Creating Your Nonprofit's AI Policy: A Practical Framework
Creating Your Nonprofit's AI Policy: A Practical Framework
Let’s talk about AI policy this week. Not the exciting part of AI, but rather, the housekeeping part. Stay with me, because this one matters more than it sounds like it should.
At this stage of my career, I’m no stranger to organizational policies. Gift acceptance, conflict of interest, whistleblower, you name it. I’ve drafted them, revised them, and sat through plenty of board meetings where they get approved. So I’ll say this plainly: if your shop doesn’t have an AI policy yet, move it up your list. You would far rather write the rulebook now than after a snafu.
And you’re in good company if you haven’t gotten to it. Seventy-six percent of nonprofits still operate without one, according to the State of AI in Nonprofits: 2025 benchmark report. Meanwhile, nearly everyone is quietly using the tools anyway. Most of the sector is flying without instruments.
That gap matters more than a typical policy gap, because AI touches the two core things that fundraising runs on: donor trust and funder credibility. Lose either one, and no amount of clever prompt engineering will win it back.
So let’s build it. Consider what follows your AI policy starter kit. Adapt it, don’t just adopt it. Your organization’s size, culture, and risk tolerance should shape every line.
