IIIBC · AI Strategy Institute · Non-Profit Edition

The Non-Profit AI Training Kit

Eight role-based modules that take a donor-funded, project-based organization from "our staff are quietly using ChatGPT" to confident, governed, mission-aligned AI. Anchored on four habits, deliverable on free and low-cost resources, and built to protect the people you serve.

Browse the 8 modules Take the readiness assessment
The fluency spine

Four habits run through every module

Before any tool, staff learn the 4D habits (Anthropic + GivingTuesday, AI Fluency for Nonprofits). No one uses AI on real work before the fluency foundation and the do-not-use rules.

Delegation

Decide what to hand to AI — and what to keep human, especially high-stakes beneficiary decisions.

Description

Prompt clearly: give context and constraints so output is useful and safe, with less rework.

Discernment

Critically evaluate output for bias, error, and confident-but-wrong answers before trusting it.

Diligence

Verify, disclose, and take ownership of results — the people you serve can't absorb AI mistakes.

The curriculum

Eight modules, mapped to your readiness assessment

Each module is a self-contained kit: a mission case, measurable objectives, a timed agenda, core content, hands-on exercises with answer keys, takeaway templates, a knowledge check, a facilitator guide, and an outcome scorecard. Run the assessment first, then prioritize the modules whose sections scored lowest.

MODULE 4 · START HERE AI Fluency for Every Role (4D) + Champions Network The foundation everyone takes first: the 4D habits, how AI fails, the do-use/do-not-use rules, and a grassroots AI-champions model that survives staff turnover. FoundationAll staff§4 People & Capacity Open module → MODULE 1 AI & Your Mission: Leadership & Board Literacy Set an AI position, name mission-aligned vs. mission-eroding uses, designate a champion, and prepare the board to oversee AI and answer donor questions. LeadingED · Board§1 Mission & Leadership Open module → MODULE 2 Data Foundations & Responsible Data Handling Build a data inventory and sensitivity classification, learn the cardinal rule for sensitive beneficiary and donor data, and get consent and data-sharing right. PracticingIT/Data · Ops§2 Data & Governance Open module → MODULE 3 Your AI Toolkit: Safe Tools & Setup An approved-tool catalog, the free and discounted nonprofit AI offers, why enterprise tiers are safer than consumer ones, and baseline security hygiene. Aware→PracticingIT/Data · Ops · all§3 Technology Open module → MODULE 5 Funding AI & Making the Mission-ROI Case Build a reusable funder narrative, baseline cost-per-outcome, find capacity-building and AI grants, and budget AI within restricted-funding reality. LeadingED · Finance · Dev§5 Financial & Funding Open module → MODULE 6 AI in Fundraising & Donor Trust Donor segmentation, lapsed-donor patterns, and AI-assisted appeals and grant drafts — paired with donor-data privacy and an AI-content disclosure stance. PracticingDevelopment · Comms§6 Donor Communication Open module → MODULE 7 · MANDATORY FOR BENEFICIARY-FACING STAFF Protecting the People We Serve: Responsible AI The most important module for any org serving vulnerable populations: the do-not-use list, bias checks, trauma-informed consent, human-in-the-loop, and a beneficiary-concern path. PriorityProgram staff · all§7 Ethics & Safeguards Open module → MODULE 8 AI Across the Grant Lifecycle Use AI through proposal, delivery, M&E, reporting, and close-out — reduce the reporting burden with disclosure, and sustain AI across grant cycles. PracticingPrograms · M&E · Grants§8 Project Integration Open module →
Sequencing

Recommended learning paths by audience

Everyone starts on Module 4 (the 4D foundation and ground rules). Module 7 is mandatory for any staff who touch beneficiary data or decisions.

AudienceSequence
Executive Director / Leadership4 → 1 → 5 → 7 (+ overview of 2, 8)
Board4 (4D overview) → 1 (board briefing)
Program / Service-delivery staff4 → 7 (priority) → 8 → 2 (basics)
Development / Fundraising / Comms4 → 6 → 2 (basics) → 5 (overview)
Operations / Finance / Admin4 → 3 → 2 → 8 → 5
IT / Data lead (or outsourced)4 → 2 → 3 (lead-level)
AI Champion4 (train-the-trainer) → shadow 6, 7, 8
How to run the kit

Built for lean teams and tight budgets

1 · Assess

Run the readiness assessment for a section-by-section profile. Prioritize the modules whose sections scored Foundational or Developing.

2 · Deliver

Use the free/low-cost format menu: self-paced courses, lunch-and-learns, a shared prompt library, and onboarding embed so knowledge survives turnover.

3 · Measure

Each module ends with an outcome scorecard. Track with the Kirkpatrick model: reaction → learning & confidence → applied behavior → mission impact.

Want this facilitated for your team?

Begin with a free 30-minute AI Strategy Diagnostic — framed for non-profits as a risk and readiness conversation. From there: an AI Foundations Workshop, a governed AI Pilot Design, or train-the-trainer enablement for your champions.

Book the free diagnostic