The Top 10 AI Tools Nonprofits Should Try in 2025

With so many AI tools flooding the market, it's hard to know which ones are worth your time and budget. This curated list focuses on tools that offer genuine value for nonprofit organizations—whether you're a small team with limited resources or a larger organization looking to scale your impact.

Each tool on this list has been selected based on its relevance to nonprofit work, affordability, ease of use, and potential for meaningful impact. We've prioritized tools that integrate well with existing workflows and don't require extensive technical expertise to implement.

1. ChatGPT (OpenAI)

What it does: ChatGPT is a conversational AI assistant that can help with writing, research, brainstorming, and a wide range of content creation tasks.

Why nonprofits need it: From drafting grant proposals and donor communications to creating social media content and summarizing research, ChatGPT can handle many time-consuming writing tasks. It's particularly valuable for small teams that need to produce professional content without hiring additional staff.

Best for: Content creation, grant writing, donor communications, research summaries, email drafting

Pricing: Free tier available; Plus plan starts at $20/month for advanced features and better performance

2. Canva AI (Magic Design & Text to Image)

What it does: Canva's AI features help you create professional graphics, presentations, and marketing materials with minimal design experience.

Why nonprofits need it: Visual content drives engagement, but hiring designers is expensive. Canva's AI tools let you create professional graphics, social media posts, and presentations quickly. The Magic Design feature can generate entire design concepts from a simple text prompt, while Text to Image creates custom visuals for your campaigns.

Best for: Social media graphics, event flyers, presentation decks, email headers, infographics

Pricing: Free tier with limited features; Pro plan at $12.99/month per user (nonprofit discounts available)

3. Grammarly

What it does: Grammarly is an AI-powered writing assistant that checks grammar, spelling, tone, and clarity in real-time.

Why nonprofits need it: Professional communication builds trust with donors, funders, and stakeholders. Grammarly ensures your emails, proposals, and public-facing content are polished and error-free. The tone detector helps you match your communication style to your audience, whether you're writing a formal grant proposal or a friendly donor update.

Best for: Grant writing, donor communications, email campaigns, website content, social media posts

Pricing: Free tier available; Premium starts at $12/month; Business plans available for teams

4. Otter.ai

What it does: Otter.ai automatically transcribes meetings, interviews, and conversations in real-time, generating searchable notes and summaries.

Why nonprofits need it: Nonprofits run on meetings—board meetings, team check-ins, donor calls, volunteer orientations. Otter.ai captures everything automatically, so you can focus on the conversation instead of taking notes. It's especially valuable for documenting important decisions, capturing donor feedback, and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

Best for: Meeting transcription, interview notes, board meeting minutes, donor call summaries, volunteer training sessions

Pricing: Free tier with 300 minutes/month; Pro at $10/month per user; Business plans available

5. Zapier (with AI Features)

What it does: Zapier automates workflows between different apps, and its AI features can help create smarter automations and process data.

Why nonprofits need it: Nonprofits use dozens of tools—donor databases, email platforms, project management software, accounting systems. Zapier connects them all, automating repetitive tasks like adding new donors to email lists, creating tasks from form submissions, or syncing data between systems. The AI features can help classify and route information automatically.

Best for: Workflow automation, data synchronization, form processing, email list management, task creation

Pricing: Free tier with limited tasks; Starter at $19.99/month; Professional plans available

6. Notion AI

What it does: Notion AI integrates AI writing and research capabilities directly into your Notion workspace, helping you create content, summarize documents, and generate ideas.

Why nonprofits need it: If your team already uses Notion for project management, documentation, or knowledge sharing, Notion AI supercharges those workflows. It can help draft meeting notes, create project plans, summarize long documents, and generate content—all within your existing workspace. This reduces context switching and keeps everything organized in one place.

Best for: Project documentation, meeting notes, knowledge bases, content creation, data organization

Pricing: Notion free tier available; AI add-on at $10/month per user (requires paid Notion plan)

7. Google Gemini (formerly Bard)

What it does: Google's Gemini is a powerful AI assistant that excels at research, data analysis, and working with Google Workspace integrations.

Why nonprofits need it: If your organization uses Google Workspace, Gemini integrates seamlessly with Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides. It can help analyze data in spreadsheets, draft emails, create presentations, and conduct research. The free tier is robust, making it accessible for organizations with tight budgets.

Best for: Research, data analysis, Google Workspace integration, email drafting, presentation creation

Pricing: Free tier available; Gemini Advanced at $20/month for enhanced capabilities

8. Loom AI

What it does: Loom is a video messaging platform, and its AI features can automatically generate transcripts, summaries, and action items from your videos.

Why nonprofits need it: Video communication is powerful for remote teams, donor updates, and training volunteers. Loom makes it easy to record quick video messages, and the AI features automatically create searchable transcripts and summaries. This is invaluable for asynchronous communication and ensuring important information isn't lost in long video recordings.

Best for: Team communication, donor updates, volunteer training, asynchronous collaboration, documentation

Pricing: Free tier with limited features; Business at $12.50/month per user; Enterprise plans available

9. Claude (Anthropic)

What it does: Claude is an AI assistant known for its strong reasoning abilities, long context window, and focus on safety and helpfulness.

Why nonprofits need it: Claude excels at analyzing long documents, synthesizing complex information, and helping with strategic thinking. It's particularly useful for reviewing grant proposals, analyzing program data, and working with lengthy research documents. The long context window means you can upload entire reports or proposals for analysis.

Best for: Document analysis, strategic planning, grant proposal review, research synthesis, long-form content creation

Pricing: Free tier available; Pro at $20/month for advanced features and higher usage limits

10. Microsoft Copilot

What it does: Microsoft Copilot integrates AI assistance directly into Microsoft 365 applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.

Why nonprofits need it: If your organization uses Microsoft 365, Copilot brings AI capabilities directly into your existing workflow. It can help draft emails in Outlook, create presentations in PowerPoint, analyze data in Excel, and summarize Teams meetings. For organizations already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, this is a natural way to add AI capabilities without learning new tools.

Best for: Microsoft 365 integration, email drafting, data analysis, presentation creation, meeting summaries

Pricing: Requires Microsoft 365 subscription; Copilot add-on at $30/month per user (nonprofit discounts may apply)

How to Choose the Right Tools for Your Organization

With so many options, it's important to choose tools that align with your organization's needs, budget, and technical capacity. For more detailed guidance on evaluating AI tools, see our articles on evaluating AI costs and ROI and vendor selection. Here are some key considerations:

Start with your pain points: Identify the tasks that consume the most time or cause the most frustration. Choose tools that directly address these challenges.
Consider your existing tech stack: Tools that integrate with software you already use will be easier to adopt and provide more immediate value.
Evaluate free tiers first: Many tools offer robust free tiers. Test them before committing to paid plans.
Think about team capacity: Choose tools that match your team's technical comfort level. Complex tools require training and may not be worth it if adoption is low.
Look for nonprofit discounts: Many AI tool providers offer special pricing for nonprofits. Always ask about nonprofit rates before signing up. For more budget-friendly options, see our guide to budget-friendly AI tools.
Start small and scale: Don't try to implement everything at once. Pick one or two tools, get comfortable with them, then expand.

Getting Started: A Practical Approach

The best way to start with AI tools is to pick one or two that address your most pressing needs, then gradually expand as your team becomes comfortable. Here's a practical roadmap:

Week 1-2: Choose your first tool - Select one tool from this list that solves an immediate problem. Sign up for the free tier and explore its features.
Week 3-4: Build a workflow - Integrate the tool into a specific workflow. For example, if you choose ChatGPT, use it to draft all donor emails for a month.
Month 2: Evaluate and expand - Assess whether the tool is delivering value. If yes, consider upgrading to a paid plan or adding a second tool.
Month 3+: Scale thoughtfully - As your team becomes comfortable, add tools that complement your existing stack and address new use cases.

The Bottom Line

AI tools aren't magic solutions, but they can significantly amplify your team's capacity when chosen and implemented thoughtfully. The tools on this list represent the best of what's available in 2025—tools that are accessible, affordable, and genuinely useful for nonprofit work.

Remember: the goal isn't to use every tool, but to find the right combination that helps your organization work more efficiently, communicate more effectively, and focus more energy on your mission. Start small, measure impact, and scale what works.