Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to a kind of software that can perform tasks normally performed by humans. It can “learn” and become more efficient and useful over time as it incorporates the way you use it into its programming.
For many people, the term AI conjures up images of self-driving cars or robots performing surgeries. However, you may be surprised to learn that AI has been a part of your daily life for some time. For example, you use AI every time you use the predictive text feature on your smartphone, ask Siri or Alexa a question, or have spam emails filtered out of your inbox.
As a nonprofit leader, you may be thinking that AI isn’t a relevant topic to your organization. Perhaps you’re thinking that your organization is too small to use AI, that it’s not within your budget, or that you simply get along fine without it.
Many nonprofits struggle with budgetary limitations and small staff sizes. But by embracing technology, even very small nonprofits can increase their impact. Below, we will discuss some of the ways that AI can help your nonprofit save money, increase support and bring more attention to your cause!
Fundraising
Use AI tools like chatbots to engage with supporters and collect funds on social media, keep in touch with interested individuals and provide updates and information that keeps supporters feeling engaged and involved. Other AI software tools can collect information about your supporters’ giving patterns and attendance at fundraising functions. This information can be used to estimate future giving.
Transparency
Today many donors are demanding more transparency from the causes they support. AI can help nonprofits provide more precise spending data and program insights, without expending additional time and energy on collecting or analyzing that data. In the near future, this kind of transparency will be the expectation of your supporters.
Finance
You work hard to procure funds for your cause and any mismanagement of those funds could be a disaster. Financial AI tools can help to detect abnormal transactions, which minimizes risk of fraud and embezzlement.
Human Resources
You may be overwhelmed with the day-to-day operations of your nonprofit and could really use some additional staff, but you don’t have time to read hundreds of resumes. AI can match you with applicants that have the most relevant skills and screen out those that don’t meet the minimum requirements, thereby providing you with a small group of qualified people to interview.
Further Your Cause
AI has already had some amazing impacts on important causes. For example:
Animal Welfare: One animal rights organization is using AI to give park rangers the information needed to track and predicts poachers’ behavior and catch them before they strike again.
Health: AI was used to identify a woman’s rare form of leukemia by comparing her genetic information to millions of oncology studies in about 10 minutes. This resulted in a much more timely diagnosis and treatment than would have been possible manually.
Human Rights: Banks are using AI to review enormous amounts of financial transactions and other data for unusual patterns, which is being used to thwart human trafficking.
Using AI tools can help nonprofits with limited resources to create efficiencies in your internal operations and to increase community outreach to improve the overall performance of your organization.
What can AI do for you?