Most not-for-profit finance leaders don’t need convincing that artificial intelligence (AI) can be useful. They’re already harnessing AI’s power to generate communications, accelerate analysis, improve visibility, and support decision-making, but there’s room to go further and deeper.
“[AI] is simply a tool that has a very high-skill ceiling and in my experience, no one is anywhere near the skill ceiling of using AI to help them in their practice,” said Shane Mason, CPA, CFP, CPWA, and cofounder at Gemifi. “We’re using Copilot to look at Excel spreadsheets, summarize emails, or [perform tasks] that are a very basic [in] nature … The more you invest in your AI skill building, the more you’re going to be able to accomplish.”
Thanks to AI’s utility, it can be a pivotal tool for navigating the complex decisions that define governmental and not-for-profit work. The challenges these institutions face often stem from balancing mission, money, risk, and reputation. Mason will present on AI’s potential and influence in the profession at the upcoming AICPA® Governmental and Not-for-Profit Conference in Dallas, TX, Oct. 19–21.
“AI can do so much if you invest in the skills of the agents and you spend the up-front time to get the agents to do what you want,” said Mason.
Every not-for-profit faces its own unique mix of challenges, but AI’s greatest value often lies in helping leaders navigate complex decisions that don’t have clear-cut answers.
Turning not-for-profit challenges into strategic AI opportunities
Intentionality is the foundation of successful AI implementation. That often starts with identifying the most persistent sticking points and then considering AI’s ability to provide sharper insights, streamline processes, and bring clarity to difficult decisions. For many not-for-profits, persistent challenges such as funding uncertainties, staffing shortages, and limited resources highlight areas where AI may offer practical support.
“Not-for-profits are constantly being asked to do more with less,” said Jessica Moran, CPA, Senior Manager – NFP at the AICPA. “AI can be a powerful tool for improving efficiency and capacity by helping accounting and finance teams accelerate routine tasks, enhance accuracy, streamline reporting, and strengthen compliance, while continuing to support the mission.”
Not-for-profit organizations frequently face funding uncertainties and the need to balance their mission impact with financial realities. They often operate with limited financial flexibility while also facing unpredictable grants, economic pressure, and shifting donor behaviors.
AI can also analyze program data to connect spending patterns to mission results, identify opportunities to improve efficiency, and provide insights used in strategic discussions.
“AI can help challenge a leader’s thinking, but also perform analysis,” explained Moran. “It’s not just using AI analysis to show ‘This program is losing money.’ It’s then asking, ‘If we stop this program, what does it mean to our mission?’”
The case for a more sophisticated AI toolkit
Writing communications or summarizing email inboxes via Microsoft Copilot or another tool is often the entry point to AI use. Mason thinks accountants can take this one step further with integrated calendar management, a task he thinks all accountants should be using AI for.
A written, customized “skill” can enable AI to scan email inboxes, generate a daily briefing, organize notes, and look for double bookings.
“A customized skill is another word for a prompt we send routinely,” explained Mason. “You can write a very detailed set of instructions and press one button. It’s like a macro in Excel. It’s a macro for your AI.”
Mason believes that moving beyond the built-in AI tools in Microsoft or QuickBooks Online and into higher-level, subscription-based services like Anthropic’s Claude can unlock even more efficiencies.
One reason so many professionals stick with Microsoft-based tools, said Mason, is the assurance and governance around personally identifiable information (PII). “We’re all worried about the data going into Anthropic’s servers, living on those servers, and the models being trained on that data,” said Mason.
A major fear for many not-for-profits is the potential for accidentally uploading sensitive information into a public server.
“I think that’s why a lot of accountants are still using Copilot,” said Mason. “Copilot … doesn’t feel like you’re sending the data somewhere. Microsoft has been ‘the business company’ for some time while Anthropic has been around for less than five years.”
A workaround, Mason suggested, is to access frontier AI models (the most advanced and powerful AI systems) through cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services (AWS), which offer enterprise security and governance controls. Depending on the service configuration, organizations may be able to use data-retention settings that limit or eliminate storage of prompts and outputs.
AWS and Microsoft Azure also both maintain SOC 2 reports covering relevant cloud services.
Unlocking the next level of AI efficiency
AI won’t eliminate the difficult decisions facing not-for-profit organizations and their finance leaders. But AI tools can bring clarity, confidence, and context to the choices that matter most.
“I don’t think people realize how capable they are and how good they’re going to be at long-term tasks after implementing AI,” said Mason. “They’re not just going to be able to write emails, but they’ll be able to build discounted cash flow models for quite complicated businesses or fill out applications.”
Moran’s excited about how AI can be used for mission support.
“Say you’re a nonprofit that awards a certain number of grants per year. If there is an opportunity for a large language model to help connect your mission with individuals or other small regional nonprofits, that could be incredibly valuable,” Moran stated. “If [AI] can speed up any part of that administration process to help organizations increase their impact … and have a greater impact, that’s the most exciting part.”
As Mason noted, most professionals are only beginning to tap into AI’s potential. For not-for-profit leaders looking to move beyond basic productivity gains and explore how AI can support strategy, decision-making, and mission impact, the AICPA® Governmental and Not-for-Profit Conference offers a valuable opportunity to learn from practitioners, peers, and industry experts.