Today, artificial intelligence is growing and developing at an extremely quick rate, with the global AI market projected to reach 1.8 trillion by 2030, and is being used to transform industries and businesses. While AI has proven to be helpful in this area, its usefulness extends far beyond generating profit. Around the world, many nonprofit organizations are using AI to fight world hunger, provide access to clean water, make healthcare and education more accessible in remote areas, and address many other world issues. AI is already being used in dozens of countries for disease detection and disaster response. Through these organizations, we can see how this emerging technology, when controlled and guided, can be used as a positive tool to improve the lives of millions.
Artificial intelligence can be used in countless ways to make achieving the goals of these charities much easier. These uses include streamlining data collection, conducting research, automating administrative work, and generating algorithms to handle specific tasks more efficiently, helping these organizations work faster and smarter, and increasing their impact on the world. So, what do these charities using AI for the greater good look like? Here are some of the biggest nonprofit organizations currently using artificial intelligence to make a positive impact.
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society(ACS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1931, dedicated to fighting cancer through fundraising, research, early detection, patient and family support, and promoting healthy lifestyles. The charity has recently started using artificial intelligence to enhance fundraising, increase donor engagement, and make research more efficient. The ACS has been using machine learning algorithms to analyze donor data and trends in order to predict future donation patterns. This allows for more personalized donor communications and more effective fundraising campaigns. AI systems also optimize email marketing and online advertising, boosting donation revenue. In 2022, a machine learning experiment led to a 117% increase in donations and a 70% donor engagement rate. Activities such as data entry and organization are also automated by AI, freeing up human staff for other important tasks and increasing efficiency. AI chatbots are also able to provide constant support for supporters and patients, improving responsiveness and engagement. Overall, the integration of AI into the ACS has significantly increased donation revenue, facilitated more efficient operations, and greatly maximized its impact, allowing the organization to become a leader among cancer-focused charities.
Charity: Water
Charity: Water is a global nonprofit organization founded in 2006, dedicated to providing safe, clean, and accessible drinking water to communities where access is limited or nonexistent, particularly in developing countries. Charity: Water has funded more than 180,000 water projects, such as wells and pipe systems, in almost 30 different countries. The organization uses artificial intelligence in many ways, such as optimizing fundraising, predicting water flow, and identifying areas in need. The charity uses AI solutions to monitor the water flow in wells and pumps in remote locations. Sensors collect information in real-time, which is analyzed by AI to detect pump failures and reduce water flow. This allows for constant maintenance of the pumps, ensuring constant access to clean water. Charity: Water is also incorporating AI with satellite monitoring to see water sources in real time, allowing the organization to easily identify areas in need and improve resource allocation. The organization further uses AI to analyze and organize donor information, allowing for more personalized communication with donors and increasing donation revenue. AI also allows the nonprofit to be more efficient by making repetitive tasks fully automated. Overall, the integration of AI has allowed Charity: Water to provide safe and clean water more reliably, better communicate with donors, and allocate resources more precisely, significantly increasing its global impact.
Rainforest Connection
Rainforest Connection(RFCx) is a nonprofit technology organization dedicated to protecting endangered species and ecosystems around the world. Since it was founded in 2013, the charity has specialized in deploying solar-powered acoustic monitoring devices in rainforests to monitor them in real time. These systems continuously listen to sounds of illegal logging, illegal poaching, and other threats to the ecosystem. RFCx has deployed this technology in over 22 countries, including Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Indonesia, covering thousands of square kilometres. AI algorithms are integrated into the devices used to monitor rainforest noises. The AI is able to analyze the audio and detect specific threat patterns, such as chainsaws indicating logging, or gunshots indicating poaching, to send an immediate alert to local authorities. RFCx is also working to develop more advanced AI models that can predict certain threats before they happen. For example, strange sounds such as vehicles or changes in animal behaviour or movement can be detected, allowing the organization to take proactive measures before any harm is done to the forest. Beyond threat detection, artificial intelligence can also identify and track the sounds of various animal species, allowing researchers to better monitor biodiversity and assess the health of the ecosystem. By combining their real-time monitoring systems with AI, Rainforest Connection is able to more effectively detect and stop any possible threats, protecting ecosystems more effectively than ever before.
Benetech
Benetech is a global nonprofit organization specializing in advancing equal access to information and education, particularly for those with learning disabilities. Benetech is widely known for its use of AI technology to break down barriers in STEM education. Benetech’s AI platform converts STEM textbooks and materials into formats for students with disabilities such as dyslexia, visual impairment, and cerebral palsy. This can include turning complicated equations and graphs into simpler formats that are more accessible. The AI is able to automatically convert math and chemistry equations into formats that are easily readable by assistive technologies and provide specific learning experiences for a wide range of disabilities and learning differences. The organization has already converted millions of equations and graphs into accessible formats, making these materials available through its Bookshare platform, the world’s largest collection of accessible eBooks. Through its innovative use of AI, Benetech is turning STEM education into a more inclusive space, allowing all students, regardless of their disabilities, to excel in all learning areas.
Thorn
Thorn is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation, especially online. Founded in 2012, Thorn develops and uses advanced technology to prevent, detect, and respond to online child sexual abuse threats, helping communities, law enforcement, and tech platforms. The organization integrates AI into their technology to quickly find child sexual abuse material in digital spaces, using machine learning to analyze images, videos, and text patterns to detect online grooming. This allows for the detection of abusive files much faster, allowing for the rapid identification and rescue of child victims. Thorn also provides free resources and guidance to parents to help them protect their children online. Thorn’s use of AI has led to the rescue of millions of children from active sexual exploitation and has made the internet as a whole safer for children.
Medic Mobile
Medic Mobile is a nonprofit technology organization that designs and delivers digital health solutions for health workers in underdeveloped and remote locations. Their mission is to advance health delivery by providing tools that support data collection, communication, and decision-making. Medic Mobile developed the Community Health Toolkit (CHT), a platform that can be run on phones, tablets, or computers, which helps workers track patients’ information, manage medicine stocks, monitor diseases, and send emergency alerts to nearby hospitals. The organization works with and supports over 170,000 workers in 21 different countries. Medic Mobile uses AI models to analyze patient data and identify high-risk patients so that limited medicine can be directed to those who need it most. The platform also uses AI-powered analytics to visualize community health trends, monitor disease outbreaks, and optimize resource allocation. AI tools are being developed to automate routine tasks such as scheduling appointments, reminders, and data entry, allowing health workers to spend more time on patient care. While Medic Mobile is mainly focused on accessible mobile solutions, these AI tools demonstrate a growing opportunity to use AI to improve healthcare and efficiency in underserved communities.
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society(HIAS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1881 dedicated to protecting refugees who have been forced to leave their homeland because of their religion, race, political beliefs, or sexual orientation. HIAS helps refugees resettle in the United States, providing housing, employment, legal representation, language training, and cultural orientation to help them rebuild their lives in new communities. The organization has used artificial intelligence to improve refugee integration and resettlement. HIAS uses an AI tool that is able to map refugees to specific occupations based on their skills, languages, and what skills are the most in demand in specific areas. HIAS also uses machine learning to determine the best area of relocation for refugees. This is done by analyzing languages spoken in certain areas, as well as job availability, boosting refugee employment by up to 40%. AI is also used alongside skills training programs, ensuring that refugees are well prepared for the workplace. HIAS is widely known for using innovative technology to improve refugee integration and employment rates, helping them rebuild their lives and contribute to their new community.
Final Thoughts
As we can see from these organizations, artificial intelligence is not just a powerful tool for business but is also a great tool for improving the world. AI can be used for contacting donors, automating tasks, monitoring devices, data management, improving communication, and much more. AI is helping organizations tackle world issues more efficiently, accurately, and effectively. When used correctly, artificial intelligence can help amplify the efforts of these nonprofits, allowing them to reach more people, use resources more efficiently, and increase their impact globally, creating a healthier, safer, equal, and sustainable world for us all.
