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Nonprofit professionals know that working at a mission-driven organization isn’t easy. While nonprofit work can provide deep purpose, many teams contend with minimal resources, which can result in employees wearing many hats at once.
As artificial intelligence (AI) grows more sophisticated and accessible, many organizations may wonder how to leverage this technology to help streamline complicated, time-consuming, or challenging tasks.
From analyzing complex datasets to sparking graphic design creativity, when used responsibly, artificial intelligence tools can improve efficiencies, help teams collaborate better, and reduce tedious manual work.
Here, we outline several tools that leverage AI technology. Many nonprofits may find these resources useful to incorporate into their tech stack.
As with all AI tools, it’s important to acknowledge the potential shortfalls of artificial intelligence, which can range from unintended bias to lack of transparency. (Check out our conversation with the Responsible AI Institute to learn more about the possibilities and potential pitfalls of AI for social impact.)
Explore the following AI tools for nonprofits below.
1. Create beautiful designs with Canva
Canva is an easy-to-use graphic design tool that enables team members to collaborate on projects that require visual art. Recently, Canva introduced an AI-powered Magic Studio with tools that can help generate graphics according to use case (such as social media templates), tone, colors, and category.
We particularly love the AI functionality, Magic Morph, which allows users to feed text-based prompts into the AI and receive design ideas in seconds.
2. Edit text with Grammarly
Whether you want to double-check the grammatical accuracy of your blog or need a gut check on an important email to donors, Grammarly has your back. Grammarly is an application that automatically “reads” any written content, and provides helpful suggestions to clarify your writing style or fix errors.
This year, Grammarly launched a generative AI feature called GrammarlyGO that can produce writing according to detailed prompts. Give it a try!
3. Write with ease with ChatGPT
Likely, many nonprofit professionals have already experimented with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the highly sophisticated natural language processing tool that can help compose essays, code, emails, blog posts, presentation copy, and social media captions. ChatGPT can also assist you in creating travel itineraries, marketing campaigns, fundraising campaigns, and more.
Here are several best practices to use ChatGPT effectively:
Write detailed prompts. ChatGPT is most successful when users write highly specific prompts. Include details such as use case, tone and voice, facts, user preferences, and context. Try talking to ChatGPT as if it’s a colleague: You’ll be more inclined to provide ample background information that can yield a useful result.
Ask ChatGPT to write from your professional perspective. ChatGPT can write you a poem in the voice of Shakespeare, write a speech like a pirate, and create a travel itinerary like a 14th-century Venetian explorer. But it can also write in the voice of a fundraising director, relationship manager, or marketing coordinator. Specifying your unique job position in your ChatGPT prompt can help the AI match the voice and tone that you’re seeking.
Use simple language. ChatGPT is most effective when you use short sentences and simple language in your prompts.
Always fact-check and edit. ChatGPT is an excellent tool — but it’s not perfect. Be sure to confirm any information ChatGPT feeds you with reputable sources. It’s also a great idea to edit all text for brevity and clarity.
4. Amplify your voice with Podcastle.ai
We know that nonprofits are experts in their impact areas. And podcasts are an ideal way to share this deep knowledge with a wider audience.
If podcasting for social impact is in your marketing plan, Podcastle.ai has a suite of tools that can make producing a podcast a cinch. You can use AI-assisted audio editing, remote recording, and even AI-powered voice cloning to launch a professional-sounding podcast with minimal resources.
5. Automate meeting notes with Otter.ai
A top tool for journalists, Otter.ai provides live transcriptions of recorded speech. More recently, the technology can listen in on your team’s meetings, and provide you key takeaways and action items. Notes and any associated slides can be automatically emailed to all meeting participants.
This can enable you to fully engage in conversations without the burden and distraction of taking notes.
Bonus: Otter.ai easily integrates into existing meeting platforms, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet.
AI for nonprofits
The technology mentioned above is a small sampling of the hundreds — even thousands — of companies that are leveraging AI to help make your nonprofit work easier.
Explore these tools to discover ways to better tell the story of your mission, connect with donors, plan fundraising campaigns, plan events, and more. They can help eliminate manual work so that your team can focus on propelling your mission forward with creativity and passion.