Grantmaking Trusts and Foundations

This year, 52 responses are from grantmaking trusts or foundations (8%), which is large enough to incorporate into our report for the first time. We can see that grantmakers largely mirror the charity sector in all areas of digital skills and capacity. It’s promising to see that grantmakers are prioritising creating an AI policy this year, but this looks unlikely to translate into a strategic approach to AI. While we recognise that grantmaking organisations are very different to frontline charities, we would expect to see funders a little further ahead with digital and AI in the areas below. This is because digital funding bids will only grow in complexity as AI develops further. 

Digital stage

• 53% are at an early stage with digital (24% curious and 29% starting out), while 47% have a strategy in place for digital (37% advancing and 10% advanced). This is similar to all charities in our overall sample.
  
  
• 71% made progress with digital this year (higher than the 63% overall).
  
  
• 77% see digital as an organisational priority, with 29% saying it is a high priority. 
  
  
  

Leadership and digital skills

• 54% do not have someone with digital expertise at board level (lower than the 40% in our overall sample) and 46% say that recruiting a digital trustee would help.
  
  
• 68% say they most need their CEO to develop a clear vision for what they can achieve with digital in order to move forward.
  
  
  

Barriers to digital progress

1. Lack of headspace and capacity (62%).
   
   
2. Squeezed organisational finances (48%, vs 69% overall).
   
   
3. Finding funds to invest in infrastructure, systems and tools (42%, vs 64% overall).
   
   
   

Priorities

1. Attracting funding or donations (46%, noting that many funders also raise funds from a range of sources to give out as grants).
   
   
2. Develop our strategy (for digital, data or AI) (44%).
   
   
3. Digital communications and fundraising (35%).
   
   
   

Use of AI

• 70% are using AI tools (vs 76% overall), with 55% at the exploring stage, 16% actively adopting AI tools in everyday work. None are using AI strategically. 
  
  
• Organisationally, AI is mainly used for administration and project management (63%).
  
  
• 71% agree or strongly agree that AI developments are relevant to them. However, only 47% feel they are responding to AI opportunities and challenges. Half (51%) are worried about the implications of using AI.
  
  
• Grantmakers are prioritising learning about AI, by attending events and workshops (65%), testing AI tools (65%) and learning from other nonprofits (51%).
  
  
• Most want to learn about how charities are using AI (70%), as well as assessing AI risks (bias, safeguarding) and using AI tools responsibly (67%).
  
  
• 52% are developing an AI policy, which is promising, given that 45% of charities are asking for more funders to provide this. However, only a third are developing an AI strategy (32% see this as a priority, which is higher than 22% in our overall sample).