Most NFPs use AI

Infoxchange, an Australian NFP whose focus is technology for social justice, has reported that two-thirds of organisations it surveyed were using artificial intelligence.

Its 2025 Digital Technology in the Not-for-Profit Sector Report provides an annual snapshot of how the not-for-profit sector is using, benefiting from, or being hampered by technology.

The report reveals that 67 per cent of the 800-plus surveyed organisations were using generative AI in their work, mostly for content creation. It emphasises that data security, ethics, sovereignty, and privacy remain the top barriers to preventing greater AI use.

Only 14 per cent of organisations surveyed had an official AI policy or guidelines in place, although 50 per cent of the others said they intended to formulate a policy.

Other key findings included:

  • AI tools are being adopted at twice the rate of last year, but only 14 per cent of NFPs have an internal AI policy or governance framework
  • Forty-four per cent of NFPs rank ‘data and reporting for evidence-based decision-making’ as their highest need, up from 17 per cent in 2023
  • Only 23 per cent of NFPs have a documented cyber-security plan – progress towards a cyber-safe sector appearing to be stagnating or regressing
  • Lack of time, implementation, and maintenance costs are the main barriers preventing NFPs from upgrading their systems
  • Overall, budget and funding remains the top challenge, 59 per cent rating it as their highest challenge, and
  • Only 32 per cent consider their technology environment provides more than essential functions for staff and volunteers, and 12 per cent consider their environment at risk, potentially affecting services.

 


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