Can AI solve crucial problems for the often-underfunded nonprofit sector?
Yes, according to Scott Brighton, CEO of Bonterra, a software company specializing in software solutions for social good. IT pros in nonprofits often are expected to make do with more limited resources than the private sector contemporaries, meaning any advantage and efficiency is prized.
“An efficiently run profitable for-profit business might run at 40% profit margins, nonprofits run effectively at 80% profit margins,” Brighton said. “They give 80% of the money that comes in away, and so they have very little resources to invest in themselves.”
Nonprofits and AI is a topic that’s receiving attention. Mike Gianoni, CEO of software firm Blackbaud, wrote in a column for Fast Company that there’s a disconnect between enthusiasm and preparedness: “To get there will require not just smart tools, but smart partnerships and collaboration across sectors—impactful work that can be done by executives, employees, and the rising generations of the workforce alike.”
Challenges ahead. The sector is not necessarily known for being tech-savvy, according to Dahlia Bousaid Cox, CEO at Boston-based digital equity nonprofit Tech Goes Home. And that presents challenges for widespread adoption.
“There are a lot of folks who work in nonprofits, predominantly on the front lines, who don’t even have the foundational digital skills that would allow them to use AI effectively,” Bousaid Cox said. “So, I think that there’s a gap that has to be sort of filled before we can get to an extensive rollout across the whole sector.”
Brighton noted that most nonprofits are small—with revenue under $10 million—and that usually means they don’t have the resources to invest in IT teams. Usually they’ll rely on outside software and service providers for help. The expenses, including cloud services, hardware, and software, can be exorbitant.
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All of that has an impact—but there are options. Bonterra has introduced an agentic AI solution for nonprofits that it says will streamline operations and increase capacity. Brighton told IT Brew that the tool can assist with donor segmentation and stewardship though the use of agents.
“I see agentic AI as a way to sort of change the dynamic here,” Brighton said. “With agentic AI, instead of consuming resources, you’re amplifying it—because now these agents can do specific jobs.”
That could relieve some of the burden that Bousaid Cox sees in day-to-day operations.
“Nonprofits don’t have the same resources that for-profits do, as it relates to being able to reinvest profit into its own company to help build efficiencies, or have better websites—just as a bare bones example,” Bousaid Cox said. “AI could help with some of that.”
Real world applications. Tech Goes Home is already deploying AI to help with its mission. The organization is using the technology to power a chatbot on its site that allows users to ask questions about services and developing instructional videos. The chatbot is saving time, acting as something of an AI assistant for users and helping them to avoid searching through their emails for information.
Bousaid Cox added that because of the mission of Tech Goes Home, part of AI adoption includes education on how to utilize the technology.
“We feel that it is our responsibility to engage our learner communities in understanding AI, building those foundational skills to access it,” Bousaid Cox said.