How nonprofits can leverage the power of AI to advance missions

AI is not only changing how work gets done but what kind of work is possible. Forward-looking nonprofits are using it to extend their reach, deepen their impact, and respond to needs in new ways to be more effective in accomplishing their mission.

And yet, not all nonprofits are doing this. At an event I attended recently about helping nonprofits adopt AI, the focus was on specific uses of AI, not on using AI to reimagine how a mission gets accomplished. And that’s really missing out on its full potential.

The data shows that nonprofits are using AI, but mostly for efficiency: writing faster, producing more, and saving time. The 2026 Nonprofit AI Adoption Report by Virtuous and Fundraising. AI shows that while 65% of nonprofits have staff using AI, only 7% have embedded it strategically into organizational planning.

Tapping into the power of AI

So, how can nonprofits ensure they’re tapping into AI’s full potential to help advance their missions? Let’s look at what two of our clients have done.

Shift missions from reactive to proactive

Media watchdog HonestReporting replaced its manual review of identifying bias with a system that analyzes 150 media sources in real time. The system detects multiple forms of bias, prioritizes them, recommends responses, and, more importantly, tracks where misinformation originates so it can be countered before it spreads widely.

United Hatzalah in Israel was founded on the premise of rethinking emergency response itself, building a nationwide network of volunteer medics who reach patients within minutes. Now, the organization is using AI in its dispatch system to predict where emergencies are likely to occur and position responders in advance.

Both organizations have made a fundamental shift in their mission, from reactive to proactive, using AI, and are more effective as a result.

Automate processes to meet needs

Digital ad agencies have rebuilt their model using AI to create and deploy dozens of ads tailored to prospective customers’ needs and achieve great results. Why aren’t nonprofits fully leveraging the power of AI to expand their reach and meet people’s needs more efficiently?

A nonprofit that provides job training to lower-income populations markets its programs online, but the process of engaging and enrolling students requires 20 steps, most of them manual. And students need to attend a webinar hosted by staff at specific times, which both limits students and takes staff time.

Imagine an automated process with AI: Targeted ads to populations looking for new career opportunities would link to teaser videos, which would lead prospects to recorded webinars they can attend any time. Personalized AI video emails would engage interested students, with an AI video concierge guiding them and answering their questions. And once enrolled, the concierge can support students alongside the in-person training and connect them to the social support they need to complete their training. It’s a new way of thinking about meeting people’s needs.

How to leverage the power of AI: Ask bigger questions

Start by asking bigger questions about how your nonprofit can harness AI’s full potential to advance its mission:

• How is the problem we’re addressing limited by our current staff, capacity, and infrastructure? How would we approach the problem if those limitations did not exist?
• How can we reimagine our mission if we were to tap into the full potential of AI for data analysis, generative AI and app creation, video chatbots, and AI agents?
• How can we reimagine our client, participant, student, or donor experiences or create customized experiences for each of our audiences?
• How can we attract, engage, or mobilize more people to our cause, affect behavior change based on people’s real-life behavior?
• How can we improve our staff’s effectiveness, connection, happiness, and retention by automating workflows?

Getting started

When I participated in a client’s all staff summit last year, the goals were to introduce AI as an organizational imperative and get staff comfortable with AI. Staff were presented with the potential of AI to elevate what they do to another level and were given the opportunity to explore AI tools, some for the first time.

We addressed issues with comfort, risk, and the role of people in the organization. The idea was to start by setting a vision for AI in the organization, discussing boundaries, and establishing a committee to explore a responsible route for AI adoption that would serve the organization well.

Nonprofits exist to address society’s hardest problems. As the examples above show, AI isn’t just improving how work gets done, it’s redefining what’s possible. Organizations that use it to reimagine how to advance their missions, not just optimize tasks, will be better positioned to meet the scale and complexity of the challenges ahead.

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