Assessing Your Digital Nonprofit AI Readiness (DNAI)

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly becoming an important technology for nonprofit organizations, offering new ways to streamline operations, amplify impact, and stimulate innovation. While many individuals within the sector have begun experimenting with tools like generative AI, widespread organizational adoption remains in its early stages. Most nonprofits are still exploring how to integrate AI in ways that align with their missions, capacities, and long-term goals, while being cautious of its ethical implications. 

The Digital Nonprofit AI Readiness (DNAI) Assessment is the newest addition to NetHope's suite of benchmarking tools, following the Digital Nonprofit Ability (DNA), Digital Nonprofit Skills (DNS), and Digital Nonprofit Finance (DNF) assessments. Together, these tools enable organizations to identify capability gaps, strengthen internal capacity, and align strategic goals with technology, laying a solid foundation for more advanced digital innovation.

Let's Check Your DNAI: Digital Nonprofit AI Readiness 

AI Readiness is understood as an organization's ability to effectively adopt, implement, and scale AI in a way that aligns with its mission, values, and operational goals. 

The DNAI Assessment serves as both a self-assessment and a sector-wide diagnostic framework. It evaluates six critical dimensions of organizational AI readiness: 

• Responsible AI: Governance structures, ethical guidelines, and monitoring processes to ensure AI operates fairly, transparently, and accountably. 
• Skilling and Change: Structured training programs and change management practices to support AI adoption. 
• Data Readiness: Frameworks, capabilities, and quality controls to ensure data is ready for AI training and operation. 
• Organizational Resources: Understanding of AI opportunities and readiness to invest in delivering them. 
• Strategy and Opportunity: Recognition of AI's strategic value and identification of mission-aligned use cases. 
• Technology: Infrastructure, platforms, and technical expertise to select, deploy, and operate AI solutions. 

To establish a sector-wide benchmark, we have collected data from 974 nonprofit professionals who have completed the DNAI Assessment. Their responses provide the first comprehensive snapshot of where the nonprofit sector stands on AI readiness and where the greatest opportunities for growth lie. Here are some of the findings:  

• Sector Standing: The nonprofit sector scores 1.99 out of 4, placing it at "Intermediate Readiness." Organizations have moved beyond experimentation but need progress in strategic alignment and workforce skills. 
• Dimension Gaps: Technology (2.18), Data Readiness (2.08), and Responsible AI (2.05) lead the way, while Strategy (1.96), Skilling (1.89), and Resources (1.82) lag behind signaling where investment is most needed. 
• Readiness Distribution: Only 8.65% have achieved Full Readiness, while 36.46% are Intermediate and 29.24% remain at Basic or Emerging levels. 
• Responsible AI Progress: Nearly one in five organizations (18.3%) report full ethical AI integration, but over 20% still lack formal practices, highlighting uneven adoption across the sector. 

For the full analysis and detailed recommendations, download the complete benchmark report. 

Why Take the DNAI Assessment? 

The NetHope Nonprofit AI Readiness Assessment provides a valuable baseline for organizations to: 

• Measure progress against our AI readiness sector benchmark 
• Monitor development over time with annual assessments 
• Guide investment decisions by identifying priority areas 
• Engage leadership with data-driven insights on AI readiness 
• Chart a path toward responsible and impactful AI adoption 

Take the Assessment 

Are you ready to understand where your organization stands on its AI journey? The DNAI Assessment is quick, confidential, and designed specifically for the nonprofit sector. You will receive your personal report showing where you and your organization stand compared to the sector benchmark. 

Disclaimer: Your information is confidential between you and NetHope. No personally identifiable information will be shared outside of your organization. Your responses will be combined with other respondents’ answers and summarized in a report that will be public. The report will include the calculation of aggregates (e.g. benchmarks, trends, averages). 

Discover additional AI resources such as reports, toolkits, and practical guides through NetHope’s AI Lighthouse.