Free resource
The Nonprofit AI Policy Template.
A nonprofit AI policy should cover eight things: purpose and scope, approved and prohibited uses, human review requirements, donor data rules, disclosure standards, a tool approval process, named ownership, and a review cadence. This free template covers all eight, in plain language your whole staff can read in ten minutes.
Most nonprofits have no AI governance policy while their staff already use AI individually. That gap, not the tools, is where donor trust gets spent. This template closes it.
What’s in the template
What should be in a nonprofit AI policy?
The template has eight sections. Each comes with fill-in-the-blank language and an example of how a fundraising team would apply it.
01
Purpose & scope
Why the policy exists, who it covers, and which tools count as AI under it.
02
Approved & prohibited uses
What AI may draft, what it may inform, and what it never touches.
03
Human review requirements
Where a person signs off before anything reaches a donor, funder, or the public.
04
Donor data & privacy
What donor information may enter which tools, and what never leaves your CRM.
05
Disclosure & transparency
When and how you tell donors AI was involved. Silence costs more than candor.
06
Tool approval process
How a new tool gets vetted and approved, so adoption is a decision, not a drift.
07
Ownership & accountability
One named owner. Committees advise; a person is accountable.
08
Review cadence
Quarterly in year one, then twice a year. Tools change faster than annual cycles.
Get the template
Read it now, or email for an editable copy.
A fill-in-the-blank document your team can adopt in one meeting. Read it in full on this site (print or save as PDF), or email for an editable copy.
Prefer to read it now?
Open the full template and print or save it as a PDF.
Email for the templateor write to dale@aifundraisingfornonprofits.com
Common questions
About writing an AI policy.
- What should be in a nonprofit AI policy?
- A nonprofit AI policy should cover eight sections: purpose and scope, approved and prohibited uses, human review requirements, donor data rules, disclosure standards, a tool approval process, named ownership, and a review cadence. The free template on this page covers all eight in plain language a whole staff can read in ten minutes.
- Do we need to disclose AI use to donors?
- Disclose when AI materially shaped a communication or decision a donor would reasonably want to know about. Donors who discover undisclosed AI use lose trust in the organization, not the tool. Routine spell-check or list cleanup does not require disclosure.
- Who should own the policy?
- One named person, typically the development director or a senior operations leader, with leadership sign-off. A policy without a named owner does not get enforced or updated. Committees may advise; a person is accountable.
- How often should a nonprofit AI policy be updated?
- Quarterly for the first year, then twice a year. AI tools change faster than annual policy cycles, and staff practice shifts as new tools appear. Each review asks: what are people actually using, what went wrong, what has changed with vendors, and what needs to be added or removed.
- What if staff are already using AI unofficially?
- That is the normal starting point, and the reason to write the policy now. Start by making current usage visible, then set the lines. A workshop is the fastest way to get a whole team onto one page; see programs for nonprofits.
The governance thinking behind this template, including disclosure, consent, and human accountability, runs through every chapter of the book, including a full case study of the International Center for Journalists building its AI use policy (Chapter 13): Artificial Intelligence for Nonprofit Fundraising.