Nonprofits are lacking the resources to fully utilize AI

"From where I sit, however, there are nearly 2 million reasons to be optimistic. America's 1.9 million nonprofits make up a fiercely resilient force for scaling impact to our toughest challenges. They deliver food and housing, safeguard youth wellbeing, respond to natural disasters, and fight for fairness and opportunity. They are trusted by millions of people across many topic areas-and they are built to move fast, adapt, and deliver under pressure."

"But they are facing barriers to the single most important tool to unlocking amplified impact: AI. In a recent survey of fundraisers, less than one-third of nonprofit respondents said they believe they have the resources to explore AI use in their organization, despite 82% identifying as users-and only 26% agreeing that they have the technical expertise to use AI effectively."

"AI is already proving it can cut grant writing and research time drastically, draft tailored fundraising materials at scale, and help smaller teams operate at similar levels of efficiency once reserved for large organizations. At its best, AI augments humans: It frees nonprofit leaders to spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time strengthening ties with funders, telling stories of impact, and delivering services to communities in need."

Uncertainty defines the current era, with pandemic-era fractures and ongoing political, economic, and technological disruptions increasing turbulence. America's 1.9 million nonprofits form a resilient force delivering food, housing, youth wellbeing, disaster response, and advocacy, and they remain trusted across many topic areas. Technology acts as a force-multiplier: nonprofits using technology report faster fundraising growth and greater readiness for disruption. Significant barriers limit AI adoption: fewer than one-third of fundraisers say they have resources to explore AI, 82% identify as users, but only 26% report sufficient technical expertise. Expanding AI capacity can augment human work, boost efficiency, and amplify frontline impact.

Read at Fast Company