications, donor relations, and fundraising leadership before rollout. These instructions should reflect both data governance expectations and institutional voice.