AI and Leadership in 2026

As an NFP leader, it might feel like you’re being bombarded with questions about AI. Your board wants to know the organisation’s official position, your staff want to dive right into using various AI tools and your funders are starting to ask how you're using it in delivery.

Leading a not-for-profit means you don’t possess an infinite amount of time and money. Budgets are tight, demand is up and your team is already running at capacity. While necessary, finding the time to genuinely understand AI and all the new technology, tools, risks and opportunities can feel impossible.

Here's the good news though. You don't need to understand most of AI. Not the way your IT champion does, and not the way your staff may either. The not-for-profit sector has been here before. When digital transformation became unavoidable a decade ago, plenty of CEOs felt they had to learn about code, APIs or agile methodologies to be credible leaders of digital change. Most of them didn't. The ones who led well learned to ask sharp questions, set an appropriate risk appetite, fund the right roles and read a project plan critically. They didn't build. They governed.

How do I become the AI leader my organisation needs?

The National AI Centre’s (NAIC) adoption guide organises this knowledge around five areas: strategy, governance, data, people and technology. For the purposes of an AI leader, we want you to focus on governance, strategy and people. Your tech lead or AI champion will be the one to focus on the technology and data requirements and considerations for AI adoptions.

Introducing AI governance

Governance is the one that can't wait. If your organisation is using AI tools right now (and they likely are, even if you’re not aware), there are decisions that need to be made about what data goes into them, what output is trusted and what gets disclosed to clients and funders. A CEO needs to know whether the organisation has a position on client data being processed through third-party AI services, who owns that decision and how it's communicated to staff. And NFP leader does not need to know how the AI models work.

Our DIY AI Policy Template is a good place to start.

Being strategic

Thinking strategically is your next priority. How does AI fit into your existing IT strategic planning? Before diving right into the tools available, do you need to establish an AI roadmap or broader, a digital transformation strategy? At the very least, our advice is to set out an adoption timeline with your team, incorporating all the elements outlined in this guide.

Where does AI fit in the overall strategic plan for your organisation? Most not-for-profits won't need a discrete AI strategy, but they will be well served to know which two or three of their existing strategic priorities AI can meaningfully accelerate, and which ones it can't.

Then there's the roadmap and the budget. A CEO needs to be able to look at a proposed AI initiative and ask: I want to know what this will cost now, but also over the next three years? How will this effect our budget if the vendor increases their costs? Who in the organisation owns this AI solution once the build is complete? An NFP leader needs to be across these questions, and more.

Empowering your people

You’re not required to be the most AI-literate person in the organisation, but you do need to make sure you have the right staff who are. You also need to ensure that the rest of your employees have enough AI fluency and competency to use the tools safely, and the confidence to push back when something feels off. This means funding training and giving staff permission to experiment in small, safe and recoverable ways, and to share what they've learned back with the organisation.

Join others transforming their organisations with AI in our online APAC AI Nonprofit Learning Community. There’ll you find online training, guides, webinars, as well important and open discussions with your peers about the impacts and possibilities of AI within the not-for-profit sector. Join for free!

Become a responsible leader in AI

Becoming an effective AI leader for your organisation requires you to be clear about what AI can bring to your organisation, what risks you're willing to carry on behalf of your organisations and your clients, and where you want to be in three years.

If you're a not-for-profit leader, feeling like you need to catch up on the technical side,  it can help to narrow your focus to governance, strategy and people. Empower your staff with the time and space to own the technical knowledge, while you take control of where you can provide most value as a leader. The NAIC foundations and the Infoxchange resources will give you the scaffolding. The decision making is the part only you can bring.

Continue your growth as a leader by completing our self-paced course: Responsible AI for Leaders in NFPs and NGOs.

In this self-paced course, you'll find a practical 20-minute guide to using Artificial Intelligence safely and ethically in the non-profit sector, while learning the six essential practices to protect your organisation and your community.

Take the course: Self-paced: Responsible AI For Leaders in NFPs and NGOs