Lifting up the nonprofit sector through generative AI

Traditionally, nonprofits have lagged in adopting cutting-edge technologies, often due to limited resources and the need to focus on immediate service delivery. But generative AI could change all that, helping these organizations do more with less. By leveraging these powerful tech tools, nonprofits can usher in a new era of efficiency in the social sector, amplifying their reach, streamlining operations, and maximizing their social impact.

LIFT’s ImpactHub is already gearing up to pilot its first tool in the settlement sector, marking a significant step toward using generative AI to enhance the capabilities of nonprofits.

The immigration process, for instance, is often weighed down with paperwork and forms, which can be particularly daunting for newcomers who may not be native speakers of the local language. To help, LIFT has developed a chatbot that nonprofits can use to assist newcomers through the process. The bot takes in information in the natural language of users and translates it to the relevant forms.

“AI can help people navigate systems and connect them to employment and other opportunities,” says Bruce Dewar, president and CEO of LIFT Impact Partners. “People in our sector are starting to see the opportunities that generative AI presents.”¹

Before generative AI tools were broadly available, chatbots were fairly simple. For the most part, they identified keywords in a prompt and responded with a prewritten reply. That’s changed today. Generative AI–powered chatbots can parse larger pieces of text and respond to users’ implied meaning with spontaneously generated text.

Dewar says this substantial progress has opened up many new opportunities for bots to provide real value to organizations and the people they serve. Bots are now able to carry on longer conversations with people, using language that reflects an organization’s brand and persona. This enables them to connect with people in more meaningful ways than before.

“Words are critical to make sure people feel engaged and trusted, as well as feel confident that their information is going to be used to help them,” Dewar says. “Establishing authentic trust through a chatbot is not easy, but it can help speed up a lot of the initial processes so that the face-to-face interaction with clients is more productive.”

One of the most important aspects of rolling out this kind of chatbot is training it on appropriate data. While many off-the-shelf tools are available, Dewar stresses that, without specific training, bots will lack the unique values of the organizations they represent.

“When you train it on your organization’s persona, data, and culture, it gets so much better,” Dewar says. “It gets fine-tuned and reflects your organization’s voice and priorities. It goes to authenticity. You need to train it on who you are.”

With generative AI technology advancing so rapidly, many organizations may feel at a loss for how to get started. But Dewar says there isn’t going to be a better time to dive in. With so much still in progress, those who engage now with these technologies have a chance to influence their future direction. This could be particularly important for nonprofits who have a heightened interest in ensuring systems are free from bias so that they don’t detract from the organizations’ missions.

“We want to be involved in the design of the systems,” Dewar says. “Now is the time for leaders in the social sector to be strategic, engaged, and proactive. By embracing generative AI, nonprofits can enhance their effectiveness and efficiency and increase their social impact.”