The growing role of AI in our lives and workplace and the opportunities it presents in improving both accessibility and efficiency for organisations is apparent to many including funders. We highlight the position of some local funders and provide a list of useful resources.
Local funders and AI
The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland recognise the benefits of using AI from increased productivity to removing barriers for disabled people and those whose dominant language is not English. They provide guidance and state their position on using AI to write funding applications.
The National Lottery Community Fund have defined their 10 principles for using AI, setting out how they will use AI to benefit people and communities and provide guidance for using AI in funding applications: Using Artificial Intelligence tools in funding applications
As part of The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland's ongoing efforts to to better serve their mission and vision, they are embracing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance their impact, improve efficiency, and build even better connections with their applicants, grantees, donors and funders. You can read their statement on the use of Artificial Intelligence here.
The Skills and Knowledge Gap
According to the 2024 Charity Digital Skills Report, 61% of charities are already using AI but The Status of UK Fundraising 2024 Benchmark Report found that almost 70% of charity professionals said they did not have the resources to explore how AI could be used, pointing to a gap in skills, confidence and capacity in the sector.
Several organisations from the voluntary and community sector are addressing this gap including NICVA:
To mark Cyber Awareness Month 2025 - Secure Our World”, NICVA shared a range of training and resources to help you and your organisation build stronger cyber resilience.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) ‘Cyber Action Toolkit’ is a service aimed at helping organisations improve their cyber security. The Toolkit is a free, personalised resource that provides small businesses with clear, bite-sized actions to work through at their own pace, helping protect their business’s money and reputation from cyber criminals.
Their Artificial Intelligence Hub explores how AI impacts the charity sector, how charities can reap the benefits and protect against the harms of AI, how to use AI ethically and responsibly, and so much more. Sign up for their AI newsletter
Their AI hub is filled with updates and resources to help charity communications teams navigate the dynamic world of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Explore their learning hub, a source to help you learn AI skills and get ready to power AI transformation with the Microsoft Cloud. Begin your AI learning journey with their curated Plans and resources, designed to support business and technical roles, individuals, and organizations in building AI skills.
In partnership with Microsoft, Neighbourly offers 'AI Skilling' initiative offering you free AI training by equipping small charities or community organisations with essential AI skills to empower you to innovate, save time and increase efficiency. This goes live March 2025 - Sign up to get involved.!
Funder WCIT hosts AI/ML Learning Exchange for Charities and not-for-profits. They aim to help charities and not-for-profits embarking on Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning with thought leadership and practical advice in a sales free, technology agnostic and vendor neutral environment.
Local recruitment consultant Matthew McArthur, the creator behind Foresight AI, provides a range of articles and resources to help you understand AI and how apply AI at work today.
