With limited resources and ever-expanding missions, leaders of nonprofits and associations face the challenge of maximizing their triple bottom line—balancing the social, environmental, and financial outcomes of the work. Serving members or constituents at a reasonable cost while delivering the highest impact is paramount.
The increasing availability of generative AI and automated tools presents a unique opportunity to do just that. By thoughtfully using these technologies, nonprofits and associations can enhance service delivery and optimize operations. But the question remains, “Where do we start?”
Become An Informed Skeptic, Make Low-Risk Mistakes
Most mainstream software providers are integrating AI into their platforms. Your team is likely already using AI for tasks ranging from writing assistance to workflow optimization. And people in your membership or partner organizations are doing the same.
In some form or another, AI is already part of your operational ecosystem.
To create effective policies and evaluate vendors, you need to develop an understanding of what you can and can’t trust these tools to do. In a recent Time article, author and teacher Rachel Botsman shared, “Business leaders need to innovate with AI because they’re scared of being left behind. At the same time, there is extreme caution not to move too fast because they understand the unintended consequences if they get it wrong.”
The way to work through that is with low-risk experimentation.
Set guidelines to protect privacy and intellectual property, and let your staff explore with the understanding that mistakes are part of the process. Low-risk experimentation will help you develop a realistic view of AI’s potential and limitations. When the time comes to implement organization-wide policies or choose a major technology partner, you’ll know the types of questions to ask, the pitfalls to watch out for, or the experts to pull in.
Experiments To Try
Here are some ways to experiment with where AI can enhance your work and save time and resources. Remember that AI is most effective as a tool to augment, not replace, human judgment. Never let an unaccountable algorithm make critical decisions for you. (For a look into one association leader’s approach to integrating AI, read Embracing AI with Kraig Conrad of NCMA.)
Efficiency Gains
Efficiency is a cornerstone of resource stewardship. Generative AI and process automation can save valuable staff time at a low financial investment. Try using publicly available large language models (LLM) like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini for tasks like generating ideas, creating outlines, summarizing research, analyzing and comparing data, documenting workflows, etc.
Many software platforms, like Microsoft Office, have had built-in automation for years and now offer AI features. You may be able to reduce the time it takes to create standard documents and presentations and even improve the quality of the work by learning more about the tools you already have.
It’s important to note that anonymizing information and privacy controls can help guard against exposing sensitive data through AI. But even with safeguards in place, you need to protect your intellectual property. A good rule of thumb is if you don’t want the information out there, don’t upload it to a publicly available model.
Information Fidelity and Precision
AI can capture and synthesize information with more precision than human memory alone. Record important conversations with AI transcription services that have natural language processing features. This will enhance your team’s ability to distill the information without losing essential details. There is an array of secure options that won’t train AI models from your conversations. Our team uses Fireflies.ai.
Expanded Perspectives
We are all prisoners of our own experience. Generative AI can serve as a thought partner to challenge your thinking and help you consider different points of view. As you develop decision support frameworks, education materials, and other resources, use AI to suggest alternate approaches, view the materials through the lenses of different audience segments, etc. Prompt the AI to be a skeptic, act as a competitor, point out inconsistencies, or debate the merits and drawbacks of your thinking.
For excellent guidance in using an LLM as a thought partner, check out Coursera’s Navigating Generative AI: A CEO Playbook. The three-hour course has completely changed how the Staffing Advisors team uses generative AI.
Interactive Content
To exert influence, you have to deliver information in the format your stakeholders find most useful, which varies across audiences. A book, a white paper, and a briefing could convey the same content, but the information loses value if the format doesn’t match the audience’s needs.
People want faster, easier access to the most relevant information possible. Consider the potential of using generative AI to make your content interactive and conversational with a secure chatbot trained on your data. Several association leaders have reported great results using BettyBot.
Think About Future Implications Now
Generative AI and automation present powerful opportunities for associations and nonprofits to streamline operations and deepen their impact. But successful adoption requires more time, planning, and experimentation than many expect. To get ahead of the curve, consider how these tools could fit into your strategic framework, budget, and privacy and technology policies now.