AI Readiness Consulting for Nonprofits

Helping Nonprofits Adopt AI Safely, Ethically, and Responsibly

We help nonprofits put the policy, training, and safeguards in place to use AI well, grounded in mission, governance, and the people doing the work. Choose a single service, such as a board-ready AI policy, or combine several.

Schedule a Conversation Our Approach
5 Services, Choose What Fits
25+ Years Nonprofit Leadership
Vendor-Neutral No Software Sales
The Problem We Solve

AI Success Depends on People, Not Technology

Most nonprofits are already using AI in some form, usually in a limited and ad hoc way, often on free tools, and without a shared understanding of what is safe. The question is no longer whether to adopt AI. It is whether the organization sets the terms before the technology sets them for it.

What's Changed: AI That Acts

Until recently, AI tools answered questions and drafted text. The newest tools, called AI agents, take action on someone's behalf: sending email, updating files, scheduling meetings, and working inside donor and client databases. These features are arriving inside software nonprofits already pay for, including Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and many CRM platforms, and many organizations will have them before they have decided whether they want them. When AI can act with access to your email and data, a governance policy and trained staff stop being nice to have.

What We See in the Sector

Leaders are stretched thin, nonprofit-specific guidance is limited, and the tools marketed to the sector promise to do the work without addressing the risks that come with them. Organizational readiness is the missing piece.

The Fundraising Opportunity

Fundraising is where most organizations see the return first. With the right safeguards in place, AI can take on much of the research, drafting, and data entry that fills a development team's week, so relationship managers spend more of their time with donors.

What We Do Differently

We are nonprofit leaders who understand the sector from the inside. We are not selling software, pushing a particular solution, or running generic workshops.

  • Deep knowledge of nonprofit culture, governance, and mission-driven work
  • Governance and policy built before implementation begins
  • Practical guidance on AI agents and the AI features already inside your current software
  • Hands-on training with real nonprofit tasks and workflows
  • Choose only the services you need, in whatever order makes sense
  • Vendor-neutral advice grounded in your organization's specific context
How We Work

Five Ways We Work With Nonprofits

Each of the services below stands on its own, so you can choose one, several, or all of them. Many organizations begin with a governance policy and staff training, because the rest of the work depends on them, but there is no required sequence. We will help you decide what fits your needs and budget.

Governance

AI Governance Policy

For organizations that want clear rules in place now, we develop a custom AI governance policy your board can adopt. It sets out how AI may and may not be used, what data must never leave organizational control, which tools are approved, what AI agents may do on staff's behalf, and who is responsible for oversight. This is the fastest way to move from informal experimenting to responsible use, and it can stand on its own or be paired with a readiness assessment.

Deliverables Board-ready AI governance policy · Leadership briefing on putting the policy into practice
Assessment

AI Readiness Assessment

For organizations that want a full picture before deciding what to do next. We begin with confidential staff interviews to understand current technology use, data practices, workflows, and culture, and we assess readiness across leadership alignment, data, technology, staff capacity, and ethics. We identify practical uses for AI that fit your mission, lay out a prioritized roadmap, and recommend who on staff should serve as your strategic technology lead going forward. When paired with the governance policy, the two are delivered together in a single report.

Deliverables AI Readiness Report · Use case analysis · Prioritized roadmap · Strategic technology lead recommendation
Technology

Technology and Software Review

A strategic view of the risks and opportunities in the technology you already own or license. Many organizations are more exposed than they realize, through platform settings, vendor access, or AI features and agents running quietly in the background. We review the contract, privacy, and security terms for each platform, identify which AI features are already embedded and whether they are active or dormant, and find ways your existing systems can work together without new purchases.

Deliverables Technology asset inventory · Privacy and security findings by platform · Embedded AI and agent capabilities · Integration opportunities · Approved AI tools list
Training

Staff AI Training

Adoption succeeds or fails in daily practice. This hands-on group training covers how AI tools work, effective prompting, hallucinations, bias, data privacy, what must never leave organizational control, and how to verify output before relying on it. As AI agents arrive, it also covers how staff direct and check AI work rather than simply accept it. Staff practice on the work they actually do, not generic examples.

Deliverables One-day in-person training · Reference materials for ongoing use
Fundraising

AI for the Development Team

A specialized service for organizations whose priority is fundraising. We show development staff how to use AI across the full donor cycle, from prospect research and segmentation to cultivation, better-supported asks, and stewardship that no longer buries the team in acknowledgment letters and gift entry. One development director we work with expects relationship managers to go from actively cultivating about ten donors a month to thirty or forty.

Deliverables Development team training and support across the donor cycle · Reference materials for ongoing use
Add-On

Additional Support

Some organizations want to go further: deeper hands-on support as staff put the tools to work, help evaluating and piloting AI agents for specific workflows, or further implementation once the foundation is in place. We scope this work to fit each organization.

Where AI Makes the Biggest Difference

Tasks that once took hours can be done in a fraction of the time, creating capacity for the strategic thinking and relationship work no tool can replace.

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Development & Fundraising

Tailored donor stewardship, prospect research, list segmentation, and proposal narratives

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Grant Writing

Synthesizing program data into compelling funder-facing language and first drafts

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Communications

Donor updates, impact reports, board materials, and staff correspondence

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Operations

Agendas, pipeline management, data cleaning, financial reporting, and routine multi-step tasks handled by AI agents with staff review

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Funder Partnerships

For Funders and Foundations

Funders increasingly want their grantees to use AI well, and most grantees cannot pay for this work on their own. We partner with community foundations, family foundations, and other funders to bring readiness, governance, and training to a group of grantees at once. Each organization receives its own governance policy and its staff get practical training, at a lower cost per organization and with a shared learning community the funder can build on.

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Our Team

Nonprofit Leaders, Not Technology Vendors

We bring the sector experience and technical depth to guide you through this transition with confidence.

GN

Geoff Nagle, Ph.D., M.S.W., M.P.H.

Co-Founder
Nonprofit Executive Leadership · Organizational Growth · Strategic Policy · Stakeholder Trust · Fundraising & Development

Geoff has spent 25 years leading and advising nonprofits, including seven years as President and CEO of Erikson Institute, where the operating budget grew 57 percent and clinical services expanded to reach more than 10,000 children a year. He knows the job of the leaders we advise from the inside: managing boards, raising money, and setting direction without ever having enough staff. His policy work includes leading passage of Louisiana's School Readiness Tax Credits, and he advises nonprofits on strategy and governance through Alliance Strategic Advising and Research.

CC

Charles Chang, M.A., LL.B.

Co-Founder
AI & Technical Implementation · Solution Architecture · Platform Integration · Institutional Effectiveness · Strategic Planning

Charles brings nearly 30 years of experience bridging strategic planning and technical infrastructure in nonprofit and higher education settings. He specializes in aligning operational systems with organizational mission, ensuring that technology serves as an enabler of impact rather than a barrier to it.

Charles spent more than 27 years at Erikson Institute, most recently as Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Planning and Chief Technology Officer. That dual role put him where strategy and technical execution meet, which is what nonprofits need to adopt AI in ways that are technically sound and workable in practice.

Get in Touch

Start the Conversation

Whether you're just beginning to explore AI or already have questions about governance, we'd love to connect.

Geoff Nagle

Ph.D., M.S.W., M.P.H.

Charles Chang

M.A., LL.B.

What to Expect

We'll schedule a 30-minute call to learn about your organization, how AI is being used today, and where you feel most uncertain. No pitch. Just a real conversation.