Where AI Agents Fit in Nonprofit Workflows

Question

Hi, everyone! Emily Flautt from Blackbaud recently wrote a thoughtful post for The ENGAGE Blog that explores where AI agents belong in nonprofit workflows. It’s a really interesting look at how AI can help today and where it still makes sense to keep things human.

Check it out here: Where AI Agents Fit in Nonprofit Workflows (And Where They Don’t)

Toward the end of the post, Emily mentions that the organizations currently seeing the most traction with agents are focusing on just one or two impactful use cases and building confidence from there, so I’m curious:

* What’s one workflow you’d gladly hand off to an AI agent? 
* Where do you think an AI agent could add the most value in your organization?

Would love to know how you’re thinking about this right now!

Jordan Wells · Answer

It would be a huge relief to hand off routine donor and grant data tasks to an AI agent, e.g organizing information, flagging missing details, and even helping verify nonprofit organizations through tools like the Nonprofit Check Plus API. That could free up staff to focus more on relationships and decisions that really need a human touch. I think starting with one well-defined workflow is the best way to build trust before expanding its role.

Callum Everhart · Answer

My view is that donor stewardship could be a good place to begin. An agent could manage initial thank-you messages and send impact reports, giving staff more time for meaningful conversations with supporters. The key is choosing a repetitive, high-volume task that does not need much emotional judgement. Grant prospecting research could also be a good candidate for this kind of handoff.

Faith Murray · Answer

I haven't experienced much benefit from the majority of AI agents myself, on the receiving end, because much of what it does is regurgitate info from the organization's website. If I'm at the point of engaging in a support chat, I've already scoured the website and knowledgebases myself. At this point, it becomes more of a gatekeeper than an assist.

However, I have seen one exemplary instance of a well-working AI agent, in a subscription customer support role. The AI was able to integrate the cookie-cutter knowledgebase tutorials with my unique subscription settings to provide step-by-step instructions unique to my account situation. That was very well done, and I would love to see more of that. Not only in a business-to-business user model, but also in a nonprofit-to-donor model.

I could also see an AI agent being really useful for directing inquiries to the right person in an office. Many donors don't really know which person in an organization they should be contacting, or even who is in the office that day. They get transferred around until they land in the right spot. An AI agent could interpret the donor's inquiry and then funnel that inquiry to the inbox of the correct staff person for followup.