AI for charities: how it can support your role and decision-making

Did you know that 61% of UK charities are already starting to use AI? Large language models that support content development are the most popular choice. But don’t limit yourself. From fundraising to financial planning and cybersecurity, AI can help your organisation:

• Optimise its workflow: automating day-to-day tasks will save valuable time and leave your team free to focus on their core job.  
• Improve departmental functions: AI has an unmatched ability to process and analyse large data sets - unlocking the insights your team needs to do more.  
• Inform strategic thinking: the best decisions are data-driven decisions, and you can use AI to identify winning tactics that will help your team work smarter.    
• Expand your reach: on an organisational level, AI can help you analyse past results and make accurate projections to guide and advance your social mission. 

AI shouldn’t be limited to one department or function. In this section, we’ll explore key roles within a typical non-profit and how AI can enhance both day-to-day operations and long-term strategic planning.

Fundraising and Development Managers

Whether you’re in the world of individual giving, major donor fundraising or legacies, AI can help you work smarter by:

• Unlocking audience insights: AI can analyse giving histories, engagement patterns and communication preferences to help you segment and target different donors.
• Personalising your communications: You can use AI to generate personalised asks and send them at a time when donors are most likely to give.
• Improving your donor journey: Fundraising is all about relationships, so why not use AI to analyse and optimise your donor experience?  

Find out more about why charities should embrace AI in fundraising

Big picture strategy…

When it comes to fundraising, analytics are your super-power. Managers can use AI to dive deep into campaigns and programmes - identifying patterns and trends that can be used to evolve their strategies, optimise return on investment, and accurately forecast the year ahead. 

Volunteer Managers

From volunteer recruitment to management and retention, Volunteer Managers have a lot of balls to juggle. AI for charities can help keep them in the air by:

• Predicting recruitment needs: Volunteers come and go. AI is there to help you spot potential shortages and take proactive steps to boost volunteer recruitment.
• Matching volunteers with opportunities: AI analyses skills, interests and availability to match volunteers with roles that best suit their strengths and preferences.
• Optimising volunteer scheduling: You can use AI to identify peaks in volunteer demand (or availability!) and automate shift scheduling so that every position is filled.  
• Retention strategies: Not only can AI track volunteer activity and identify those at risk of stepping back, it can even recommend personalised re-engagement tactics! 

Big picture strategy…

AI can help you level-up your volunteer programme by providing actionable, data-driven insights. For example, you can use AI to identify factors that positively (or negatively) influence recruitment, retention and engagement. What better way to start ironing out the kinks and building a programme that inspires and enables a long-term commitment?

Marketing and Communications Teams

AI isn’t there to take your job, it’s there to help you do it. In the fast-moving world of marketing and communications, AI can help you keep pace by:

• Brainstorming ideas: AI is the perfect sparring partner – use it to brainstorm creative ideas and craft concepts, storylines and angles that make people stop and listen.
• Drafting content: From social media posts to blogs and newsletters, AI can do it all. Just make sure you keep an editor’s eye. Mass produced, bland, AI content helps no one!
• Personalising communications: Use AI to tailor messages with thoughtful details, timely prompts, and individual asks that speak directly to each donor.
• Supporting donor engagement: Chatbots can help you stay on top of social media inboxes, answer common queries, and provide 24/7 donor support. 

Big picture strategy…

AI is a game-changer. Its ability to analyse large volumes of data is sure to bring a whole new level of clarity to your work. So, why not use AI for charities to review past performance, refine key messages, and develop smart, data-driven campaigns and strategies that maximise your reach? The proof, as they say, is in the pudding!

Trust Fundraisers and Grant Writers

For Trust Fundraisers building up their prospect pipeline, filling out application forms, and preparing donor reports, AI is a welcome companion. On a day-to-day basis, you can use it to:

• Support prospect research: Add another string to your bow by using AI to search public-source data and identify funders whose interests align with your organisation’s mission.
• Enhance proposals: Written too much? You can use AI to bring your answers into count, optimise them for funder-specific keywords, or suggest improvements.
• Strengthen reporting and compliance: Never miss a deadline again. AI can help you by analysing data sets, drafting upcoming reports, and even reminding you when they’re due! 

On a strategic level…

Competition for trust funds is hotting up. Predictive forecasting can help Managers set more accurate targets, anticipate potential shortfalls, and take proactive steps to close the gap. You can even ask AI to analyse past applications and pinpoint the winning features that will help boost your chance of a successful application!

Programme Managers and Impact Analysts

Of course, AI for charities isn’t limited to fundraising and comms. It’s a powerful tool for programme staff too. Use it to help your team track, improve, and communicate their social impact by:

• Automating reports: From beneficiary reach to key outcome metrics, AI can streamline data collection and analysis to give you fast, accurate insights into your impact.
• Surfacing insights: AI tools can process beneficiary comments at scale, revealing hidden patterns and suggesting meaningful improvements to programme design.
• Drafting reports: AI can help generate clear, data-driven reports that summarise programme outcomes, making it easier to share your impact with donors.

Big picture strategy…

This information isn’t just useful on a day-to-day basis. AI can help Managers spot emerging trends, refine strategies, and make smarter decisions about resource allocation. Whether it's optimising current programmes or identifying areas for expansion, AI ensures your decisions are backed by solid data and insights.

Finance and Compliance Officer

AI is an important tool for finance and compliance teams - offering powerful solutions that not only streamline processes, but that can also help secure them by:  

• Boosting fraud detection: By identifying unusual financial transactions, AI can help teams detect suspicious activity and minimise the risk of fraud.
• Enhancing regulatory adherence: AI can automate financial reporting to help ensure compliance with tax laws and make sure your organisation meets regulatory standards.
• Forecasting cash flows: AI uses historical data to predict future financial trends, support more accurate budgeting and improve financial management.
• Boosting audit efficiency: Got an audit looming? You can use AI to automate record generation, quickly identify discrepancies, and cut down the time it takes to prepare!

Big picture strategy…

Finance Managers can use AI’s predictive insights to forecast future income and expenses. This information helps pinpoint areas where savings can be made, ensuring the organisation is running efficiently and making the most of every pound donated. It also provides a great foundation to help set realistic, achievable fundraising targets and ensure overall financial health.

IT and cybersecurity teams

Cybercrime is real. But you can protect against it – and AI is here to help! IT and cybersecurity teams looking to step-up their protection can use it to:

• Enhance threat detection: AI can help identify and mitigate potential cyberattacks before they happen and offer real-time mitigation strategies.
• Identify unusual activity: Continuous monitoring means that AI can track log-in patterns and instantly recognise - and warn against - suspicious access attempts.  
• Improve compliance: AI can help ensure compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations by continuously monitoring data handling practices.

Big picture strategy…

One of the biggest advantages of AI in cybersecurity is the way it enables proactive threat management. This approach doesn’t just reduce operational risks, it also boosts system and process efficiency - enabling teams to better monitor, organise and safeguard your organisation’s digital infrastructure.

Find out more about AI for charities

When it comes to AI, the sky really is the limit. If you want to explore how AI for charities can support your department and other areas of your organisation, contact a member of our team today.