Building the Leadership Nonprofits Need to Make AI Work
Nonprofit Tech Leadership Insights Brief | May 2026
A co-publication of Board.Dev and Dell Technologies.
Nonprofits are not stuck with AI because they lack interest. They are stuck because they lack the leadership to convert experimentation into something that actually delivers.
AT-A-GLANCE
What’s inside
Drawing on a national survey of 180 nonprofits conducted with TechSoup, more than 10 qualitative interviews with nonprofit and sector leaders, and benchmark research from McKinsey, Salesforce, Stanford HAI, IBM, Bridgespan, and others, this brief examines:
- Why adoption is constrained by capacity, not resistance
- The experimentation plateau — and what holds organizations at the starting line
- How governance gaps start with leadership, not the board
- The 12× difference AI-engaged boards make to adoption that sticks
- The cost of inaction — modeled in hours, dollars, and full-time-equivalents
- Case studies from organizations not waiting for perfect conditions
- A board AI-readiness scorecard and a framework for responsible adoption
Who it’s for
For executive directors and nonprofit CEOs — Building the case for AI before bringing it to the board.
For board chairs and board members — Engaging AI as a leadership and accountability question, not a technology briefing.
For funders and sector partners — Reframing AI as a cost-recovery strategy, not a discretionary line item.
Start this week
Before your next board meeting, work through Board.Dev’s free Tech Governance Plan Blueprint—about an hour with your CEO across the four core areas of technology oversight. Or take the 10-minute Board AI Readiness Assessment for a personalized score.
Join the conversation
Board.Dev, Dell, and TechSoup are hosting a webinar series bringing the report’s findings to life with the nonprofit leaders, funders, and partners living them. Each session moves past the research into practical steps for getting from experimentation to governed practice.
June 24 — Building the Leadership Nonprofits Need to Make AI Work.
Leaders from Hopeworks, Board.Dev, TechSoup, and Dell on how to move your organization from curiosity to action by building the leadership infrastructure that makes adoption 12× more likely.
July 15 — The Funder & Corporate Partner Playbook.
An executive briefing on how funders and corporate partners can build the institutional muscle nonprofits need—and help grantees close the capacity gap for good.