Artificial Intelligence Unveiled: How to Use AI at Nonprofits

Nonprofit administrative coordinators are used to wearing multiple hats in their roles. They’re tasked with handling day-to-day operational duties, working on fundraising initiatives, and enhancing communication strategies, to name a few. 

With so many duties and so little time, there’s an opportunity to utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help streamline manual tasks. Let’s dive into several practical ways to leverage AI in nonprofit organizations.

How to Optimize Operational Processes

One of the easiest ways to introduce AI into your nonprofit organization is by implementing it into routine administrative tasks. For example, automating workflows and using AI to improve document management can help take laborious tasks off your to-do list, giving you more time to focus on more strategic responsibilities. 

AI-Powered Workflow Automation

Tools like UiPath and Microsoft Azure Logic Apps offer automation solutions for nonprofits to make work more efficient. For example, data entry, document processing, and report generating are rule-based, repetitive tasks that AI software can be set up to automatically handle. 

UiPath and Microsoft Azure Logic boast easy-to-use platforms that allow administrative coordinators to set up workflow sequences based on rules, and they connect to a variety of applications, databases, and web services. Plus, exceptions can be defined for complex tasks. 

Intelligent Document Management

Nonprofits have a lot of paperwork. Between forms, receipts, and donations, keeping information updated in multiple systems can take up a lot of time. 

Fortunately, AI-powered document management systems, like UiPath Document Understanding, can scan and extract necessary information from a variety of documents with its Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. 

So, instead of manually going through a stack of donation documents to find addresses, names, and other information, UiPath can automatically do this and then update records in each of your organization’s systems.

Streamlining Fundraising Efforts

Fundraising is at the crux of every nonprofit. Between communication with donors and campaigns to attract more donations, a lot of effort goes into the fundraising part of an administrative coordinator’s job. 

Luckily, there are AI tools that can take some of the heavy lifting out of these initiatives. 

Meet Your New Assistant: ChatBots 

ChatBots are computer-generated programs that act as live agents to provide your nonprofit audience with guidance, answer their questions, and collect feedback. They’ve been around for a while but gained more popularity in the last few years, and it’s no wonder why. 

They can be set up to guide users through popular inquiries or point them to a specific page. And the best part is, they work 24/7 and can be programmed to give personalized information based on keywords or phrases.

For instance, you could set up your ChatBot to answer questions like:

• How can I make a donation? 

• When will I receive a donation receipt? 

• Can you tell me more about your cause and programs?

• How can I get involved as a volunteer?

Of course, this AI technology isn’t a replacement for a real human. But it can cut down on the number of responses you need to handle by fielding the quick, easy questions and only routing the more complex, personalized inquiries to you. And that means you’ll have the bandwidth to work on strategic communications.

Enhancing Communication Strategies

Personalized, targeted communication and campaigns yield the best results for nonprofits. However, understanding your unique cause’s donor profiles and individually communicating with each segment can be overwhelming. That’s where Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) platforms like EveryAction and Kindful, which have AI capabilities built-in, can be leveraged.

EveryAction and Kindful use AI to analyze donors’ giving history, preferences, and behaviors. These tools integrate with popular fundraising and communication platforms and then provide insights into your database. 

It can be a huge asset to have personalized campaign, email, and communication suggestions, based on real patterns, at your fingertips.

Key Takeaways

1. Utilize ChatBots on your website and social media for 24/7 donor guidance and assistance.

2. Leverage OCR technology like UiPath Document Understanding to automate data extraction from documents.

3. Choose an AI-driven CRM to get personalized donor insights.

Next, Listen to S1 E1 of the Admin Edge Podcast, Why Admins Should Embrace AI

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