Artificial intelligence is no longer a buzzword reserved for tech companies. Today, it’s becoming one of the most transformative tools for nonprofits, empowering organizations to save time, strengthen their message, and reach more supporters. But as any nonprofit leader knows, technology only helps if it's used intentionally.
That’s exactly what Antonio Delgado, technologist, educator, and nonprofit strategist, shared in a recent episode of The 501(c) Drop, hosted by BetterUnite CEO and Co-Founder Leya Simmons. In this friendly, fast-paced conversation, Antonio showed how AI prompts — when infused with the right context — can help nonprofits move from simple insights to meaningful action.
Whether you’re running a small local charity or managing a national organization, the key takeaway is clear: AI can be your new favorite intern — but only if you train it well.
Why Nonprofits Should Care About AI (and Why It’s Not as Scary as It Sounds)
Antonio began the conversation by addressing the elephant in the room — the mix of excitement and hesitation many nonprofit leaders feel when they hear the term “AI.”
“I get it,” he shared. “Some days I’m amazed by AI. Other days, I’m frustrated. But here’s the truth: you are creative and conscious — AI is not. Think of AI as an incredible intern. It can process a ton of information quickly, but it doesn’t understand your mission, your heart, or your community… not unless you teach it.”
This mindset shift is crucial. Rather than seeing AI as a replacement for creativity or compassion, nonprofits can view it as an amplifier — a tool to broadcast their mission more clearly and widely.
“AI gives us superpowers,” Leya added. “It’s like a megaphone for our mission — but it’ll never replace the empathy or compassion at the heart of nonprofit work.”
In other words, AI can help nonprofits be more productive, strategic, and informed — freeing up time to focus on what truly matters: human connection.
The Secret to Great AI Results: Context is King
We’ve all opened a blank AI chat window and stared at the blinking cursor, wondering what to type. According to Antonio, that’s where most people go wrong.
“If you give AI a vague or short prompt, you’ll get a generic response,” he explained. “But if you give it rich context — your mission, your audience, your tone, your values — you’ll get something far more powerful.”
He compared AI prompts to giving directions to an intern. You wouldn’t just say “go do research.” You’d explain the project, the audience, the expectations, and the end goal. The same is true for AI.
Antonio’s Pro Tip: Ask AI to Ask You Questions
One of Antonio’s favorite tricks is to tell AI, “Ask me one question at a time before you begin.” This forces the AI to slow down, clarify your intent, and tailor its response.
“AI is built to finish tasks,” he said. “So if you don’t stop it, it’ll just rush to the finish line. Teaching it to ask questions makes it more like a real collaborator.”
This conversational back-and-forth is where the magic happens. It’s also a reminder that AI works best when guided by thoughtful humans — people who understand their mission and values deeply.
Building Your Brand Voice with AI
For nonprofits seeking to clarify or refresh their messaging, Antonio shared a powerful use case: leveraging AI to create a brand voice guide.
At his Austin-based nonprofit, Latinitas, Antonio compiled 300 social media posts from Hootsuite and fed them into AI to analyze tone, key phrases, and emotional language. The result? A 17-page brand voice report that helped his team stay consistent across languages (including Spanglish), campaigns, and platforms.
He shared the exact prompt recipe, which included 17 questions like:
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What is your mission statement?
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Who is your primary audience?
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What emotions do you want to evoke?
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What language and tone should you avoid?
By answering these questions one by one, Antonio built a detailed guide his whole team could use.
Leya loved this approach, noting how BetterUnite uses AI similarly: “We fight with our chat a lot,” she laughed. “It’ll write something too salesy, and I’ll say, ‘That’s not us!’ But after a few tweaks, we get something much more relatable. It’s a process.”
Grant Research Made Easy (and Affordable)
One of the most exciting examples Antonio shared was his Grant Research Prompt — a detailed AI “Mad Lib” that helps nonprofits identify funding opportunities without expensive tools.
Using Google Gemini’s Deep Research, Antonio builds prompts that specify:
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Location (e.g., “Austin, Texas”)
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Mission (e.g., youth education, arts, sustainability)
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Funding range (e.g., $10,000–$25,000)
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Past awards and data points
In return, Gemini generates a table of potential grants, deadlines, eligibility details, and funder insights — all in minutes.
For small nonprofits that can’t afford platforms like Candid, this is a game-changer.
“It’s like having a research assistant who never gets tired,” Antonio said. “I run it once a week, grab my coffee, and come back to a full list of opportunities.”
Pro Tip: Gemini offers five free deep research sessions per month (or 30 for nonprofits using Google Workspace). ChatGPT’s deep research is also available for paid users.
Just remember: while AI can find grants, humans still need to apply for them. Automation tools can’t yet navigate logins or multi-factor authentication — but we’re getting there!
Creating an AI Policy for Your Organization
With great power comes great responsibility. Antonio emphasized the importance of having a clear AI policy — especially for teams handling donor or constituent data.
Your policy should include:
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What data can and cannot be uploaded
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Which tools are approved for use
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How AI outputs are reviewed for accuracy
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Guidelines for data privacy and compliance
As Antonio warned: “If you’re using a free AI account, you are the data. Paid accounts protect your information.”
BetterUnite’s BetterAI, for instance, operates within a sandboxed environment, meaning it never shares user data with the larger AI model. This ensures security, privacy, and compliance — crucial for nonprofits dealing with sensitive donor or financial information.
Boosting Visibility: Nonprofit SEO and GEO
Finally, Antonio introduced his Nonprofit Visibility Booster Prompt — a friendly, mission-centered way to improve your organization’s SEO (search engine optimization) and GEO (geographic optimization).
By asking targeted questions about your programs, patrons, and communities, AI can help you:
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Identify relevant local search terms (like “youth mentorship Austin TX” or “arts nonprofit Central Texas”)
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Optimize web pages for donors and patrons
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Increase visibility in Generative AI search results (GEO)
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Strengthen your storytelling with community-centered keywords
For nonprofits hosting events, galas, or golf tournaments, this tool can help attract local attendees and volunteers by enhancing how your pages appear in search results and through AI-driven recommendations.
The Heart Behind the Technology
Throughout the conversation, Leya and Antonio returned to a simple truth: AI is here to help you reclaim your time and reconnect with people.
“Anything tech that facilitates human connection is a win,” Leya said. “If AI helps me write a board report in five minutes, that gives me more time to meet with donors — where real relationships happen.”
Antonio agreed: “We all want to make awesome things and hang out with people we love. That’s what this is about — putting heart into the system.”
Final Thoughts
AI isn’t a replacement for human creativity — it’s an amplifier. When guided by thoughtful prompts, rich context, and a clear mission, AI can help nonprofits:
✅ Clarify their voice
✅ Find new funding opportunities
✅ Save time on repetitive tasks
✅ Strengthen visibility in their community
From Austin to anywhere your mission reaches, context is the key. Your heart, your story, and your values fuel everything AI can do.
So the next time you open ChatGPT or Gemini, don’t just type a few words. Have a conversation. Train your AI like a teammate. Give it your mission, your tone, your “why.”
Because when AI knows who you are, it can help the world know too.
