How to Get Started with AI in 3 Easy Steps
Written by Robyn Greaves | Co-Founder of Pravi
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, and while it can feel daunting, now is the time to embrace this new technology to maximise your charity’s impact.
Whether you're leading a small team or tackling big challenges with limited resources,understanding AI can unlock opportunities for efficiency, innovation, and growth.
Forget the clickbait headlines claiming AI will ‘steal your job.’ Instead, think of AI as a tool to get you where you need to go faster.
No one in the charity sector has endless free time. Everyone is juggling competing priorities and is stretched for energy. AI can help free up time for the impactful, creative, and strategic workthat only humans can do.
Follow these 3 easy steps to start using AI today:
1. Start Simple
If you’re new to AI, ChatGPT is the easiest place to begin.
● Create a free account at chatgpt.com. (You can use a personal email if you prefer not to
use a work one.)
● Experiment with small tasks, like drafting an email or planning a travel itinerary for an
upcoming trip.
When you start, it doesn’t matter what you use it for - just get comfortable with the platform and see how it responds to whatever pops into your head!
Try starting with ChatGPT instead of Google when you want to look something up, you’ll soon see the value and start using it for more tasks.
2. Focus on You
AI is evolving fast, and there’s no shortage of information and new tools to explore. To avoid getting overwhelmed, focus on your own needs first.
● Think about tasks that eat up the most time or those you really hate!
● If you’re unsure where your time goes, try tracking your tasks over a week. For example: 7 hours on emails, 8 hours in meetings.
The tasks where you spend the most time are great starting points for exploring AI, as they’re likely to offer the biggest payoffs.
For example, an AI tool that takes meeting notes could save hours each week, giving you more time to focus on strategy and relationship-building.
3. Don’t Go Alone
AI is a hot topic right now and you can quickly learn from other people’s experiences rather than starting from scratch.
● Start a conversation with colleagues or people in your network about the AI tools they’re using.
● If there’s interest, consider creating an online group to share insights or holding regular meet-ups to discuss AI tools and strategies.
Collaborating with other people will help you find practical, tested solutions faster.
AI doesn’t have to be intimidating. Start small, focus on areas where you’ll see the most benefit, and learn from others. Soon you’ll wonder how you lived without AI!
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Keen to get started?
Check out these tools to see if they could work for you:
- Perplexity: An AI-powered search engine, perfect for research and learning.
- Fireflies: Automatically takes meeting minutes and creates action items.
- Canva: Quickly generate and edit images with AI.
- Pravi: Use AI to find and convert new donors to give to your cause.
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Interested in learning more about how AI can transform your charity's work?
About The Author - Robyn Greaves
Pravi's Co-Founder, Robyn Greaves, worked in the charity sector before starting her own business teaching other non-techie people how to use AI in a practical and relevant way. Through her training she saw that small and mid-sized charities were in danger of getting left behind in the AI revolution and decided to do something about it.
After spending hours talking to fundraisers about their pain points, she discovered that what is needed most is unrestricted income from passionate and engaged individual donors.
In April 2024, Robyn and her co-founder, Jeremy, were awarded a $350,000 Innovate UK Smart Grant to develop Pravi, a platform to help charities find new donors.
