Turning AI Opportunity into Strategy: How Nonprofits Can Chart Their Path Forward

Research finds 70 percent of nonprofit leaders and staff believe their organizations are missing meaningful AI opportunities, while only 8 percent report having an AI implementation roadmap.

Boston, Sept. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the social sector, but many nonprofit organizations are still determining how it can best advance their mission. Survey research released today by The Bridgespan Group and NTEN finds that 70 percent of nonprofit leaders and staff believe their organizations are missing meaningful opportunities to use AI, while only 8 percent report having a one- to two-year AI implementation roadmap.

To help organizations move from uncertainty to strategic action, Bridgespan has released Choosing Your AI Path: A Framework for Nonprofit Leaders to Make Strategic Choices, a new report that helps nonprofit leaders identify where AI can strengthen organizational capacity, advance mission, and shape responsible AI development and governance.

“The goal isn’t to help every nonprofit become an AI organization," said Nate Wong, Bridgespan partner and co-author. "It’s to help leaders make informed, strategic choices about where AI can strengthen their work, where it introduces risk, and where their voices are needed to shape how AI evolves.”

Rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all approach, the framework encourages organizations to focus on where AI can create the greatest value based on their mission, strategy, capacity, and the needs of the communities they serve. Drawing on Bridgespan's work with nonprofit organizations and funders, interviews with leaders across the social sector, and the survey research conducted in partnership with NTEN, the report provides a practical approach to making thoughtful, mission-aligned decisions about AI.

The report introduces three strategic dimensions for action:

• Augment: using AI to improve internal operations, reduce administrative burden, and enable new ways of working.
• Advance: using AI to strengthen, scale, or create programs and services that improve outcomes.
• Advocate: helping shape responsible AI governance, policy, and accountability so emerging technologies better serve communities and the public interest.

The report features examples from organizations including the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Living Goods, the Center for Employment Opportunities, and the James Irvine Foundation, illustrating how nonprofits are using AI to improve operations, expand services, and help shape the broader AI ecosystem. It also explores governance, privacy, human oversight, and community engagement practices that support responsible AI use, while recognizing that choosing not to adopt AI may be the right strategic decision for some organizations.

“Too often, conversations about AI become polarized between enthusiasm and concern,” said Derek Brine, Bridgespan partner and co-author. “We developed this framework to help leaders cut through that noise and make deliberate choices about where AI can create value—and where caution may be needed.”

As a companion resource, Bridgespan has also released Choosing Your AI Path: Applying the Framework for Nonprofits, a set of practical worksheets that help organizations assess where AI is affecting their work and field, identify a primary area of focus, and determine practical next steps.

Read the full report here: https://www.bridgespan.org/insights/choosing-your-ai-path-a-framework-for-nonprofit-leaders-to-make-strategic-choices

About The Bridgespan Group

The Bridgespan Group is a global nonprofit that collaborates with social change organizations, philanthropists, and impact investors to make the world more equitable and just. Bridgespan’s services include strategy consulting and advising, sourcing and diligence, and leadership team support. We take what we learn from this work and build on it with original research, identifying best practices and innovative ideas to share with the social sector. We work from locations in Boston, Delhi, Johannesburg, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, and Washington, DC.

Ryan Wenzel
The Bridgespan Group
646.573.3006
ryan.wenzel@bridgespan.org