It is becoming a more challenging environment for not-for-profits, with rising running costs and increasing pressures on public and consumer finances meaning funding sources are shrinking.
Recent Charity Commission data shows that 40.55% of charities reported expenditure that exceeds their income. Faced with the increases to employer National Insurance Contributions, rising rents, and energy costs, the proportion of not-for-profits that do not break even is likely to grow in the coming years.
Unlike for-profit businesses, these organisations cannot pass rising costs on to their customers. They are left to make up funding shortfalls through changes to their operations.
Therefore, organisations are increasingly turning to AI tools to help increase efficiency on manual, repetitive tasks. AI approaches offer charities a meaningful step forward in how they operate and deliver impact.
Streamline operations
Teams are facing tighter budgets, fewer resources and more demands than ever. This leaves little time for developing technological solutions they need to expand their reach to the people who depend on them, which is where an expert partner can help.
Some not-for-profit organisations have already laid the foundations for AI transformation. Others are still at the start of their journey. Fortunately, it has never been easier to integrate these tools into day-to-day operations.
We always advise that the first step is to review existing processes: which workflows need adapting, which can be removed, and where new workflows could be added where there was previously insufficient resource. AI is best thought of as an additional member of the team, redistributing capacity to the tasks where humans can add most value.
Generative AI, tools like ChatGPT and Bard allow you to automate repetitive tasks such as minute-taking, form submissions and scanning databases. However, agentic AI, takes this one step further: Agentic AI is an artificial intelligence system that can accomplish a specific goal with limited supervision. It consists of AI agents, machine learning models that mimic human decision making to solve problems in real time, for example checking donor engagement, drafting a follow-up message, updating records in the CRM or flagging high value supporters for personal outreach. All without someone manually coordinating each step.
Human effort can then shift towards creative and strategic work that defines the charity’s mission.
Scaling up personalisation for operational growth
AI can provide personalised automation at scale, empowering not-for-profits to expand their operations without escalating costs.
Where generative AI can help with more simple tasks like producing fundraising campaign materials, AI agents can analyse databases and tailor content autonomously to specific audiences. With the right prompting and training from a technology partner, it can ensure standardised output across the organisation in a fraction of the time it would take staff to do manually.
When it comes to corporate partnerships, AI can help at three key stages:
- Research: identifying target businesses and areas of shared interest that could lead to partnerships or donations.
- Tailored messaging: Agentic AI can search databases and tailor brand messaging in line with each audience to create laser focused emails and collateral to convert interest into commitment.
- Proactivity: AI can then use the evidence from existing campaigns to suggest proactive next steps and targets to build on successes and grow new partnerships.
AI can also turbocharge volunteer recruitment and coordination, which can be one of the biggest time drains, especially for smaller charities. Generative AI can automate database targeting and research to identify recruitment prospects. Agentic AI can create volunteer schedules, send reminders and follow-ups, and keep volunteers engaged, adjusting the tone of outreach depending on the audience.
Ethical use of AI
The charity sector faces growing compliance requirements, and charitable activities are under increasing scrutiny. Making sure all AI use is ethical in line with codes of conduct is essential.
For example, being transparent about when and how AI is being used, monitoring for bias and regularly checking AI for fairness are essential practices to ensure you are using AI ethically.
Not-for-profit organisations should focus on ethical AI as a tool that supports People, strengthens services, and aligns with organisational values rather than simply increasing efficiency. Use AI as a support tool, not a replacement for empathy, professional judgement, or human relationships.
It is also essential to make sure human guardrails are built into AI usage, and data integrity is protected. Checking sources and ensuring private data is not entered into open LLMs but only in secure, closed-loop environments ensures clear ownership. Human approval should always be built in. But by automating processes in a safe and secure way, charities can ensure consistency, maintain compliance, and ultimately reach more of the people they exist to serve.
Tailored to your purpose
While not-for-profits share some common characteristics, it’s important to acknowledge that they’re all different. We recommend tailoring the AI strategy to reflect the purpose, size and funding of the organisation.
For organisations that already run on secure-by-design Microsoft systems, they can take advantage of the integration of advanced models such as Claude into Microsoft Copilot. Claude brings more agile, higher-quality responses to complex tasks such as compliance documentation, operational reporting, and policy responses, all within a secure and familiar environment. It also ensures all data remains protected within the one system, protecting the organisation from potential data breaches or attacks associated with AI.
For entirely volunteer-led charities, AI agents can play a fundamental role as an additional resource. Clear guidelines on AI use within the volunteer group, helped by working with a technology partner, can serve as the critical framework for keeping boundaries in place while enabling smaller teams to extend their reach.
Democratising technological access
Whatever their size and purpose, AI represents a genuine opportunity for not-for-profits to reach larger audiences and continue delivering meaningful work for the causes that matter. Due to the adaptable, highly personalised nature of AI, particularly with agentic AI, the right partner can make sure these tools are shaped to fit any organisation’s purpose, size and structure.
Whereas budget and time were once barriers to adopting new technology, AI is democratising access and lowering that threshold. From small volunteer groups to large national charities, these tools are increasingly accessible, and the potential for them to support and extend the work of the sector is not to be underestimated.
Simon Jefferies
Simon Jefferies is Director of Technology at Sharp UK, bringing more than 20 years of experience in the IT sector. Since joining the company in 2006 as a Technical Consultant, he has progressed into a leadership role overseeing the development and implementation of technology solutions for clients. His responsibilities include shaping the company’s technology strategy and supporting the training and development of its technical teams. Simon is passionate about understanding the unique challenges organisations face and helping them harness technology to achieve their goals.
