Indian non-profits lag on digital maturity, AI adoption: report

A recent report reveals that Indian non-profits are lagging behind in digital maturity and AI adoption compared to other industries. Conducted by Delhi-based Digital for Nonprofits (D4NP) on a survey of 500 organizations, the study found that non-profits scored below 50% on digital maturity, even as they explored the use of large language models (LLMs) for reports and marketing purposes.

The report highlights that while AI systems have significantly improved efficiency in routine tasks, many non-profits are still at the early stages of integration, primarily using AI for basic conversations rather than complex workflows. A notable issue identified is the underutilization of available resources, such as monthly $10,000 ad grants worth millions of dollars.

Among the 20 indicators assessed, only Child Rights and You (CRY) was deemed digitally mature, attributing this success to the corporate background of its staff. Experts attribute the propagation of digital maturity in non-profits to the exposure of their staff to corporate environments.

Despite this, the majority of Indian startups, six out of ten, are actively using at least one AI tool daily, and 85% utilize more than one tool. However, the report points out that only about one in four startups has implemented safeguards for AI tools handling sensitive personal data and only one in four employs online analytics tools, which have become more accessible with the aid of LLMs.

The report notes a "median shift" towards increased adoption of digital tools, compared to the previous year's survey when fewer organizations demonstrated such advancements. The founder of D4NP, a former Google executive, predicts that more non-profits will begin utilizing AI for tasks like coding and creating landing pages or dashboards in the coming year.