AI Policy for Nonprofits: A Free Template and a Board Checklist

Tools, data, review and accountability, in a few pages.

JR Secure Design

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3 hours ago

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Staff at most nonprofits are already using AI tools, often on personal accounts. The question is whether anyone has decided how those tools should be used.

A nonprofit AI policy is a short document that answers four things: which AI tools staff may use, what information must never go into them, who checks AI-made work, and who is accountable if something goes wrong. You don’t need to write it from scratch.

What to include

1. Purpose: why the organization uses AI and how it supports the mission.
2. Allowed tools: which AI tools staff may use, on organization accounts where possible.
3. Data rules: no donor personal details, beneficiary or case information, health data, passwords, or anything shared in confidence.
4. Human review: AI drafts, people decide. Anything public, financial or about a person gets checked first.
5. Disclosure: when you tell donors, funders or the public that AI helped.
6. Accountability: who owns the policy, who signs off on new tools, and who responds if something goes wrong.
7. Requests: how a staff member asks to use a new tool.
8. Review date: at least twice a year.

Five questions for your next board meeting

• Do we have a written AI policy, and when was it last reviewed?
• Which AI tools do staff use today, including personal accounts?
• Is any donor, beneficiary or health information going into AI tools?
• Who is accountable if AI causes harm, and how would we find out?
• Are staff paying for AI tools themselves? Should we provide organization accounts instead?

If the board can’t answer half of these, that’s not a failure. It’s the start of a plan.

One quick test: could a new volunteer read your AI policy in ten minutes and know what’s off-limits? If not, shorten it.

The full guide has all ten board questions and a free, editable AI acceptable use policy template.

Read the full guide: https://jrsecuredesign.com/ai-policy-for-nonprofits/?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ai-policy-for-nonprofits&utm_content=medium-1104-sec

More from JR Secure Design: https://jrsecuredesign.com/?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ai-policy-for-nonprofits&utm_content=medium-1104-sec

Book a free 30-minute call: https://calendly.com/jdecrescenzojr/30min?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ai-policy-for-nonprofits&utm_content=medium-1104-sec