Can Nonprofits Use AI Ethically?
My Stance on AI For Nonprofits
Let me be honest with you, friend – I’m not a huge fan of AI. It makes this 90s baby want to throw my smart TV and laptop out the window, rummage yard sales for a VHS player and my favorite tapes, and call it a life. I’ve gone full-force into the analog renaissance this year, mostly because I don’t want my daughter’s core memories to be my face in front of a screen 24/7. It’s also incredibly important to me that I teach her to think critically and make decisions that are best for her – she can’t do that if synapses in her brain don’t form because she’s transferred original thought to a bot.
Needless to say, I’ve got strong feelings about AI. But in true millennial fashion, I know this technological advancement will continue to evolve, just like all the other technologies I’ve seen in my life.
AI is here to stay. We are past asking whether we should use it. It’s already integrated into everything we already use. The main question for nonprofit leaders is: How do nonprofits use AI ethically?
Let’s talk about it.
Is AI Ethical, or Unethical?
There are many ethical considerations for a nonprofit using AI technology. My top questions for determining ethical use of AI are:
1. Does this use of AI support our mission and honor donor relationships?
2. Is my AI use contributing to the planet to offset my queries?
AI itself is lifeless, so it cannot hold ethics. That’s where your (original) thinking comes in. How you use AI within your nonprofit determines whether you are using it ethically and staying aligned with your core values. It ultimately comes down to what you’re giving AI and whether it is helping or hurting your mission. Ethical AI options to make your work simpler can include fact-checking research, mapping out strategy, planning, or organizing information.
Using AI With Purpose
I don’t think AI should be used just for the hell of it. It cannot replace humans and poses several environmental concerns. It makes us simultaneously nostalgic while trying to “keep up” with other organizations that are seemingly 10 steps ahead of us.
What matters is whether you’re using AI with purpose. Is it expanding your team’s capacity? Are you able to plan faster? Is it giving you shortcuts for providing more high-touch responses to your donors, volunteers, and supporters? If yes, then use it.
Here are my favorite ethical AI tools that give back to the planet:
Viro AI allows you to choose your preferred LLM while they fund clean energy. If you’re using Claude or ChatGPT already, you might as well make it eco-friendly by running your query through Viro AI instead.
Ecosia is a Google alternative that uses 100% of its profits for climate action. Their search and AI models pull from reliable sources with less energy – providing you with accurate information while working faster.
I encourage you to research more AI tools and companies to determine if using their platforms aligns with your values.
Is AI Suited for Developing Donor Relationships?
Before nonprofit leaders can answer this question, we must first understand the ethical concerns of generative AI. AI can use photos we put in to create something else for someone else. Are you okay with having your beneficiaries’ faces in the digital pool of generative AI? When you ask AI to create a photo or flyer, are you going to be satisfied with a final product that took ideas from a real-life creator and probably looks shitty (looking at you, hands with 8 fingers)? When you ask AI to create a song for a reel, can you rest easy knowing that the beat could have ripped off an up-and-coming musician? When you ask AI to write something for you, are you willing to have donors sniff out AI slop and cease their donations?
Donors, volunteers, and supporters are looking for organizations they can trust. When they see a flyer with botched imagery and an email that reeks of copy-and-paste AI output, they’re going to find another organization they feel like they can trust. Because there’s no personal connection in bot-generated communications or visuals. If you use AI in your nonprofit marketing, please do not use it to generate communications or marketing and fundraising materials. Bots can’t form relationships – people do. Donors want to hear from YOU. That’s how you create relationships that last.
What nonprofits can use AI for instead:
Donor Management or organization
Volunteer coordination
Fundraising planning
Organizing data
How I Use AI in My Nonprofit Marketing Business
I don’t use AI much in my business. And yes – that’s a personal flex for me. I enjoy exercising my hard-earned brain cells, ha! I never use AI to write copy for my clients. That comes from my old-fashioned fingers and brain. I may use Viro AI to help me brainstorm when I get stuck, help me organize an email strategy, or help me research faster. Things like planning and organizing.
I am not anti-AI. I am pro-human. Connections and relationships shouldn’t be scaled or optimized. To last, they need to be earned. Your donors know this. They feel this. And they’re paying attention to which nonprofits make them feel valued as a person instead of as a system’s touchpoint.
Are you a nonprofit leader who shares my desire to become an off-grid farmer with granny hobbies but also understands that we live in a tech-driven world and that it’s necessary for our livelihood? Then we’re a match! Browse my nonprofit marketing services to collaborate with a human who would love to write your nonprofit’s emails and website!
