The grant deadline is Friday. The trustee report is due next week, the volunteer rota has a hole where two regulars have gone to Portugal, and the newsletter hasn't gone out since the spring fair. In a small charity, the person writing the bid is usually also the person ordering the teabags. If any sector has earned a few hours back, it's this one.
Start charity AI training by agreeing simple rules: no beneficiary, donor or safeguarding data in AI tools without proper safeguards. Then use AI on the writing that swallows staff time, such as grant applications built from your own evidence, impact reports, trustee papers and supporter updates. Train trustees too, so governance keeps pace with practice.
Why charities need AI training, not just AI tools
Charities have taken to AI faster than almost anyone predicted. The Charity Digital Skills Report 2025, based on 672 responses, found 76% of charities using AI tools, up from 61% a year earlier. Small charities were mainly using it for grant fundraising.
The rules have lagged behind. In the same report, 48% of charities said they were developing an AI policy, up from 16%, which is real progress and also means plenty are still working without one. Only 8% were using AI in service delivery, which is sensible caution for a sector that works with vulnerable people.
Much of this use is informal: individuals trying free tools on their own, often in their own time. Training turns that into something the organisation can stand behind, and something a funder or trustee can ask about without anybody going pale.
- 01Set the rulesProtect beneficiaries first.
- 02Write better bidsYour evidence, clearer words.
- 03Report the impactData funders believe.
- 04Talk to supportersYour voice, more often.
- 05Lighten the adminRotas, minutes, inductions.
- 06Bring the trusteesGovernance that keeps up.
How should a charity start using AI?
1. Agree what AI must never see
Charities hold some of the most sensitive information anywhere: case notes, safeguarding records, health details, donor addresses and Gift Aid declarations. None of it should go into a free AI tool, and most of it shouldn't go into any AI tool without a proper assessment and the right safeguards.
Write a short policy that everyone can follow, volunteers included. Approved tools, what can go in, what can't, who checks outputs and how you'll be open with supporters about AI use. Our guide to what to put in an AI usage policy works well for small charities, with extra care around safeguarding.
Check your progress
2. Write grant applications from your own evidence
Bids are where AI saves charities the most time, provided the substance stays yours. Give AI the funder's criteria, your real outcomes data, a case study you have permission to use and last year's successful application, then ask it to draft answers that fit the word limits.
Never let it invent numbers, outcomes or quotes. Funders know your work, and a statistic that appeared from nowhere is the quickest way to lose their trust. Check every figure against your records, and rewrite anything that could describe any charity in Britain.
Charity prompt to try
Here are the funder's criteria, our outcomes data for last year and our approved case study. Draft answers to questions 3 and 4, each under 250 words. Use only the facts provided. Where evidence is missing, write [EVIDENCE NEEDED] rather than filling the gap.
Check your progress
3. Turn outcomes data into impact reports and trustee papers
Most charities have more evidence than they use. Attendance figures, feedback forms and before-and-after scores sit in spreadsheets nobody has time to read. AI can summarise them, spot the trends and draft a plain-English impact report or a board paper that gets to the point on page one.
Anonymise first. Then check the analysis, because AI will occasionally announce a 40% improvement that turns out to be two people out of five. Small numbers deserve honest wording.
Charity prompt to try
Here is anonymised feedback data from our befriending service for the last two quarters. Summarise the main changes in plain English for trustees, show the actual numbers behind every percentage and flag any finding based on fewer than ten people.
Check your progress
4. Keep supporter communications in your own voice
Newsletters, social posts, appeal letters and thank-you emails all get easier with an AI first draft. The risk for charities is sounding like everyone else. Supporters give to people and causes, not to polished copy.
Build a short voice guide: how you talk about the people you help, words you never use and how warm or formal you are. Use it every time. And keep the real stories real. AI can tidy a volunteer's account of a Tuesday drop-in, but it shouldn't write one that didn't happen.
Charity prompt to try
Using our voice guide and the notes below from this month's coffee mornings, draft a 200-word newsletter piece. Keep the volunteer's own words where quoted. No clichés about making a difference. Suggest two subject lines.
Check your progress
5. Lighten the admin that eats the week
Volunteer inductions, rota emails, meeting minutes, policies that need a yearly refresh and the risk assessment for the summer fete. AI can turn a messy set of notes into a clean induction pack or a tidy set of minutes while the kettle boils.
These are low-risk jobs once personal details are removed, and they free staff for the work only people can do. Start here if the team is nervous. Nobody has ever lost sleep over an AI-drafted rota reminder.
Check your progress
6. Bring trustees along
Governance tends to trail practice. Trustees need to understand enough about AI to ask good questions: what are we using it for, what data goes in, how do we check the outputs, and what would our supporters think if they knew?
A short trustee session is often the most valuable hour of AI training a charity buys. It turns staff experiments into an approved approach, gives the policy some authority and stops the board being surprised by a news story. The government's free AI training offer is a useful starting point to share with trustees.
Check your progress
What should each charity role hand to AI first?
Different people in a charity need different starting points. This keeps the first month useful and safe.
| Role | First job to hand to AI | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Fundraiser or bid writer | Drafting answers to funder criteria from your evidence | Invented figures or outcomes |
| Communications lead | Newsletter and social drafts from real stories | Losing your voice, or using stories without consent |
| Service manager | Summarising anonymised feedback and outcomes | Personal or safeguarding data |
| Volunteer coordinator | Rotas, inductions and reminder emails | Volunteer contact details in free tools |
| Trustee | Understanding the policy and asking good questions | Approving use nobody can explain |
Start with the fundraiser and the volunteer coordinator. That's usually where the hours are.
A practice task for a small charity team
Take a grant application you submitted last year, successful or not, and strip out personal details. Ask AI to redraft one answer using only the evidence in the original, then compare the two. Is it clearer? Did it invent anything? Does it still sound like you?
Share the results at your next team meeting and agree three rules for using AI on bids. That conversation is your AI policy starting to write itself.
Train your charity team with us
Our Basic AI Training gives small teams and volunteers practical, safe everyday skills, and the AI Policy Workshop helps staff and trustees agree the rules together. For bid writing, Win More Business With AI adapts well to funding applications. Watching the budget? Read how much AI training costs, then talk to us about a format that fits your team.
Based in Witney, Oxfordshire. Explore UK training options or take the free two-minute AI skills assessment to see where your team stands.
Talk to us about your charityAI training for charities: frequently asked questions
Do funders mind if charities use AI to write grant applications?
Policies vary, so check each funder's guidance. Most care about accuracy and honesty more than how the text was drafted. Use AI to structure and polish, keep every fact and outcome your own, and be ready to explain how you used it.
Is it safe for charities to use ChatGPT?
It can be, with the right setup. Use an approved business account rather than personal free accounts, keep beneficiary, donor and safeguarding data out, and have a person check everything before it's used.
What should a charity AI policy include?
Approved tools, what data can and can't be used, who reviews AI outputs, how you'll be open with supporters and funders, and how volunteers are covered. Keep it short enough that people will read it.
Can small charities with no IT staff use AI?
Yes. The most useful tools need no technical setup, and the main skills are writing clear instructions and checking the results. A few hours of practical training on your own tasks goes a long way.
Should charities use AI in services for beneficiaries?
Carefully, and usually later. Most charities start with back-office work such as bids, reports and admin. Using AI directly with beneficiaries needs a proper risk assessment, safeguarding review and trustee approval first.
Sources and further reading
- Charity Digital Skills Report 2025
- Civil Society: substantial growth in charity AI adoption
- Zoe Amar Digital: early insights from the 2025 survey
Statistics, standards and programme links checked on 5 October 2026.