🚨 Why Nonprofits & Mission-driven Organizations Must Get in the AI Race—Now
We need to face truth—AI isn’t coming. It’s already here.
And if nonprofits and service-oriented organizations aren’t stepping into the space, someone else will!
Too often, we see new technology—now AI—get hijacked by misinformation, scammers, or well-funded interests that don’t have our communities’ best outcomes in mind. If nonprofits don’t show up in the AI space as trusted guides, we leave the people we serve at the mercy of whoever claims that territory first.
That’s a risk we can’t afford.
📊 The Data: People Are Turning to AI—Every Day
AI isn’t just a tech buzzword. It’s becoming a primary access point for how people get help, learn, and make decisions:
💬 100M+ people use ChatGPT monthly as a first step to get answers, advice, or even therapy-like support.
📉 70% of the US are using AI tools as a search engine. 24% as their starting point.
📉 42% of Gen Z and 31% of Millennials say they trust AI tools more than traditional customer service channels.
🤖 AI-powered search and assistants are shaping how people access information on housing, healthcare, education, and jobs—the very services nonprofits provide.
If we’re not showing up in these tools—with our knowledge, ethics, and commitment to equity—then we’re letting AI do our work without us.
🚧 What Happens When We Don’t Show Up
We’ve seen this movie before:
Scammy pop-up services targeting vulnerable families during the pandemic
Predatory for-profit job placement “coaches” exploiting low-income job seekers
Fake mortgage relief bots flooding social media, offering "AI-powered loan forgiveness tools"—collecting personal info from desperate homeowners and renters
Misinformation bots posing as mental health resources
Now, AI tools are the next frontier. And without our voice at the table, the most marginalized communities will be the first left behind—and the first exploited.
When someone struggling with eviction or foreclosure asks ChatGPT or Google Gemini, "Can I get mortgage help?" and the first answer they see is a predatory service—or worse, a scam pretending to be a HUD counselor—we’ve failed them by not being present.
🧭 The Opportunity: Be the Voice of Trust in AI Spaces
Nonprofits are uniquely positioned to bring ethics, equity, and lived experience to the AI table. But we have to:
Understand the tools (LLMs, predictive models, chatbots, etc.)
Design with our values—privacy, accessibility, inclusion
Show up in the tools people already use: AI search, chat assistants, voice queries, and more
This doesn’t mean every nonprofit needs a tech team. But it does mean:
Get trained. Learn how to use AI responsibly in your workflows.
Start small. Use AI to streamline operations, write grants, or improve messaging.
Collaborate. Partner with community tech groups, AI consultants, or equity-driven platforms.
Advocate. Push for AI policies that protect and uplift your communities.
❤️ We Belong in This Space
As nonprofits, we don’t chase innovation for the sake of shiny tools. We show up where people are—and right now, they’re in AI-powered spaces.
Let’s be bold enough to meet them there.
Let’s be ethical enough to build what’s missing.
And let’s be trusted enough to lead with heart, equity, and humanity in every line of code and every AI interaction that touches a life.
💡 Ready to Lead?
If you’re curious about how your organization can begin its AI journey—or how to train your team to use these tools safely and effectively—I’d love to support you.
Check out these Free Bonus Tools I created just for you!
👉 Get on the waitlist to find out about upcoming Trainings. Spots fill up quickly.
👉 Access our free Enterprise-grade AI implementation tool kit
👉 Check out our free workflow agent (free on ChatGPT) to identify where your team may be able to improve efficiency with the help of AI