First steps with AI for charities
A gentle introduction to using AI tools in your charity. Start with simple, high-value use cases that anyone can try today.
This pathway is designed for charity staff who are curious about AI but unsure where to start. You do not need any technical skills - just access to Claude, ChatGPT, or similar tools.
We will begin with the simplest possible use cases: analysing feedback, asking questions about your data, and summarising notes. These tasks take minutes to try and deliver immediate value.
By the end of this pathway, you will have hands-on experience with several AI use cases and a clear sense of where AI can (and cannot) help your organisation.
Before you start
- •Access to Claude (claude.ai) or ChatGPT (chat.openai.com) - free tiers work fine
- •Some sample data to experiment with (feedback responses, a spreadsheet, meeting notes)
- •Willingness to experiment and learn by doing
What you will achieve
- ✓Confidently use AI tools for everyday work tasks
- ✓Know which tasks AI handles well vs which need human judgement
- ✓Have a portfolio of AI techniques you can share with colleagues
- ✓Be ready to explore more advanced use cases
Learning path
Getting started
Your first AI experiments. Low-risk, high-reward tasks you can try in 30 minutes.
Estimated time: 1-2 hours
After this stage, you will be able to:
- ✓Comfortable using Claude or ChatGPT for work tasks
- ✓Understand what AI is good at (pattern finding, summarising)
- ✓Know how to phrase prompts effectively
Start here - paste some survey responses and watch AI find patterns
Upload a spreadsheet and have a conversation about it
Quickly summarise text for colleagues
Everyday productivity
Practical time-savers for meetings, documents, and communication.
Estimated time: 2-3 hours
After this stage, you will be able to:
- ✓Save 2-3 hours per week on routine documentation
- ✓Provide information in more languages
- ✓Create searchable records from audio
Telling your story
Use AI to communicate your impact more effectively.
Estimated time: 2 hours
After this stage, you will be able to:
- ✓Create more content from the same material
- ✓Maintain consistent messaging across channels
- ✓Reach wider audiences with accessible formats
Turn one story into multiple social posts
Repurpose case studies for different audiences
Make your content more accessible