Our Community - Where not-for-profits go for help
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on linkedIn Follow us on Instagram

Developing an AI governance framework at your organisation

This editable tool is designed to help boards explore the effective and ethical use of AI in not-for-profit organisations. It will support your board’s discussions and decision-making as you develop an AI Governance Framework tailored to your organisation’s needs.

We encourage you to work through this tool with your board and executive team to understand the governance implications of AI—from development and implementation to ongoing management. Use the insights gained to create a practical and easy-to-understand AI Governance Framework using our help sheet and template.

This tool highlights key considerations for boards and suggests strategies to ensure AI adoption aligns with your organisation’s values, mission, and ethical responsibilities. A strong AI Governance Framework should be comprehensive, clear, and actionable, supporting good governance across all areas of your organisation.

Download now!

What's inside?

1. Ethical conduct and bias, value alignment and accountability in decision-making

How can AI tools and systems incorporate the diversity represented in your organisation and membership, the inherent values, and be used responsibly to support decision-making?

Training Testing Monitoring and evaluation
Provide training to board members and staff on how AI works, its limitations, and how to critically engage with AI-generated outputs. Audit and review datasets to ensure they are inclusive, unbiased, and aligned with the organisation’s principles. Develop feedback loops where staff and community members can report AI-related concerns, biases, or unexpected outcomes.

2. Strategic alignment and education and awareness

How can the board ensure AI deployment aligns with the organisation’s broader business strategy and purpose, and enable appropriate training and understanding by users?

Strategy/plan Testing Monitoring and evaluation
AI deployment should be tied to specific strategic objectives, such as:
  • Fundraising & Donor Engagement – AI-powered donor analytics to increase funding opportunities.
  • Service Delivery – Chatbots for improving accessibility and responsiveness to community needs.
  • Operational Efficiency – Automating repetitive tasks to free up staff for higher-value work.
 The board should review whether AI investments contribute to measurable mission-driven impact rather than just cost-cutting. Create an AI oversight committee within the board or leadership team to ensure ongoing alignment with organisational values.

3. Managing privacy and data protection

How can the board ensure that appropriate data privacy and protection measures are in place when deploying AI tools?

Policy Practice Monitoring and evaluation
Ensure a clear policy is in place outlining how data is collected, stored, used, and protected,
including requirements for AI users to use privacy-preserving techniques, such as:
  • Federated learning (AI learns without accessing raw data).
  • Data anonymisation before training AI models.
 Have a clear process for detecting, reporting, and mitigating breaches. Collect only the necessary data to fulfil the organisation’s mission
and regularly review and delete outdated or unnecessary data.

4. Staffing and board oversight

How can the board maintain appropriate levels of accountability to staff wellbeing, engagement and professional growth when deploying AI tools and systems?

Policy Practice Monitoring and evaluation
Provide clear explanations of what AI is being implemented, why, and how it will affect staff. Staff and volunteers should be actively involved in AI selection, testing, and implementation. Monitor AI implementation to ensure it does not create job insecurity or excessive monitoring that leads to stress.

5. Sustainability and risk management

How can the board make the most of AI technologies without compromising their financial stability and mission-driven work?

Policy Practice Monitoring and evaluation
AI investments should directly support mission-driven work, not be a distraction or a tech experiment. Start with small-scale AI pilots to test feasibility and impact before committing significant resources. Monitor ROI & Impact Metrics.

6. AI Products – where to start?

Before introducing any AI tools, it’s important to assess your organisation’s operations to identify where AI could add strategic value. Once you have a clear understanding of the key areas outlined above, we recommend conducting an AI readiness audit to pinpoint opportunities where AI can enhance efficiency, decision-making, or service delivery. This proactive approach ensures AI is implemented with purpose and alignment to your organisation’s mission and goals.

Areas that may benefit from AI assistance Resources available (consider costs of products and staff training time) Cost-benefit analysis (value add, ease of implementation, associated costs)
Download now!

For more information: https://www.communitydirectors.com.au/books/book-artificial-intelligence-and-the-community-sector

More on Artificial Intelligence from ICDA

Become a member of ICDA – it's free!