AI Journey Map for Philanthropy

In 2023, we developed the Responsible AI Adoption Framework for Philanthropy in collaboration with the Technology Association of Grantmakers. Since then, AI has evolved dramatically — and so has our collective knowledge, built across hundreds of engagements with grantmakers, foundations, and nonprofits. This map is what we’ve learned alongside everyday practitioners — like the Midwestern foundation that moved, in just 6 months, from significant “shadow AI” usage to shared governance, licensed tools, inclusive training, and a plan for insight-enablement with AI.

The AI Journey Map for Philanthropy spans the full arc of a foundation’s AI transformation — from the earliest stages of unofficial, ungoverned use to the collective intelligence that reshapes a field’s potential.

The goal isn’t to reach a final state of maturity. Some foundations will move through all six stages; others will stop where their mission is best served. Some foundations start with nonprofit enablement before setting their own internal course. The key is knowing where you are today and choosing deliberately where to go.