By Melissa Lagowski
Founder/CEO/Queen Bee
Big Buzz Idea Group
“Larger nonprofits, with annual budgets exceeding $1 million, are adopting AI tools at nearly twice the rate of smaller organizations (66% vs. 34%), underscoring a growing digital divide,” according to the 2025 AI Benchmark Report which appeared in the NonProfit PRO.
If you have been too busy to look into what artificial intelligence (AI) can do, you are missing an opportunity to gain valuable support. Nonprofit and association professionals can save time and increase efficiency in a variety of ways. Here are just a few ideas to get started:
-Data Entry: AI can automate the process of entering and organizing data, reducing manual effort. For instance, AI tools can extract information from forms, emails and documents, automatically entering it into databases or CRM systems.
-Document Management: AI-powered systems can help categorize and tag documents, emails and files, making it easier to find, retrieve and store them.
-Content: You can create and curate information for your social media posts, newsletters and communications. AI can assist in creating relevant content for your audience and search other resources that would be of interest to your followers. AI tools can also optimize the timing of posts and email campaigns for maximum engagement.
-When customizing a message to different audiences (i.e., volunteers, board, staff), you can upload the content and ask AI to rewrite the message for the intended recipients. AI can also change the tone of a message. Upload the written message and simply ask AI to make it more emotional, more compelling or more professional.
-Data Analysis: Have you ever collected a bunch of data and not been sure how to leverage it? Upload it to AI to instantly analyze the information and provide actionable insights. Nonprofits can use the information provided to adjust programs, improve service delivery and track key performance metrics more efficiently.
-Financial Management: You can upload your financial statements over a period of time and ask for insight into your financial forecast. Identifying financial trends can help your organization better prepare for the future by uncovering cost savings and identifying potential service providers who will fit within your budget.
-Development: You can customize messages and ask for an evaluation of your appeal ideas to see which might best fit with current giving trends best. Donor trends can also be uploaded and evaluated, although you should be careful not to include any *private or sensitive data*.
-Editing: Whether you are writing a proposal, an article or a presentation, AI can help edit your content for increased impact.
-Chatbots
These are just a few of the ways in which AI can be leveraged to save enormous amounts of time – allowing you to direct more attention to tackling your to-do list. We hope that you will lean into this technology so that you can focus on the tasks that have a deeper impact for your organization.
By incorporating free AI tools into their operations, nonprofits can optimize workflows, improve engagement and reduce administrative burden, allowing them to focus more on their mission.
*Be sure to NEVER share sensitive or confidential information with AI. And make any AI-generated copy your own by making edits.
