Most people working in charities have tried an AI tool at least once, but good AI prompting for charities is a mysterious art. They typed a question into ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini but what they got back didn’t inspire them. Often they concluded that AI didn’t match the hype and it wasn’t for them.
The tool is rarely the problem but knowing how to use it well is what matters.
The quality of what you get out of a generative AI tool depends enormously on the quality of what you put in. A vague request produces a vague answer. A specific, well-structured one produces something you can actually use, often in a fraction of the time the task would otherwise take. In a sector where time and money are stretched and every hour matters, that difference is worth having.
We’ve been lucky in recent months to have run workshops and board strategy day sessions, as well as giving keynote presentations, for a lot of charities. And that’s inspired us to create this free Good Prompting Guide for charity staff, trustees and volunteers. It is written for stretched, non-technical people who want practical results, not a technical manual.
The guide covers:
- Where AI does not belong, including beneficiary data, safeguarding, legal advice and final sign-off on compliance, so you can keep it well away from the things it is not suited for
- The seven core elements of a good prompt, each shown through a real charity example across fundraising, services, operations and governance
- How to verify AI output and spot hallucinations before they reach a trustee paper, a funder or the public
- Working with documents, from summarising a 60-page annual report to comparing two versions of a policy
- Ready-to-adapt prompts for the tasks charity staff do most, including board papers, funding bids and supporter communications
- A one-page prompting checklist you can keep next to your keyboard
A clear theme runs through it. AI tools are capable thinking partners for drafting, analysis, brainstorming and research. They are not secure vaults, qualified professionals or substitutes for human judgement. Used with that understanding, they can save you real time. Used without it, they can create legal, reputational and ethical risk for your charity and the people you serve.
The guide reflects how we believe AI should be used everywhere, as we always say “with wisdom and integrity”.
It is free to download here, free to share with your team, and free to use however is helpful for your charity.
If you would like to talk about AI training or governance for your organisation, or you work with charities and want to know more about our pro bono support, do get in touch.
