AI for Nonprofits: 4 Quadrants to Cut Through the Noise

Support Articles AI for Nonprofits: 4 Quadrants to Cut Through the Noise
Share
Share

Oct 2, 2025

How Nonprofits Can Think About AI

Breaking It Down Into 4 Clear Quadrants

AI feels like it's everywhere, and nowhere, all at once. If you're leading a nonprofit, chances are you've asked yourself:
“Should we be doing something with AI?”
Or maybe:
“Is AI a threat to our work, or a tool we should embrace?”

Those are fair, and timely, questions.

But here’s the problem: AI is too broad a term. It’s like saying “technology” or “the internet”, without any context, it can mean everything and nothing at the same time.

That’s why a recent framework from a conversation between ServiceReef and EC Group was so helpful. It breaks down AI into four clear quadrants, and this simple model may help your nonprofit finally wrap its head around where you are… and where you might want to go next.

🎯 The Four Quadrants of AI

1. News Cycle AI – “I keep hearing about it…”

This is where most nonprofit executives and board members start. You’re reading the headlines. You’re seeing terms flying around LinkedIn or seeing new benchmarks based on new models posted on social media. You're aware that AI is shaking up industries, but you're not quite sure how or where it applies to your mission-driven world.

In reality, while this News Cycle AI quadrant is key for those that are living in this space, it’s mainly a philosophical conversation on an industry that is being built as it grows. As a leader in the non-profit space, it’s important to have conversations and be aware of what is going on, but it is very difficult to base any decisions with information only in this quadrant as the news changes so quickly.

What this looks like in your org:

Board members or donors ask, “Are you using AI?” or “What is your AI strategy?”
Typically, there is internal curiosity but no clear use cases.
Fear of being left behind, but no roadmap on how this could drive you forward.

What to do here:

Personally acknowledge that most questions and information is related to this space.
If important to your organizational strategy, then look to methods to stay on top of it. Some examples:
- Assign someone to curate AI news relevant to your mission.
- Review monthly or quarterly as a 5 minute update.
- Hold a “Lunch & Learn” or team roundtable to unpack key trends.
Watch and wait, but don’t stay here forever.

2. Tool AI – “We use AI to make our jobs easier”

Tool AI is where individuals begin to use AI-powered tools to enhance their productivity. This might be your comms director using their preferred AI model to write a donor newsletter draft, or your ops team using AI to summarize board reports.

What this looks like in your org:

Staff using AI for writing, editing, summarizing, image generation, or even data cleanup.
Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Notion AI, Grammarly, Midjourney, and DALL·E are in casual use.

What to do here:

Encourage responsible experimentation, maybe even create an “AI Locker” (a shared doc where staff list tools and how they’ve used them).
Start conversations around ethical boundaries (e.g., where AI shouldn’t be used, privacy concerns, etc.).
Empower your team to save time on repetitive tasks, just don’t outsource your values.
Leverage your prompts to look for gaps (e.g. what topics might we be missing in an upcoming meeting, etc).

3. Applied AI – “We’ve embedded AI into how we work”

This is where things get interesting… and tricky. Applied AI is not just using tools, it’s integrating AI into your workflows. It might mean using AI to screen volunteer applications, match mentors and mentees, or automatically route prayer requests to the right care team.

What this looks like in your org:

Custom automations using AI models (e.g., tagging photos, categorizing emails, routing requests). Think “If A, then B” but instead of people/volunteers doing it, the agent does it for you automatically.
Early experiments in building your own AI agents or using RAG (retrieval-augmented generation).
Strategic conversations about what data could (and should) be leveraged.

What to do here:

Identify pain points in your current workflow (e.g., repetitive review processes, follow-up tasks).
Work with tech partners or consultants to explore AI-augmented solutions.
Start small, measure impact, and scale what works.

⚠️ Note: This quadrant is where many nonprofits feel lost. That’s normal. Even seasoned tech companies are still figuring it out. This area will continue to expand in the coming years, making it easier on the non-technical folks to leverage this quadrant to drive initiatives forward.

4. Core AI – “We’re building with AI from the ground up”

Core AI is the realm of model creators, those building foundational language models, fine-tuning large models on their own data, or hosting custom inference servers. This area gets a lot of the news cycle mentioned earlier, but is rarely where nonprofits need to be, unless your mission is tech-centric.

What this looks like in your org:

You’re fine-tuning your own LLM.
You’re running models locally due to privacy needs.
You’re building an AI-based product or service as part of your core mission (e.g., a nonprofit doing AI-powered language translation for Bible access).

What to do here:

Avoid unless it’s mission-critical or you have an R&D grant specifically for it.
If you must go here, build with trusted partners, hire experienced staff, and plan for sustainability.

Understanding the Quadrants

Going a bit deeper at the risk of over-simplifying the current environment: You can think of the four AI quadrants as moving along two dimensions:

Theoretical → Practical: On one end you have concepts and headlines (Theoretical), and on the other, real-world workflows and systems (Practical).
Accessible (Consumer-Driven) → Specialized (Creator-Driven): Some AI is easy to jump into with little to no expertise (Accessible), while other types require technical depth, custom development, or dedicated partners (Specialized).

Plotted together, these two dimensions give us the four quadrants:

News AI → Theoretical + Accessible
Tool AI → Practical + Accessible
Applied AI → Practical + Specialized
Core AI → Theoretical + Specialized

This framework helps nonprofits see that they don’t need to “do it all.” Most will thrive in the Accessible + Practical space, using tools and small applied workflows, without needing to dive into the complexities of Core AI.

🧭So... Where Should You Start?

Most nonprofits will look at this and think that they need to journey through these quadrants in order:

News AI → Tool AI → Applied AI → Core AI

But here’s the good news: most nonprofits will never need to get beyond Tool AI (or maybe Applied AI) and that’s perfectly okay.

Your mission isn’t to chase every shiny new AI announcement or to compete with the companies building massive language models. Your mission is to serve people, build community, and create lasting change. If AI can help you do that more effectively (by saving staff time, improving communication, or automating repetitive tasks) then it’s already serving its purpose.

Think of it this way:

News AI → stay informed just enough to know what’s happening. Don’t get consumed by the hype.
Core AI → almost never worth your time unless your nonprofit is uniquely positioned to build tech as part of your mission.

Instead, put your energy into:

Tool AI → empower your team to save time and sharpen their impact. Hire or encourage employees that can leverage AI for specific tasks (e.g. create video content, blogs, engage donors, etc.)
Applied AI → If you’re really leveraging tools well, then progress by identifying the 1–2 areas where automation or intelligent workflows could radically free up resources or expand reach.

Everything else is background noise. The real question is: how does AI help drive your mission forward today? If you stay focused on that, you’ll avoid distraction and find the practical wins that actually matter.

🕊 A Final Word for Faith-Based Nonprofits

If you’re a faith-based organization, you may be approaching AI with caution, and rightly so. AI raises ethical, theological, and relational questions that shouldn’t be ignored.

But here’s the truth: AI isn’t going away. And just like previous tech revolutions (printing press, radio, social media), the question isn’t if it will affect your work, but how you will steward it.

What if we used AI to free up time for deeper connection?
What if AI helped us reach people faster, understand needs better, and multiply our impact without burning out our teams?

These are not just tech questions. They’re leadership questions. Stewardship questions. Kingdom questions.

And they’re worth asking.

🚀 What Quadrant Are You In?

So here’s the real question: Which quadrant are you spending most of your time in right now?

Are you still swimming in News AI, curious but overwhelmed?
Experimenting with Tool AI in your daily work?
Dabbling with Applied AI and wondering what to automate next?
Or maybe just curious about the mysteries of Core AI?

Wherever you are, you’re not alone. Most nonprofits are asking the same questions and navigating this same learning curve. The best way forward isn’t to go it alone, it’s to walk together in community.

Where do you find yourself? Does any element of this resonate with your journey or experience? Share below what you’re learning.

Because AI isn’t just a technology shift; it’s a leadership and stewardship conversation. And the more we learn from each other, the better we’ll be at keeping the focus on what matters most: our mission.

Comments

To leave a comment, login or sign up.

Related Content

The Myth of Balance

Throughout my career, I feel that the concept of Work-Life Balance has perpetually been a struggle. During my children’s younger years, it was nearly impossible. It seemed as if I spent 50-60 hours at work, I should be spending at least that much time in direct contact with family or friends, or spend that much time exercising in order to “balance” all of it out. The allure of the word “balance” comes from this idea that if we can just find a way to obtain this, we can walk a narrow tightrope between expectations and find a path that somehow honors everything around us. If we can just find balance, then we can figure out how to keep it. While work-life is a common attempt at this, the concept permeates so many other areas of our life, even within a specific role or arena. I used to joke with over-working employees that if balance was true, for every 60+ hour week, there would be a week in which the job would only demand 20 hours. After all, mathematically, that is what “averaging 40-45 hours per week” would result in. It never happened that I can recall :-) As the years have passed, I realize now that balance isn’t obtainable and is likely the wrong goal to be striving after. I now prefer to use the concept of “tension”. Tension in our lives There is a tension between my desire to spend time with my spouse, my family, be a good friend to others, work hard, provide value to my company and clients, exercise, etc. All of these endeavors are good things. However, some days, one area of my life might need, or even demand, my attention. That creates tension on the other areas as I pull from there to provide the focus to an area of need. In my mind, the word balance conjures images of a seesaw on a playground. One side must go down while another goes up. While the concept of tension feels more like climbing ropes. The tension between the climber’s weight and the belayer creates safety and allows for focus on the task at hand I have found that the concept of tension aligns more theologically as well. There are tensions often in what God asks us to do. Serving or giving generously, by definition, creates tension in other areas of our lives. It becomes a question of trust: If I give in this area, can I trust you God to provide in other areas? Tension in Scripture The Jewish scholars at the time of Jesus understood this well. Although the law had 613 commandments spelled out in the Torah, the leaders throughout time had created additional laws to help the people keep those that were essential. However, even within those 613 laws directly from God, there were sometimes challenges or seemingly competing priorities. While primarily a theoretical exercise, it was essential for them to wrestle with what God asks them to do. For example, God clearly commands that they were not to work on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11). However, if a neighbor’s donkey were to fall into a well on the Sabbath, could you help it out? After all, Deuteronomy 22:4 commands that you help out livestock, even that of your enemies. In this situation, what would actually constitute “work”... and if you chose to love your neighbor by helping him with his livestock in an emergency, would that actually be a better choice? It was a situation filled with tension. Jesus even calls them out on this in Luke 14:5. In that time, in order to help people navigate this tension, a Rabbi would have an ordered structure to the laws of scripture that he would call his “Yoke”. They were prioritized in the most important law, the second greatest, and so on to help make these hard decisions easier. Those that followed that rabbi would “take on his yoke” to help them with these situations. If you found yourself in a situation where you needed to violate a law, you could only violate it with a higher priority law. This is why Jesus was asked, “What is the most important commandment?” (Matthew 22:36-40) They were asking about his yoke, his order of how to navigate this tension between two seemingly competing priorities or commands. Suggested practice: Each week, take five minutes to ask: Where is the tension highest in my life? What deserves my focus this week, and what can wait? A little secret... the power of "and" In today’s world, I have found that how I handle interruptions is key to my internal struggle with tensions. If I get aggravated by an interruption, it’s likely an insight into how I’m doing internally or even how I’m currently managing my tensions. As I have wrestled with this over the years, I realize that it comes from this western perspective that I can only be doing A OR B activities. There is some truth to that; by pulling my attention from A to give it to B, I am no longer focussed in that area. However, this is not always true. There are elements in which I can combine activities to achieve two elements at once. Quick examples might include: Walking with a spouse or friend, which provides both exercise AND relational connection Making dinner while listening to music/podcast; performing a task AND refueling yourself Taking someone to practice and bringing a book or taking a walk while waiting; allowing you to pour into yourself AND get some time with your child If you can find ways in which you can accomplish two key functions at once, you can more easily live within the tensions that life provides. Living within health tension I have tried, not entirely successfully, to try and view situations as a chance to be intentional with my “and”. Driving to yet another soccer practice can instead by viewed as a chance to get an uninterrupted 10-20 minutes in the car with one my kids, allowing myself to be intentional for that ride. It’s not “just” an interruption to the day. However, having the understanding of “tensions” instead of just striving for balance. And then layering on the ability to view life and interruptions as a chance to navigate and find an “and” in the situation allows me to better live within the world and demands of every week. Some other ways that help are: Naming the tension rather than fighting it. Setting “seasonal” priorities instead of daily ones. Inviting accountability through a spouse, mentor, or friend. Wrapping Up Jesus’ yoke he presented as being easy and his burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus wasn’t removing the tension but helping us live it out in peace by fulfilling all of the law into two areas: Love God and Love Others. As you reflect this week: Where in your life are you chasing balance instead of embracing tension? What’s one area this week where you can practice the power of ‘and’? What is one thing you can release or let go of in order to focus on where God is calling you? I hope you find blessing in this perspective as well. Let me know what you think and where this provides benefit to you below.

The Journey Continues: 4 Keys to Keeping the Flame Alive After a Mission Trip

We all know that the days and weeks following a trip are brimming with potential. Everyone is excited about what just happened and how they are changed by their experience. However, whenever I ask how that energy is getting captured, focused, or shared, I hear a lot of organizations and churches say things like “Yeah, we really should do this,” but if we are being honest, this is very rarely enacted or done consistently across all teams. Even within your teams, you will find that some teams or team leaders might do this well, while others completely ignore this critical step. Why are we so inconsistent with this area if we know it’s a valuable part of the Mission Journey? In my experience, this topic is often overshadowed by the excitement and anticipation of the mission trip itself. Unfortunately, without this key step, we miss an opportunity to cement life change and, I would argue, this results in short-circuiting the potential for discipleship and future engagement with those participants. We believe what happens after the trip is over is just as integral to the mission journey and a golden opportunity to deepen your impact, both personally and within the community. Here are four ways to better understand our tensions in this area and create a culture within our organizations that stewards well the entire process, including the time after the trip is over. 1. Rethinking the Post-Trip Engagement: A Shift in Perception In the wake of a mission trip, many of us heave a sigh of relief, tempted to say, "Whew… it’s over.” Unfortunately, this mindset can lead us to overlook a critical stage of the journey: post-trip engagement. It's essential to resist viewing these gatherings as simply "nice to have" or as an afterthought. Instead, we must recognize that each trip isn't a standalone event but rather a crucial milestone in a person’s broader missional journey. By placing the trip within this larger narrative, we begin to grasp the importance of the return home and the subsequent communication about what transpired during their mission. What God has done in their lives during this time is a powerful story that needs to be shared and honored. Once you capture this larger perspective, it impacts your communication with your team. By providing a reason why and being aware of your own mindset, you can communicate the importance more clearly and help establish the mindset that you want. Here’s an example of how you may express this mindset via email to your participants. It might sound like this: “Phew, you're back from your mission trip. Your suitcase may be empty, but your heart's likely full. Now, it's tempting to breathe a sigh of relief and think, ‘All done. The trip's over.’ But wait! There's one crucial part of the journey we often overlook: the post-trip get-togethers. Let's break the mold and think of these meetings not as an ‘oh-by-the-way’ kind of thing or even just a reunion, but as a significant part of the overall mission. Why? Because a mission trip isn't a one-off. It's a stepping stone on a bigger, beautiful journey. It's a chapter in your unique story of how you're making a difference in the world… and how those moments made a difference in you that you hope to continue to cultivate. So, don't rush to close the book on this chapter. Savor it, share it, and let's talk about what God's been up to in your life.” 2. Setting Expectations Before the Trip: The Power of Preparation The groundwork for effective post-trip engagement begins even before departure. Ensure that your team understands the expectation for participation in the form of a debrief meeting upon their return. This sets the stage for open communication and active engagement. If anyone misses this meeting, a follow-up should be arranged to communicate the importance of this step, preparing them better for future missions. By setting these clear expectations and being proactive in your follow-through, you facilitate an environment where individuals feel more involved, heard, and integral to the mission's success. Additionally, you set yourself up for success in the following years. Think of this as a “line in the sand” moment and by establishing and enforcing expectations over the next couple of sending seasons, you will start to see incredible results. 3. In-Country Debrief: Harnessing Immediate Reflections Engaging your participants effectively in their experience of the trip shouldn’t begin once you're home. We believe it should begin while you're still in the field. Encourage your leaders to facilitate a debriefing session regularly, or at least soon before your return home. This simple yet impactful practice presses for the participation of everyone and primes the team for more in-depth conversations when they return home. Open-ended questions such as, "What was one highlight that encapsulates our time here?" and "What personal challenge, mindset shift, or behavior change did you face during this mission?" can stimulate thoughtful responses. As you wait for your return flight, encourage participants to summarize their experiences into a two-minute account and jot it down on a notecard. On the route home, they can expand this into a detailed journal entry, documenting three key take-aways that profoundly impacted their lives, perspectives, or missional journey. 4. Using Their Experience as a Call to Action: Spreading the Missional Flame Back home, the participants' experiences can be a powerful catalyst for drawing others into their journey or alongside your organizational mission. Sharing your stories can inspire others to embark on their own journeys, and maybe even join you on your next adventure! Therefore, encourage participants to share their stories and make it easy for them to do so. Pro Tip: Find a way to capture those stories, the lessons, and the examples of life change that occurred in your debrief. These details will touch the hearts of your donor base, encourage future participants, and help others feel the impact that was made by the team. Make it easy for your participants to share information about your organization, field partner, or church. As a small example, as your participants have conversations, you can encourage them to connect those people with your social media. This additional engagement not only grows your potential participant pool but also allows for continual dialogue about missions, further fostering a vibrant community that is engaged, inspired, and ready for more missional opportunities. The mission trip might be over, but its ripple effects are just starting. It’s an ongoing journey of growth, sharing, and inspiration. So let’s keep the conversation going and continue making a difference together. What have you found effective in post-trip debriefs? How have you leveraged the stories and insights to improve in your next season? For 14 quick tips on running a successful post-trip debrief, check out our quick guide here.