Use AI in your charity while protecting the people you serve
Charities often hold information about people at hard moments in their lives. A volunteer pasting case notes into a free AI tool to write a summary can expose someone who trusted you. We set simple rules for what AI may see, which tools are approved, and what always stays with a person. AI does the numbers and the admin, and details about the people you serve stay out of it unless there's a clear reason and the right care.
Get your AI Starter Plan
Where a charity needs AI rules
People you support
Names, case notes, and circumstances stay out of AI tools, and AI helpers work from totals, not personal records.
Volunteers' own tools
Volunteers use AI only through accounts your charity controls, so nothing sensitive lands in personal accounts.
Stories and consent
Stories about the people you help are written by staff, with consent, never drafted by AI from records.
A policy your board can adopt
A short AI policy in plain words, with a one-page guide for volunteers.
Where the risk sits
In a small charity, AI use often starts with good intentions. A volunteer uses a chat tool to tidy up case notes. A staff member asks it to draft a story about someone the charity helped, from their file. Someone uploads the client list to plan a mail-out. Each step saves time, and each one puts personal information about vulnerable people somewhere the charity can’t see or control.
The rules we put in place
Using AI safely (the industry calls it AI governance) means a few clear rules your staff and volunteers follow without having to think hard. Information about the people you support stays out of AI tools. AI helpers work from totals and admin records instead. Volunteers use AI only through accounts the charity controls. Stories are written by staff with consent. We set up the approved tools, write a short policy your board can adopt, and give volunteers a one-page guide.
Where two charities drew the line
We work with a community food relief charity where an AI helper fills the funder’s report from volunteer spreadsheet totals, so the first draft takes about a day. When we tried having it write stories about the people helped, staff wanted those in their own words, so it does the numbers only. We also work with an animal rescue with one paid coordinator and 45 volunteers where an AI helper drafts the roster, and the coordinator still decides who handles new animals.
What rules can’t stop
Rules help only when people follow them, and a guide can’t stop a volunteer using a personal account. We make the safe way the easy way, but your charity owns the decision. We also don’t give legal advice, so questions about the Privacy Act or your funder’s conditions go to your adviser.
To see where your charity’s AI use needs tightening, get your AI Starter Plan and tell it which tools your people use.
Related
Read about our Using AI safely service, and how we help small teams in not-for-profits.
Common questions
Can AI help without seeing client information?
Can AI write our case studies?
Does this make us compliant with privacy law?
What does it cost?
Where does our data live?
Find out where your charity's AI risks are
Tell us which AI tools your staff and volunteers already use. Get your AI Starter Plan and you'll see what to tighten first.
Get your AI Starter Plan