Using AI with Intention: How Make-A-Day Is Building Capacity Without Losing Our Humanity
Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly become a buzzword, used everywhere from creative industries to healthcare, often framed as either a miracle solution or an existential threat. We see AI used to generate illustrations, analyze large datasets, and even assist in identifying cancer cells in mammograms. But alongside these advancements are very real concerns about misuse, bias, privacy violations, and the ways AI can reinforce existing inequities if deployed carelessly.
For nonprofits, these risks are not abstract. Many organizations serve communities that are already over-surveilled, under-resourced, or marginalized by systems that prioritize efficiency over dignity. AI tools trained on biased data can misclassify people, exclude them from services, or replicate harmful assumptions at scale. Automation can also unintentionally replace human judgment in moments where empathy, context, and trust matter most.
At the same time, ignoring AI altogether does not protect us from its impacts. With funding cuts and rising demand for services, nonprofits are often told that AI is the answer; a way to “do more with less.” That pressure can feel unsettling, especially when the technology itself is evolving faster than our policies, ethics, and comfort levels. It’s reasonable to feel cautious, even fearful, of tools that mimic human interaction without human accountability.
A people-first approach to AI also does not dismiss these dangers; it confronts them directly. It asks hard questions about who benefits, who is harmed, and who is left out. It insists that AI remain a support to human work, not a replacement for it. And it requires that nonprofits adopt these tools slowly, transparently, and in partnership with the communities they serve.
That’s why our team at Make-A-Day participated in AI training through AIOwl as part of Ohio’s TechCred program. This experience gave our staff a structured, supportive environment to build practical skills, explore different AI platforms, and talk honestly about how these tools intersect with our values. The training allowed us to practice using AI safely and efficiently, understand where it can be helpful, and define clear boundaries around where it should not be used.
Through this process, we clarified that AI at Make-A-Day is a capacity-building tool, not a replacement for people, relationships, or lived experience.
We use AI to support mission-aligned communications and storytelling, helping translate our programs and impact into clear, dignified language and visuals for grants, reports, donor communications, and outreach. Design tools, including Canva’s AI features, help us create accessible, professional materials without diverting staff time away from direct service.
AI also supports grant development and operational planning by helping staff draft, refine, and organize complex ideas, pressure-test strategies, and improve internal documentation. This includes structuring program frameworks, intake tools, and guidance so staff and volunteers can work with clarity and consistency while still meeting people where they are.
Importantly, AI is not used for case management decisions, eligibility determinations, or client-level data processing. Personally identifiable or sensitive guest information is never entered into AI tools. Human judgment, community trust, and lived expertise remain at the center of all program decisions.
Our intentional approach to AI was further affirmed when Make-A-Day was selected as a People-First AI Fund grantee through the OpenAI Foundation, joining a national cohort of community-based nonprofits receiving unrestricted support to explore ethical, mission-aligned uses of AI. Notably, Make-A-Day is the only organization based in Ohio included in this inaugural group. This recognition reflects a growing understanding that organizations closest to community needs must help shape how emerging technologies are applied in practice.
We are also clear-eyed about the concerns surrounding AI, including environmental impact, privacy risks, and the potential to reinforce inequities. As an organization rooted in community, we believe AI should augment human connection, not replace it, and that those most impacted by poverty, homelessness, and reentry should help guide how these tools are used. Our training and participation in national learning spaces have created room for honest discussion, ethical guardrails, and shared accountability.
Through continued learning and reflection, we aim to model how a grassroots, equity-driven organization can engage AI thoughtfully, expanding opportunity without sacrificing trust.
What AI did not give us:
A solution to all of our problems
An unpaid, full-time employee
A 40-hour work week reduced to 10
What it did give us:
The opportunity to practice with multiple AI tools and understand their strengths and limitations
A shared space to openly discuss benefits, risks, and ethical implications
Clear foundations for developing a formal, values-aligned AI policy
As an organization, we recognize that AI has the potential to either deepen inequities or expand opportunity. Our commitment is to ensure that our community is not left behind in this new era and that any technology we adopt strengthens, rather than erodes, the human-centered work at the heart of Make-A-Day.