How to Make the Most of Artificial Intelligence and Other Technologies: Advice From Experts – The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Technology is often presented as the solution to many problems for nonprofits reducing staff burnout, better targeting of fundraising efforts, and improving budgeting, to name just a few. It can help with all those things, but there are pitfalls to avoid.
The Chronicle invited tech experts Beth Kanter and Allison Fine, co-authors of The Smart Nonprofit: Staying Human-Centered in an Automated World, to a virtual forum to help nonprofit professionals better understand where investments in technology make the most sense and how to avoid some of the traps that ensnare the unwary. The session, Smart Tech: How to Use AI and Other Advances to Meet Your Mission, was hosted by Margie Fleming Glennon, director of learning and editorial products for the Chronicle.
As just one example of the power of technology, Fine cited the Rainforest Action Network, which used technology and reams of data to analyze the interests of new donors; it reached out to them in targeted ways intended to turn them into monthly donors, with phenomenal success. increasing the number of monthly donors by 866 percent.
We know that hitting the jackpot with donors is getting them to move from being a one-time donor to being a monthly recurring donor, Fine says. By customizing the communications, like what kind of story would interest this person, they were able to make that leap for those donations.
Read on for highlights of the discussion, or watch the video to get all the insights Kanter and Fine shared.
Dont let past bad experiences get in the way. Fine says that nonprofits experience with social media, which can be very noisy and produce a lot of data that isnt always helpful, may have soured them on the next waves of technology.
We know technologys not a panacea for the problems that organizations have, Fine says. But Kanter and Fine say that the right kinds of technology, if applied well and monitored carefully, can improve a nonprofits fundraising while making life better for its employees. Technology is too powerful and its potential to improve the world too great for anyone to sit back and say its not their thing, Fine says.
Kanter adds, We have this great moment, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to remake, revitalize, and rehumanize nonprofit work, and well all benefit.
Start small and learn as you go. If you freeze up when the topic turns to tech, do whatever is necessary to get comfortable with it, says Fine. Find a friend who can mentor you. Read a book. Take advantage of the learning opportunities NTEN, a group of nonprofit professionals focused on technology, has to offer. You cannot just leave the idea of automating systems and processes just to technical people, says Fine.
As you get started, take the time to make sure the technology is ready when you roll it out. Test it on a small group of users to get their feedback and make improvements, says Kanter.
Be as selective about technology as any other aspect of your organization. Do your own research, check online reviews, and ask peers about their experience with any tech product.
For example, Kanter says several automated programs can be bought to analyze websites and recommend ways to make them more accessible to people with disabilities. A nonprofit she was advising discovered through a simple online search that the seller of a product the nonprofit was considering was the subject of lawsuits filed by disability-rights organizations citing problems with the algorithm the software used.
The lesson, says Kanter: The technology changes, but the due diligence doesnt.
Fine cautions nonprofits to avoid any product where the vendor refuses to explain how the tool was built.
If they say, oh thats proprietary, its a black box, you cant look, then I say, no, Im not going to work with you, says Fine. There are plenty of other, you know, places I can go. I need to know what assumptions were built into this product, and what data sets were used to train it, to see what problems we might have with it.
Be aware that software and data are not always value neutral. Using the latest software and the most robust data sets available isnt enough to ensure fair processes and outcomes, Fine and Kanter say. This is a leadership challenge, not a technical challenge, says Fine.
For example, she says, a tool intended to help your human-resources department screen rsums may have biases that reinforce old, unfair methods of hiring.
It may have, built into the code by some coder at some point, assumptions about race and gender, says Fine. Those data sets, particularly in the social sector, have historically been racist in, say, housing or food benefits or hiring. The language that were using for job descriptions not only gets people in, but it keeps people out as well.
Keep humans involved. Smart technologies are meant to assist you, not take over jobs entirely. In addition to keeping an eye out for biases in the application of technology, humans are often needed to make sense of the data collected and how best to apply it.
Kanter gave the example of the Trevor Project, which provides a crisis line and counseling for LGBTQ youths. The nonprofit, facing a shortage of trained counselors, created a bot named Riley that uses sophisticated technology to learn as it interacts with people. But they didnt use it to replace the counselors on the front line, who work directly with youth, because they saw that piece of the job as being very human centered, says Kanter.
Instead, Riley was used to help train those counselors by simulating common questions they were likely to encounter. It balances letting the counselors do the human work that they do so well and letting the bot help train them, Kanter says.
Chat bots also can assist fundraisers in determining where best to target their outreach. Bots can efficiently answer thousands of basic questions from online visitors to a nonprofit, and they quickly come back with some suggestions to the fundraiser, so they can then shift their time into actually working with the donor, cultivating the donor, and maybe not exhausting themselves looking at so many open-ended comments, says Kanter.
Be vigilant about the ethics of technology as you step up its use. As an example of where technology can lead organizations astray, Fine cited facial-recognition technology that has been used to track and trace Covid. Some of that same technology has been misused by law enforcement in ways that negatively affect people of color, so nonprofits must be wary of abuse.
Organizations also must be wary of how much data they are compiling on donors and clients, Fine says, and how those people may or may not want their personal data stored and used.
We want nonprofits to raise the bar and say, what is the most we can do to protect our users privacy, to use the technology responsibly and well, to make sure that the technology is not out in front of our people and that the bots arent overwhelming the humans in our system, says Fine.
Get started now, and dont be intimidated. Take one small step at a time, advises Fine. Check out some of the available chat bots or maybe some software that can automate some budget tasks. Kanter calls it learning snacking.
The technology is becoming very quickly commercialized and inexpensive, and stupid simple to use, so this is not going to be technology that only an advanced Ph.D. can use, which it was until just a few years ago, Fine says. This is technology for everyday use.
Excerpt from:
How to Make the Most of Artificial Intelligence and Other Technologies: Advice From Experts - The Chronicle of Philanthropy
- Senate bill targets the use of artificial intelligence in Mississippi - WAPT Jackson - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- will.i.am and Sean Paul on embracing artificial intelligence in music - Sky News - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- As Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Fall, Investors Should Consider Buying More of These 2 Powerhouses - The Motley Fool - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- FSUs Graduate School hosts workshop on artificial intelligence to explore the impact of AI on teaching and research - Florida State News - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Artificial Intelligence Optimization (AIO): The Next Frontier in SEO - hackernoon.com - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- The U.S. Army, Artificial Intelligence, and Mission Command - War On The Rocks - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- 2 Stock-Split Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Before They Zoom Higher, According to Wall Street Analysts - The Motley Fool - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- AI in the classroom: How artificial intelligence is helping teachers - Bay News 9 - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Video: Daryl Morey Says 76ers Use Artificial Intelligence for Input on Team Decisions - Bleacher Report - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Better Artificial Intelligence Stock: AT&T vs. Verizon Communications - The Motley Fool - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- NVIDIA GTC 25: What To Expect From the Years Biggest Artificial Intelligence Event - BizTech Magazine - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- 2 Stock-Split Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Before They Zoom Higher, According to Wall Street Analysts - MSN - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- DEI Erosion Threatens Safety. Artificial Intelligence May Help Pick Up the Slack. - Inbound Logistics - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Saint Vincent conference will examine broad impact of artificial intelligence - TribLIVE - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- As Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Fall, Investors Should Consider Buying More of These 2 Powerhouses - MSN - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- 3 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks You Can Buy and Hold for the Next Decade - The Motley Fool - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Has Surged 1,000% Over the Past 2 Years. Is a Split on the Horizon? - The Motley Fool - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Move Over, Artificial Intelligence (AI) -- Businesses Are on Pace to Spend More Than $10 Trillion on This Trend Over the Next Decade - The Motley Fool - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Here Is My Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock to Buy Right Now - The Motley Fool - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Nasdaq Sell-Off: 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Down 20% and 49% to Buy Hand Over Fist on the Dip - The Motley Fool - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- 1 Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chip Stock to Buy Hand Over Fist Before It Jumps - The Motley Fool - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- [Latest] How Artificial Intelligence is Shaping the Emc Shielding And Test Equipment Market - openPR - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Nasdaq Correction: 5 Reasons Nvidia Stock Is Still a Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock to Buy Right Now - The Motley Fool - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) Adoption Rates Appear Low, but This Technology Leader Could See a Massive Surge in Demand in the Next 10 Years. Here's... - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- [Latest] The Influence of Artificial Intelligence on the Augmented Reality (Ar) Shopping Market - openPR - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Oracle Just Shared Some Amazing News for the Entire Artificial Intelligence (AI) Industry - The Motley Fool - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- 1 No-Brainer Artificial Intelligence (AI) ETF to Buy With $40 During the Nasdaq Sell-Off - The Motley Fool - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Inside The Artificial Intelligence That Can Clone Your Mind - Forbes - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Why Tesla Could Be a Massive Winner in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Race - The Motley Fool - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- 4 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Worth Buying in the Tech Sell-Off - The Motley Fool - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Media and Creative Industries - EDMO - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- 1 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock That Could Be Bigger Than Nvidia in 5 Years - The Motley Fool - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Is Up 15% in 2025 Already. It Is Still a Solid Buy? - The Motley Fool - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Can artificial intelligence be the future solution to the enormous challenges and suffering caused by Schizophrenia? - Nature.com - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Education: A Systematic Review - Cureus - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Is Up 15% in 2025 Already. It Is Still a Solid Buy? - AOL - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Federal Executive Forum Artificial Intelligence Strategies in Government Progress and Best Practices 2025 - Federal News Network - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Introduction to Artificial Intelligence for General Surgeons: A Narrative Review - Cureus - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- How is Artificial Intelligence Affecting Health Care? - Workers Comp Forum - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- 1 Spectacular Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock to Buy With $50 Right Now - The Motley Fool - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- 20+ Advantages and Disadvantages of AI | Pros of Artificial Intelligence - Simplilearn - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Prediction: This Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Will Start Skyrocketing After March 6 - The Motley Fool - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- 1 Surprising Stock Harnessing the Power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) - The Motley Fool - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- 2 Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy On the Dip Amid Nasdaq Selloff - Yahoo Finance - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Review: Artificial intelligence is shaping the future of diabetes care - News-Medical.Net - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Prediction: This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock -- a 1,020% Gainer Since Its IPO -- Won't Split Its Stock in 2025. Here's Why - The Motley Fool - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- A Nobel laureate on the economics of artificial intelligence - MIT Technology Review - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Prediction: This Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Will Start Skyrocketing After March 6 - Nasdaq - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Meta Platforms Just Caused This Crucial Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock to Plummet. Should You Buy the Dip? - The Motley Fool - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Artificial Intelligence - AI Update, February 28, 2025: AI News and Views From the Past Week - MarketingProfs.com - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- The Ultimate Artificial Intelligence (AI) ETF to Buy With $50 Right Now - The Motley Fool - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Prediction: This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Company Will Split Its Stock in 2025 - The Motley Fool - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Should You Forget Nvidia and Buy 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Instead? - The Motley Fool - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Why Artificial Intelligence Stocks SoundHound AI, IonQ, and C3.ai Are Struggling Today - The Motley Fool - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- 2 Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Ready for a Bull Run - The Motley Fool - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- AI Cant Do This Anymore: The Dangers of Artificial Intelligence in Academia - Skidmore News - March 1st, 2025 [March 1st, 2025]
- Whats Next in Artificial Intelligence: Agents that can do more than chatbots - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Geopolitics of artificial intelligence to be focus of major summit in Paris; AP explains - Yahoo - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Geopolitics of artificial intelligence to be focus of major summit in Paris; AP explains - The Associated Press - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- 3 Top Artificial Intelligence Stocks to Buy in February - MSN - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Geopolitics of artificial intelligence to be focus of major summit in Paris; AP explains - Lufkin Daily News - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- 2 of the Hottest Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks on the Planet Can Plunge Up to 94%, According to Select Wall Street Analysts - The Motley Fool - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- These 2 Stocks Are Leading the Data Center Artificial Intelligence (AI) Trend, but Are They Buys Right Now? - The Motley Fool - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Book Review | Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope, and the Human Spirit - LSE - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- The Artificial Intelligence Action Summit In France: Maintaining The Dialogue On Global AI Regulation - Forrester - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Is prediction the next frontier for artificial intelligence? - Healthcare IT News - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- The Artificial Intelligence in Medicines Market Is Set to Reach $18,119 Million | CAGR of 49.6% - openPR - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Geopolitics of artificial intelligence to be focus of major summit in Paris; AP explains - The Audubon County Advocate Journal - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Around and About with Richard McCarthy: Asking AI about itself: Will artificial intelligence ever surpass humankind? - GazetteNET - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Will the Paris artificial intelligence summit set a unified approach to AI governanceor just be another conference? - Bulletin of the Atomic... - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Apple Stock Jumps on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Driving iPhone Sales. Here's Why It's Not Getting Crushed by the DeepSeek Launch. - The Motley Fool - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Who will win the race to Artificial General Intelligence? - The Indian Express - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Prediction: This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chip Stock Will Win Big From DeepSeek's Feat - The Motley Fool - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Prediction: 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks That Will Be Worth More Than Nvidia 3 Years From Now - The Motley Fool - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- State of Louisiana Launches Innovation Brand, Announces Creation of $50 Million Growth Fund and Artificial Intelligence Research Institute - Louisiana... - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Using smart technologies and artificial intelligence in food packaging can reduce food waste - Yahoo News Canada - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- BigBear.ai Wins Department of Defense Contract to Prototype Near-Peer Adversary Geopolitical Risk Analysis for Chief Digital and Artificial... - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Should Investors Change Their Artificial Intelligence (AI) Investment Strategy After the DeepSeek Launch? - The Motley Fool - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- 1 Unstoppable Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock to Buy Before It Punches Its Ticket to the $4 Trillion Club - The Motley Fool - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Got 10 Years and $1000? These 3 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Are Set to Soar. - The Motley Fool - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]