🗞️ AI for Non Profits Network: Weekly Briefing 02/17

The weekly digest from a network of non-profits interested in AI. What's in this week's Briefing: 5 Tips for Choosing an AI Development Partner; Spotlight case study from the network & resources.

In The Briefing this week:

1. 👀 What’s Caught our Eye: How the Ella Baker Institute is Using AI to Extend Family Leadership

2. 💭 Thought for the Week: 5 Tips for Choosing an AI Development Partner: A Field Guide for Non-Profit Leaders

3. 🌟 Interesting News

4. 🌐 From Across the Network

1) 👀 What Caught Our Eye: Spotlight from the Network: How the Ella Baker Institute is Using AI to Extend Family Leadership, Not Replace It

Today we’re spotlighting The Ella Baker Institute that has developed a timely AI use case in how to use AI without losing what makes community work actually work.

Their family leadership cohort is a small group program where parents and caregivers go through a guided series of sessions together to build confidence, skills, and community so they can better support their kids, advocate at school, and lead positive change in their neighborhood. The program achieved 100% retention in its first run. An impressive signal showing need and genuine trust. Now they’re exploring how AI might extend that trust into the gaps between and after sessions, without diluting what makes the cohort powerful in the first place.

The approach is refreshingly modest, and supports what other members of the network such as Net Impact’s Karen Johns, have advocated; no grand claims about huge structural transformation, but clearly defined use cases around a specific need. In this case:

• An AI companion that offers between-session support

• Holds curriculum and resources so knowledge doesn’t evaporate

• Provides lightweight check-ins on confidence and belonging

• Enables cross-school learning so communities aren’t constantly reinventing the wheel.

It’s not “AI for parenting.” It’s AI that keeps the cohort with parents between sessions so the trust built in the room turns into follow-through at home. The in-person work builds relationships and leadership; the AI helps that practice stick in real life, when schedules get messy and support usually drops off.

What makes this worth watching is the hybrid approach with the traditional methods that made the first cohort so successful. Facilitators remain essential. Peer learning still drives outcomes. The AI simply fills the gaps where parents currently lose momentum - evenings, weekends, the space between one session and the next.

They’re also treating privacy and governance as infrastructure, not afterthought – critical when working with sensitive topics around identity, stress, and school dynamics.

“Parents don’t stop leading when our sessions end – they go home to real challenges that same evening. This isn’t about replacing our facilitators or the power of the cohort. It’s about making sure parents have something to lean on in those in-between moments, so the leadership practice doesn’t fade before the next session.”

The Ella Baker Institute was a successful recipient of the OpenAI People First Fund. The first round awarded $40.5 million to 208 nonprofits selected from nearly 3,000 applicants (a 7% acceptance rate) which we covered in an early December briefing edition.

Lessons for nonprofit leaders:

The strongest question isn’t “What can AI do?” It’s “Where do people lose momentum today, and how do we bridge that gap responsibly?” Some lessons from the case study:

1. Start with a proven program and real trust. High retention suggests the foundation is strong.

2. Use AI to extend access, not replace relationships. The cohort stays central; the tech fills the gaps.

3. Build for continuity across communities. Cross-school sharing is how you get scale without losing culture.

4. Treat trust like infrastructure. Privacy, governance, and boundaries are part of the product.

That strengthens the conditions for leadership to stick, spread, and sustain itself across communities.

Last few places remaining for our free workshop on 4th March (2pm EST) specifically on AI governance and policies for nonprofits. The key is treating AI governance as an enabler of innovation, not a barrier to it. With proper guardrails in place, your team can confidently explore AI’s potential without putting your organization at risk. Reply to this email or drop us a note at hello@aifornonprofitsnetwork.org.

2) 💭 Thought of the Week: 5 Tips for Choosing an AI Development Partner: A Field Guide for Non-Profit Leaders

Eighteen months ago, most non-profits were experimenting with AI through prompts and pilots. Today, many are staring at procurement decisions, vendor pitches, and the uncomfortable realization that “trying ChatGPT” is not the same as building AI capability.

The question we’re increasingly hearing across the Network is not “Should we use AI?” It’s “Who should build this with us?”

The landscape is constantly changing. At one end sit the major global consultancies Deloitte recently launched Dot Good - offering enterprise-grade AI transformation. At the other, traditional digital agencies are pivoting from website builds to “AI solutions.” In between, there’s a few select sector specialists like our friends at Whitelabel, who’ve built their practice around delivering AI for mission-led organizations.

Each model has merit depending on your circumstance. Here’s what to ask before you sign anything.

Five Things to Consider When Planning an AI Partnership

1. Decide What Stays In-House

Before you choose a partner, decide what you’re keeping internal. It should probably look something like:

• Mission alignment and ethical boundaries

• Risk appetite and governance

• Strategic prioritization

• Final sign-off on data handling

Consider outsourcing:

• Technical architecture

• Model testing and safety frameworks

• Pilot design and iteration

Whilst external partners can help you co-define your AI strategy, this is where you should lead, outsourcing the translation layer: turning strategic intent into technical reality.

2. Prioritize Sector Literacy Over Technical Flash

Most vendors will tell you they can build AI tools. But the non-profit context is different.

Look for partners who demonstrate:

• Experience with mission-led organizations

• Familiarity with safeguarding, HIPAA, duty of care etc.

• Comfort with imperfect or sensitive data

• Bias toward pilots before platform builds

The test question: Can they articulate the difference between deploying AI in a tech startup versus a domestic violence charity? If not, they’re not ready.

3. Separate Build from Strategy

Many non-profits are being sold AI products. Few are being offered AI leadership.

In the private sector, companies are hiring Chief AI Officers. Most small and mid-sized non-profits can’t justify the hire. But they still need someone who can vet vendors, design safe pilots, pressure-test ROI assumptions, and bridge the gap between leadership and developers.

Without that layer, organizations either stall or overcommit.

4. Think “Pilot Portfolio,” Not “One Big Bet”

If a partner proposes a six-figure roadmap before running a pilot, pause.

Sound AI adoption looks like:

1. Identify a contained pain point

2. Run an 8–12 week pilot with defined metrics

3. Measure behavioral impact, not usage stats

4. Decide whether to scale, iterate, or stop

Red flags: Proposals that jump to “enterprise implementation,” vague success metrics, or resistance to starting small.

5. Understand the Commercial Model

How your partner gets paid shapes what they build.

Fixed-price project: Clear scope, predictable cost. But it incentivizes delivering exactly what you asked for, not what you need.

Time and materials: Flexible, adaptive. But costs drift without strong governance.

Productized offering: Pre-built solutions for common use cases. May not fit your specific context.

Embedded/fractional model: Senior practitioner embedded part-time. Requires clear role boundaries but provides ongoing strategic guidance.

Ask explicitly: “How do you make money from this engagement, and how does that affect what you’ll recommend?”

The Emerging Middle Ground

Across the Network, we’re seeing a pattern. Leaders don’t want a full agency build or a full-time AI hire. They want strategic clarity without the consultancy premium, safe experimentation with expert oversight, and modest monthly costs.

We’re exploring a fractional AI lead model for Network members - a shared resource that makes senior AI strategy accessible at non-profit scale. Not to replace your team, but to strengthen it. Not to sell software, but to help you decide what you should (and shouldn’t) build. Utilizing the skills and reach of the network.

If this resonates, we’d love to hear from you. We’re gauging interest for a pilot cohort launching this spring. Reply to this email (hello@aifornonprofitsnetwork.org) - early expressions of interest will shape what we build.

A Question for the Network

We’re holding our next AI for Non Profits Network Workshop on Wednesday 4th March (2pm EST) on AI governance and policies - the practical frameworks you actually need to adopt AI and put it in place across your organization. For early access, reply to this email.

3) 🌟 Interesting News

OpenAI Quietly Removes "Safely" From Its Mission As It Prioritizes Profits Over Public Interest (Boom Live)

Anthropic donates $20 million to AI education and policy organization Public First Action (Ed Tech Innovation Hub)

Future of AI is a governance question, not a technology race: Vilas Dhar of Patrick J McGovern Foundation | Interview (Live Mint)

4) 🌐 From Across the Network

• Have an event, case study, gathering or interesting insight you’d like to share with the network? Drop us a note by replying to this email.

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