AI Tools for Nonprofits: ChatGPT, Claude & Copilot Essentials

About the Course:

This online workshop is tailored for nonprofit professionals looking to use AI without high costs or an IT team. In 90 minutes, participants will learn about ChatGPT, Claude, and Microsoft Copilot, discovering practical ways these tools solve typical nonprofit challenges. Through demonstrations, comparisons, and practice, attendees gain skills to immediately adopt AI in daily work. The session also covers ethical AI use and addresses concerns around data privacy, accuracy, and bias relevant to nonprofits.

Key Benefits:

• Boost productivity with ready-to-use AI prompts for nonprofit tasks like grant writing, donor letters, reports, social media, and volunteer communications.
• Get a clear, jargon-free comparison of ChatGPT, Claude, and Copilot, covering strengths, limits, and costs to help your organization choose wisely.
• Build confidence in ethical AI use with a practical framework for data privacy, donor confidentiality, accuracy, and staff adoption, so leadership and funders can trust your outputs.

Examples of Application:

• Grant Writing Enhancement: Utilize Claude to develop effective needs statements and program narratives, then employ targeted prompts to tailor content according to specific funder requirements, streamlining the initial grant writing process and reducing first-draft preparation time by up to 60%.
• Scalable Donor Stewardship: Implement ChatGPT to customize acknowledgment letters, impact reports, and re-engagement initiatives for large donor groups simultaneously, ensuring a consistent organizational voice while significantly decreasing staff workload associated with written communications.
• Seamless Microsoft 365 Integration: Employ Copilot within Microsoft Word, Outlook, and Teams to summarize meeting minutes, draft communications for the board, analyze programmatic data in Excel, and create PowerPoint presentations—all within the existing Microsoft environment familiar to your organization.

Course Objectives:

• Compare ChatGPT, Claude, and Microsoft Copilot on cost, features, privacy, and nonprofit suitability to guide platform selection.
• Write AI prompts for nonprofit tasks like grant writing, donor outreach, reporting, social media, and policies.
• Use an AI framework to review output for accuracy, bias, and confidentiality before publishing or submitting.
• Develop an AI adoption plan that highlights high-impact areas in your organization's programs, communications, and admin work.

Who is the Target Audience?

• Nonprofit leaders, managers, communications, volunteer coordinators, and board members are seeking AI tools to boost organizational capacity. Suited for organizations with tight tech budgets that want affordable, high-impact solutions.

Basic Knowledge:

• No AI experience needed. Participants should be comfortable using web browsers and email. Understanding nonprofit tasks like grant writing, donor communication, or program reporting will help relate the workshop to their work.