Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard about artificial intelligence (AI). Generative AI use has exploded in recent years. According to Giving USA, about 58% of nonprofits use AI as part of their marketing efforts, while 68% use it to analyze constituent data.
AI isn’t limited to marketing. It can also be used in finance and accounting, operations, and other departments. It has the potential to help you do more in less time, which sounds like every nonprofit’s dream, right?
Before you jump on the AI bandwagon, there are several things to consider. Below you’ll find tips for successful nonprofit AI adoption.
What Is AI?
AI is short for “artificial intelligence.” Early AI models were able to answer simple questions based on large databases—think of online chatbots, for example, which were really early-generation AI models. From 2023 on, the world came to know generative AI, another AI model that leverages large datasets. However, generative AI doesn’t just answer simple questions. It can combine multiple data sources to generate new answers. The latest AI model, agentic AI, can perform tasks. Agentic AI can act autonomously to achieve complex goals, all without human intervention. Think of agentic AI as “set it and forget it” —you set the rules, and if it’s working right, it follows these rules to perform complex tasks.
AI Models, Public and Private
There are many AI models and platforms available to the public now. These range from the ubiquitous Microsoft CoPilot, Chat GPT, Perplexity, and Claude models that perform searches, answer questions, and generate text-based responses. Many of these models offer a public (i.e., free) version and a paid version.
Smart Steps to Add AI to Your Nonprofit’s Technology Stack
Before adding any and all AI platforms to your nonprofit’s list of technology, there are several considerations. Take these smart steps before adding AI to your nonprofit tech stack.
- Choose your goal. Why do you want to add AI to a particular process? Is it to save time, do more, or add to an existing process?
- Look at what you have already. Many software companies have added AI to existing subscriptions. For example, Microsoft added Copilot to its suite at no extra charge. Canva, a popular cloud-based graphic design platform, has added AI-image generation to its paid platform. Before investing in new AI software, explore the options available in your existing subscriptions. Do they meet your goals?
- Determine governance and guidelines. It is important to set the rules now for AI use before your team jumps in. How do you wish AI to augment workflows? Who can use it and how? For example, one organization created a very specific AI governance policy that explicitly allows staff to use AI for brainstorming, researching, and creating outlines, but never for original content generation. That must be done by a person. Most organizations also state what can, and cannot, be shared with AI models. For example, any documents already in the public domain, such as marketing materials, may be uploaded to an AI platform, but never proprietary information or financial information.
- Examine and clean data. If you’re going with an internal AI platform, such as an internal, organization-wide Microsoft Copilot initiative, the old adage “garbage in, garbage out” still holds. AI that can access your company’s folders must have clean, duplicate, and error-free data (and documents) upon which to base its responses. It cannot, for example, distinguish between version 5 and 6 of an HR policy; it will use both to create a new document if you have both within your files, even though you know that version 6 supersedes version 5. It takes time to go back and clean out old files, but it’s a much-needed exercise to prevent internal AI models from making mistakes.
- Improve AI fluency. Using AI requires skill and time. How will your team learn how to create prompts, for example? Be sure to factor in training for teams that will use AI. They must learn not just when and why to use AI but how to use it responsibly.
Responsible AI Use Starts at the Top
Responsible AI use starts at the top of the organization. Leadership must guide the entire team proactively in the appropriate use of AI tools and platforms. Establish guidelines, training protocols, and more now.
Welter Consulting
Welter Consulting bridges people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We offer software and services that can help you with your accounting needs. Please contact us for more information.
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