How Can Nonprofits Use AI?
Artificial intelligence is a complex area of technological development that we will not try to explain in full. Put simply, artificial intelligence combines computer science and vast amounts of data to solve basic and even complex problems. In the last few months, you have probably heard of Chat GPT or AI generally and may have heard how it can do many of the tasks that employees are asked to do, including writing creative works, crafting form documents, researching, and more.
Nonprofits often work on thin budgets and more often work to maximize their success while minimizing the resources used. The need for time saving, efficient tools in the nonprofit space makes AI a fantastic tool for boosting your mission. While AI has been around for a while, it has recently became widely available to the general public. Let’s take a look at ways a nonprofits can start using AI to pursue their mission.
Data Sorting
Here at NMBL, we love data. We let data drive everything we do and we think nonprofits should too. While many groups know that data can be key to success, they may not have the time, resources, or knowledge for gathering and analyzing data. AI can help nonprofits sort certain categories of data so staff members don’t have to. For nonprofits that don’t have the budget to have full-time employees with every skill a nonprofit could want, AI data analysis can help bring skills to the table that those nonprofits would otherwise not have. This automated sorting provides two benefits. It takes care of tasks that nonprofits may not have the time or resources to complete, and it can free up staff members to then take on other tasks.
Programs like Levity can support nonprofits by sorting communications, such as email and text messaging, based on the sender, content, confidentiality, urgency, and more. Other programs like Sisense or IBM’s Watson (both offer free trials so check them out today) can review donor data in order to feed nonprofits predictive analytics to inform a nonprofit fundraising (and therefore marketing) strategies. The programs can also organize data and allow nonprofits to create donor profiles that can support more targeted fundraising by knowing what donors are likely to give again.
It is important that nonprofits realize that AI can help to automate certain tasks but it doesn’t completely substitute an employee. Final review and approval from an employee is essential because even though AI is good it isn’t perfect. Additionally, nonprofits must be mindful of what data they run through AI programs because oftentimes nonprofits deal with sensitive data. Nonprofits should be sure to verify the security and safety of the programs they choose to use.
2. Creation Made Easy
Today, language models that are supported by reinforced leaning allow users to interact with AI in through conversation and receive answers to a variety of questions. Likely the most popular, Chat GPT allows users to simply type questions or requests into the text box and receive cogent and natural responses. Other programs like Canva Magic Write can help creators general text from simple ideas written in brief natural language. Other programs like Canva Text to Image or Adobe Firefly allow users to simply type in a natural language idea for which they want a visual representation, and the program will generate images based on the text cues.
Chat GPT and other language models are unlikely to write your blogs or other content for you, but with the proper coaching, an AI program can help make writing more efficient. It is essential that users review the work product of AI programs to ensure accuracy because these programs, while advanced, are not perfect and can make technical or factual errors. AI can be used to overcome writer's block or to generate the foundation of an article or blog. Using AI to overcome the friction inherent to the early stages of writing or creating content is immensely helpful to organizations where time and staff are precious resources.
3. AI-Powered Chatbots
Chatbots can allow a nonprofit to always have “someone” available to answer questions or assist with navigating its website even when your staff is not on duty. Chatbots can also free up already limited nonprofit staff to engage with other work.
You may have interacted with a chatbot on a website and been frustrated with repeated “sorry, I do not understand” responses despite rephrasing your question many times. Following interactions like these, many users will mistakenly discount the value of AI chatbots. Oftentimes, users run into dead ends like these because they are in fact engaging with a rules-based chatbot, not an AI-powered chatbot. Rules based chatbots operate on a pre-programmed system and can only answer questions that were anticipated and programmed into their design. Conversely, AI can be more dynamic, learning from conversations over time and being able to answer a broader array of questions. Additionally, AI can recognize complex problems and direct users to a staff member.
AI has been around for a long time but in recent years has advanced much more rapidly than before. It is a new frontier that provides a broad array of tools and applications that nonprofits can apply for their specific needs. Stay up to date with AI trends because they change rapidly and are becoming more widely available and user friendly every week!
With our 30+ years of nonprofit executive experience, the NMBL team can help nonprofits of all sizes maximize their return on investment and increase their impact on the world. Learn more about what we offer by reaching out to NMBL today.
