Artificial Intelligence isn’t just for tech giants anymore. Nonprofits across Canada are discovering how AI tools can amplify their mission, streamline operations, and create deeper connections with their communities. Whether you’re a seasoned executive or front-line staff member, this guide will help you take your first confident steps into the world of AI.
Step 1: Select Your First AI Tool
Start simple, start smart. Choose one general-purpose AI assistant to begin your journey:
Recommended Starter Tools:
- ChatGPT (OpenAI) – Excellent for writing and brainstorming
- Claude (Anthropic) – Strong at analysis and following complex instructions
- Copilot (Microsoft) – Ideal if you’re already using Microsoft 365
- Gemini (Google) – Great integration with Google Workspace
- Perplexity – Perfect for research and fact-checking
- Grok (X/Twitter) – Good for social media content
Action Step: Pick one tool and create a free account. Most offer generous free tiers that are perfect for getting started.
Step 2: Try It Out Safely
Before diving deep, test the waters. Start with low-stakes tasks to build your confidence.
Safe First Experiments:
- Ask for meeting agenda suggestions
- Request help organizing a to-do list
- Generate ideas for social media posts
- Create templates for common emails
- Ask for explanations of complex topics
Action Step: Spend 30 minutes exploring your chosen tool with these simple tasks. Get comfortable with the interface and how it responds.
Step 3: Brainstorm Your Organization’s Use Cases
AI excels at tactical tasks that are repetitive and time-consuming, but it is also very good at brainstorming more strategic tasks that require creative thinking. For tactical assistance, let it know some of your daily pain points and ask how it might be able to help. You can also ask it for examples where it has helped other nonprofits.
For more strategic assistance, we have used AI to help us deliver MAS projects for generating strategic plans, operational plans, and fundraising plans. Several upcoming white papers will showcase some of these examples.
We have also started facilitating workshops to help agencies brainstorm strategic use cases and use them to drive AI adoption. We use the NonProfit Business Model to get staff to think about operations from five different perspectives, and then ask them to post ideas for where AI might help on a virtual whiteboard.
We discuss and prioritize the ideas generated, and then use the AI Strategy Canvas to flesh out how AI might be able to provide assistance in the highest impact areas.
Action Step: Identify 2-3 specific use cases where you think AI can help. Write them down—you’ll use these for testing.
Step 4: Think About Security and Privacy
Protect what matters most. Before inputting sensitive information, establish clear boundaries.
Information to AVOID sharing with AI:
- Personal Identifiable Information (PII) of donors, clients, or staff
- Financial account numbers, passwords, or banking details
- Confidential strategic plans or board discussions
- Legal documents or contracts under review
- Medical or sensitive personal information about clients
Information that’s generally SAFE to share:
- Anonymized program descriptions
- General fundraising strategies
- Public-facing content drafts
- Template structures and formats
- Industry best practices and research
Critical Security Steps:
- Opt out of training – Most AI tools allow you to prevent your data from training future models. Enable this setting immediately.
- Use generic examples – Replace real names with placeholders like “[Donor Name]” or “[Organization]”, or if you are asking AI to research specific individuals, make sure you provide it with guardrails to prevent leakage of sensitive information.
- Review your organization’s data policy – Ensure AI usage aligns with your privacy commitments
Action Step: Review your chosen AI tool’s privacy settings and opt out of data training. Create a simple one-page policy for your team about what can and cannot be shared with AI tools.
Step 5: Establish Context for Better Results
Help AI understand your world. The more context you provide, the more relevant and useful the responses.
Context Elements to Include:
- Your organization’s mission and focus area
- Your target audience (donors, volunteers, clients)
- Your typical communication style and tone
- Specific constraints (budget, timeline, regulations)
- Canadian nonprofit landscape considerations
Sample Context Statement: “I work for a small environmental nonprofit in Ontario that focuses on urban sustainability education. We serve primarily young families and work with a budget under $500K annually. Our tone is friendly but authoritative, and we need to follow CRA charity guidelines.”
Context Hierarchy: Most AI tools support the concept of accounts, projects, and conversations. Context at the account level is typically defined in user settings, and applies to all interaction between you and the AI. At some point you will likely want to pay for a subscription to one of the tools (eg. ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro), which will give you access to better models and additional features such as projects. Projects are a great way to group all your conversations around a common topic like one of your strategic use cases. You can attach files to the project and provide it with context that will be used in every conversation in that project.
Action Step: Write several context statements about your organization, and decide which ones belong in your account settings, project settings, or as part of a specific conversation.
Step 6: Master Basic Prompt Engineering
Learn to ask better questions. Good prompts get great results—poor prompts lead to frustration.
Effective Prompt Structure:
- Set the context (your role and organization)
- Define the task clearly and specifically
- Specify the format you want
- Include constraints or requirements
- Ask for clarification if needed
Example of a Good Prompt: “I’m the development coordinator for a homeless services nonprofit in Toronto. Please help me write a donor thank-you email for our recent capital campaign. The donor gave $5,000, this is their third major gift, and we want to highlight how their contribution will fund our new intake facility. Keep it warm but professional, under 200 words, and include a soft ask for future engagement.”
Example of a Poor Prompt: “Write a thank you email.”
Additional Resources:
Action Step: Practice rewriting vague requests into specific, context-rich prompts using the structure above.
Next Steps: Growing Your AI Capabilities
Once you’re comfortable with these fundamentals, you’re ready to explore more advanced topics including
- Creating Artifacts and Canvases
- Collaborating with Others
- Integrating with Other Tools
- Taking Action on Insights
Also, the frontier of what AI is capable of is continually changing. Think of this as a continuous learning journey. We plan to publish more blogs, whitepapers, and recorded webinars to help MAS clients keep up with this fast changing new world. Here are some additional resources to continue to learning journey.
Ready to Transform Your Nonprofit with AI?
AI adoption doesn’t happen overnight, but these six steps will give you a solid foundation to build upon. Remember: start small, prioritize security, and focus on tasks that will immediately benefit your mission.
Want to go deeper?
- 🎓 Register for our “Practical Use of AI for Nonprofits” workshop this fall
- 🤝 Request personalized AI consulting from our expert team
