The charity sector is now waking up to AI’s potential. While it still lags behind other sectors, non profit organisations that have embraced the technology sooner, are finding it to be transformative – not just in their efficiency, but also in how they engage with donors and deliver services. Phil Grace, business systems manager at Hospice UK has been piloting AI tools within the charity’s existing software and explains what’s needed to encourage ethical and compliant adoption across an organisation. The national charity representing over 200 hospices across the UK, fights for hospice care for all who need it, now and into the future.
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Research shows that the charity sector has been the slowest to adopt AI in the workplace, with only 29% of workers using the technology regularly.

These findings, from The Access Group, also paint a clear picture of the benefits seen by those who’ve adopted it. Some 62% reported feeling less stressed about their workload, 45% said it made them more productive and 28% said it helped save time, allowing them to focus on more important tasks.

At Hospice UK we’ve been on an AI journey for the past eight months testing Microsoft Copilot and trialing the new AI functionality within our CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, and we’re starting to really see the results.

The biggest impact

Our biggest win has been the impact using AI has had on people’s daily tasks – from email replies and summarising bulk emails when they return from leave, to recording Teams meetings and providing a recap along with a list of actions. We’re also starting to explore how AI can fill gaps in digital accessibility.

Beyond the internal benefits we are also looking at ways to shake up how we connect with our supporters too. We’re exploring how we can personalise ‘thank you’ messages and target communications to people with specific interests thanks to the scope of data AI can tap into.

This personalisation is not just about basic messaging, it can automatically tailor emails when someone gives a larger donation than they usually would or quickly provide information on grants without having to trawl hours through paperwork. Instead, we can access data on a donor or grant applicants in a matter of seconds.

We’ve also heard from clinical teams within our hospice members that they’ve found AI invaluable for document summarisation and notetaking. They often have to go through large whitepapers, and it has helped by condensing key pieces of information, and alongside having transcriptions and notes of their patient interactions automatically logged into the system. This could be a huge timesaver, as it could free them up to see more patients each day, and spend more time with them, which would be a real selling-point for them.

Making it personal

When you see the benefits laid out, it can be hard to understand why the charity sector has been lagging so far behind other industries. But I’ve put it down to two main things – a knowledge gap and ethical concerns.

Knowledge gaps prevent people from understanding what AI can do for them and how it can help them with their specific roles. Our most tech-savvy people are using AI regularly and even they are still nowhere near to using the technology to its full potential, so it can be hard for those who are less technical to realise its capabilities.

There’s also a concern among charity workers about AI’s ethical credentials. They’re worried about unethical use cases, how it can be perceived as ‘cheating’ at work or even the potential of taking people’s jobs has made some people in the industry feel uneasy. Worries about confidentiality and data leaks have also prevented many charities from adopting AI thus far - but as we prove how the tech can be adopted in a safe and secure environment we hope more people will be open to its use.

At Hospice UK, the success of an organisation-wide rollout will hang on people’s confidence and personal connections with AI, rather than any generic training we offer them. We think by focusing our attention on showcasing what use cases will be the most relevant and beneficial to people’s specific job roles, it will help them to see the value in it and hopefully encourage them to use it regularly.


Tech worth embracing

With around 36% of charity workers already using generative AI like ChatGPT for content creation, according to The Access Group research, there is even more potential for it to be part of campaign development, volunteer recruitment and supporting fundraising efforts.

In good time, organisations like ours, who are already embracing AI, will find themselves better positioned to achieve their missions and fundraising goals much faster. We’re not suggesting that AI will ever replace the human element that is so crucial to our charity work. Instead, it’s removing the admin burdens and allowing our teams to spend more time supporting service users and focusing their attention on what they value about their job the most.

AI allows our teams to dedicate more time to their meaningful work, and that to me, seems like a tech transformation worth embracing.

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