The 8 things charity leaders worry about with AI
And what to do about them
Clear, evidence-based answers to the eight concerns charity leaders raise most often about AI, from data protection and GDPR to the environment and trust.
Most charity leaders have good reasons to be cautious about AI, and some of those concerns are well founded. This guide takes the eight worries I hear most often and gives each one a clear verdict of myth, half true or fair concern. Each verdict is based on current evidence from the ICO, funders such as the National Lottery Community Fund, and the AI providers themselves.
Each section ends with practical steps you can take straight away, so you come away knowing which worries to set aside and which to act on. It’s written for CEOs, trustees and senior managers who want a sensible, grounded starting point, and it draws on my own experience of bringing AI into day-to-day work at First Days Children’s Charity.
What you'll learn
- Explain to your trustees, clearly and with evidence, which concerns about AI are justified and which aren’t
- Set up AI tools in a way that keeps your charity’s data out of model training
- Use AI within UK GDPR, and know when you need to go further with a data protection impact assessment
- Answer questions about AI’s environmental impact with accurate figures rather than headlines
- Use AI on funding bids with confidence, knowing what funders expect
- Put simple safeguards in place so that AI errors never reach a funder or a board paper
- Introduce AI to your team in a way that builds trust rather than anxiety
- Start writing your own AI use policy, using the sample on our website
What's included
- A one-page summary of the key points, including how to get better results by correcting your AI in the conversation
- Data security and whether AI tools use what you type
- GDPR, what the ICO says, and when you might need a data protection impact assessment
- The environmental impact, with the latest figures and their limitations
- Whether funders accept bids written with the help of AI
- Why AI sometimes makes things up, and how to protect your credibility
- The impact on staff and volunteers
- Cost, and whether you need technical skills
- Keeping the trust of beneficiaries and trustees
- The traffic-light rule for what can and can’t go into an AI tool
- Sources for every claim
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