The Smart Communications Podcast

Episode 202: How can you put AI to work for your nonprofit?
Host: Farra Trompeter (Big Duck)
Guests: Cheryl Contee (Brightworks AI, Change Agent AI), Darian Rodriguez Heyman (Helping People Help, ai4np.org)
Date: January 7, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the practical realities, challenges, and opportunities of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into nonprofit organizations. Host Farra Trompeter speaks with AI experts and authors Cheryl Contee and Darian Rodriguez Heyman about responsible AI adoption, overcoming sector anxieties, ethical considerations, and essential first steps for mission-driven teams.

The discussion is focused on actionable guidance for nonprofit leaders at all stages of AI familiarity, from skeptics to early adopters, and emphasizes the importance of connecting AI adoption directly to advancing organizational mission and sector values, particularly around equity and ethics.

Main Themes & Discussion Points

1. Who is the Book “AI for Nonprofits” For? (03:27)

• Broad Appeal:
  • Book achieved top rankings in multiple categories; audience ranges from nonprofit leaders to philanthropic professionals, higher ed, b-corps, and socially driven startups.
  • "I think there's a broad appeal to the book...even in the business world, there are people who are looking to the nonprofit community, as a place where they can find out, how can I ethically and responsibly integrate this technology?" — Cheryl (03:27)

2. Why Nonprofits Feel Overwhelmed by AI (04:58)

• Lack of Strategy:
  • Many leaders use AI without identifying clear objectives, leading to ineffective or ad hoc adoption.
  • “People kind of dive into using it without taking the time to think about what does success look like.” — Darian (04:58)
• Four Core Use Cases:
  • Fundraising
  • Marketing & community engagement
  • Program delivery & evaluation
  • Back office operations

3. The Pace and Nature of Change (05:53)

• AI is Ubiquitous and Transformative:
  • “In the next five years you're going to notice things changing...In 10 years, everything will be different.” — Cheryl (05:53)
  • There’s both anxiety and opportunity for nonprofits to lead.

4. Practical Steps for Responsible Adoption (06:53, 08:24, 11:45, 20:26)

• Start Small ("Crawl, Walk, Run"):
  • Begin with low-risk, high-impact use cases (content creation, social media).
  • Pilot programs are essential.
• Organization-Wide Adoption:
  • Most organizations are early in strategic AI adoption; under 10% have policies.
  • First steps:
    • Identify goals and sensitive data.
    • Set acceptable use cases.
    • Start with pilot initiatives.
  • “Smart orgs are setting policies...upskilling their people, analyzing their workflows and figuring out...where you can insert AI.” — Cheryl (11:45)
• Bring AI “Out of the Shadows”:
  • Encourage open discussion, share learnings within the team.
  • “Create a public forum of discussion and dialogue...Invite that conversation to happen in a public forum.” — Darian (20:26)

Memorable Analogy

• “You don’t want to bring a spork to a gunfight. I think the time is now to start listening, start educating yourself.” — Cheryl (15:45)

5. Advice for Skeptics & the “Ostrich” Approach (12:48, 13:09)

• Confront Valid Concerns:
  • Address fears (job loss, data security, environmental impact) head-on.
  • Emphasize that AI is a tool to help overwhelmed organizations do more, not a replacement for staff.
  • “We need to help people understand that those concerns are valid...We can directly tackle fears around job loss by looking at AI as the next version of the spreadsheet or calculator.” — Darian (13:09)
• Don’t Get Left Behind:
  • “You don’t want to be using a quill pen when everybody else is using a computer.” — Cheryl (15:45)
• Types of AI:
  • Classifier AI (filters, prioritizes—already widely used)
  • Generative AI (creates new content: text, imagery, etc.—recent wake-up call)
  • Agentic AI (can plan and act—examples like scheduling agents)

6. How to Start Organization-Wide (20:09–22:52)

• Steps to Adopt AI Responsibly:
  • Survey your team: What’s their comfort level, experience, and concerns?
  • Draft a living organizational AI policy (Fast Forward, NTen have templates).
  • Identify high-impact opportunities (“painful processes”).
  • Embed regular conversation about AI in staff meetings (“What's working? What's not?”).

7. Ethics & Equity: Environmental & Bias Concerns (23:36–30:24)

• Environmental Impact:
  • Concerns about data center energy use are valid, but context is important.
  • “The cheeseburger you ate last Tuesday was probably a lot harder on the environment than the last 10 prompts you put into ChatGPT...But clean energy is accelerating.” — Cheryl (23:36)
  • “It's not just those individual prompts, it's all the training that goes into these models and all these data centers...The thing that's freaking people out are two things. One is the growth rate...the other is poor urban planning.” — Darian (26:03)
• Bias & Inclusion:
  • Acknowledge tech's biased origins; importance of human oversight.
  • “This technology was largely created by a bunch of white guys drinking too much Mountain Dew...So, the point is...we need humans in the loop to counterbalance this cold, technical, pattern recognition...” — Darian (27:48)
  • Create custom AI models that reflect your mission, messaging, and diverse content (“pump in nutritious content”).

Notable Quotes & Moments

• AI as “Digital Interns”:
  "If we can use an army of robots to serve as our digital interns...we can focus on the critical work of building human relationships." — Darian (10:41)
• Illogical Discrimination:
  "At the end of the day, sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia. This is illogical...ultimately what they're starting to find is that these bots...start to resist. Because if a bot has been trained to look at certain resumes...over time, is going to pick the person who actually has the better qualifications." — Cheryl (28:35)
• Navigating Change:
  “We have moved as a sector from an era of planning to an era of navigation...the need to build more resilient and responsive organizations that can tack on a dime has never been greater.” — Darian (31:25)
• Short-term Action Plan:
  "There's an awesome chapter...called the 90 day blueprint...This is a great time...to really take that short term sprint to then plan out the next 18 months." — Cheryl (33:06)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:27 — Who the book is for; cross-sector appeal
• 04:58 — Why nonprofits are overwhelmed; core use cases
• 05:53 — Scale and inevitability of AI-driven change
• 06:53–11:45 — Early adoption vs. organizational strategy; practical first steps
• 13:09 — Addressing sector-wide anxiety and valid concerns
• 15:45 — Skepticism analogy; don’t get left behind
• 20:26 — Organization-wide readiness: policy, workflow, and culture
• 23:36 — Environmental/ethical concerns with actionable context
• 27:48 — Algorithmic bias, diversity, and sector’s role in AI training
• 31:25 — Resilience and short-term planning in a rapidly changing era

Actionable Takeaways

• Start with Why: Define “success” for your organization—focus on mission impact, not just shiny tools.
• Audit and Upskill: Survey your staff, develop policies, and upskill teams in low-risk scenarios.
• Foster Open Dialogue: Make AI adoption a regular, collective conversation.
• Mitigate Risks: Develop custom, secure AI models and understand pitfalls around data, bias, and energy.
• Champion Equity: Actively train and use AI to reflect your values and diverse communities.

Closing Thoughts

Both guests encouraged nonprofit leaders to embrace AI as a strategic tool—for efficiency, innovation, and mission advancement—while remaining realistic and responsible about risks. The next era for nonprofits will require resilience, nimble leadership, and a proactive approach to technology.

“This is a tremendous tool that I really invite organizations to look at on an organizational and strategic level instead of just leaving it to the two or three people on most teams who are already playing around with the tool on a personal basis.” — Darian (31:25)

“Much like the end of the last Gilded Age, the flip side is going to be a world in which there is more freedom for more people, more prosperity for more people, and just better lives, healthier lives for more people.” — Cheryl (30:58)

Resources & Connections:

• Brightworks AI
• Helping People Help
• ai4np.org (AI for Nonprofits Hub)
• Book: “AI for Nonprofits”
• Big Duck & Podcast Resources