Goodera Study Highlights AI Literacy Demand Among Nonprofits

Goodera has released The State of AI Literacy in Social Impact 2025, a global whitepaper based on a survey of 1,000+ nonprofit organizations across 30+ countries, offering one of the most comprehensive views into how mission-driven organizations are engaging with artificial intelligence. The report finds that while enthusiasm for AI is high across the nonprofit sector, limited skills, guidance, and access to practical training are preventing organizations from translating interest into real-world impact. 

Spanning nonprofits working across education, health, environment, gender equality, humanitarian relief, and livelihoods, the report highlights a sector at a critical inflection point, eager to adopt AI responsibly, but constrained by capacity and confidence gaps.

AI Adoption: Interest Is High, Usage Remains Limited

Despite growing awareness of AI’s potential, actual adoption across nonprofits remains nascent:

• 71% of nonprofits want to leverage AI to improve operational efficiency

• 76% say the communities they serve want access to AI literacy programs

• Yet, only 25% of nonprofits currently report actively using AI tools

This gap underscores a clear disconnect between aspiration and execution, with most organizations stuck in exploration mode rather than implementation.  

Top AI Use Cases: Practical Needs, Not Moonshots

Nonprofits overwhelmingly view AI as a practical enabler for everyday challenges rather than a transformational leap. The highest-priority use cases identified include:

• Communication and storytelling (≈80%), including donor outreach, social media, grant writing, and impact narratives

• Impact measurement and reporting, where AI could significantly reduce time spent on monitoring, evaluation, and donor reports

• Fundraising and donor engagement, including donor segmentation and personalized outreach

• Data management and analysis, addressing chronic data overload

• Training and educational content, enabling scalable learning for staff, volunteers, and beneficiaries

These use cases reflect urgent capacity constraints across the sector, with AI seen as a way to reclaim time from administrative work and redirect it toward mission delivery.  

AI for Communities: Literacy Emerges as an Equity Issue

Beyond internal efficiency, nonprofits are increasingly focused on extending AI benefits to the communities they serve:

• 76% of organizations say beneficiaries are asking for AI literacy programs

• 87% see value in expanding AI education beyond staff to youth, job-seekers, women, and families

Education, employability, and women’s empowerment emerged as the top program areas for community-facing AI initiatives, with nonprofits viewing AI literacy as critical to future economic opportunity and inclusion.  

Barriers: Skills, Guidance, and Safe Learning Environments

While interest is widespread, the report identifies persistent readiness gaps:

• Nearly half of nonprofits cite insufficient in-house AI skills

• 86% express interest in hands-on, guided training led by corporate volunteers

• Fewer than one in four nonprofits currently offer AI learning programs to beneficiaries

Respondents consistently highlighted the need for safe, judgment-free environments to understand and apply AI responsibly, emphasizing that one-off webinars are insufficient for meaningful adoption. 

“Nonprofits don’t lack intent when it comes to AI, they lack access, confidence, and safe pathways to learn. This report makes it clear that AI can be a force multiplier for social impact, but only if we invest in literacy, hands-on support, and responsible adoption. Bridging this gap is essential to ensure communities are not left behind in an AI-driven future,” said Abhishek Humbad, Founder & CEO, Goodera.

Goodera notes that while nonprofits are eager to embrace AI, they face structural barriers in skills, resources, and access. The company calls on the broader technology ecosystem, corporate volunteers, policymakers, and social organizations to collaborate in building responsible AI capacity, ensuring that innovation reaches the communities that need it most and that AI becomes a driver of inclusion, equity, and meaningful social change.