Panel Discussion with Matt Eshleman, Steve Longenecker, Jennifer Huftalen, and Carolyn Woodard

Our experts answered your questions about where nonprofit tech is going next.

In part 1, Community IT senior staff discuss nonprofits and AI, and updated cybersecurity trends to be aware of. In part 2, they discuss updates to Microsoft and Google Workspace, and take audience Q&A.

AI, Cybersecurity, Google Workspace v Microsoft Office, Gemini v Copilot or ChatGPT or another generative AI tool, AI agents, AI FOMO, data data data, safety and security of your staff, budgeting for and maintaining basic IT, not to mention fancy IT … anything else you want to know about?

We don’t have a crystal ball but we do know our way around nonprofit IT.
We’ll look back at the trends of 2025 and what we got right last January, and we’ll look ahead to make predictions for 2026.

The nonprofit tech roundtable is always one of our most popular webinars every year. As with all our webinars, this presentation is appropriate for an audience of varied IT experience. Community IT is proudly vendor-agnostic, and our webinars cover a range of topics and discussions. Webinars are never a sales pitch, always a way to share our knowledge with our community.

_______________________________
Start a conversation :)

• Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/
• email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com
• on LinkedIn

Thanks for listening.

To follow on from last week's episode of the ethical issues around AI use and companies generally that nonprofits and the philanthropy sector need to discuss and evaluate through the lens of organization values and mission, here are some resources for moving forward with that discussion of ethics as you put your policy in place and refine it.

• How Nonprofits Can Resist the AI Efficiency Trap from Nonprofit Quarterly by James A Lomastro, published Oct 28, 2025. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/how-nonprofits-can-resist-the-ai-efficiency-trap/

"Today, when nonprofits implement AI without protecting workers’ judgment and autonomy, they facilitate a similar transfer of power. The tacit understanding of experienced staff—knowing which families need outreach, when silence signals distrust, and which community leaders bridge cultural gaps—is extracted into databases and algorithms....The “AI efficiency trap” plays out in familiar ways: Time savings often lead not to relief, but to higher expectations. Workers may feel more productive yet overwhelmed, as efficiency gains are absorbed into rising demands instead of reducing workloads. In nonprofits, if AI is used solely to expedite routine tasks, it can exacerbate burnout and diminish time for relationship building or advocacy—the work that drives lasting change...

Steps leaders can take are:

Invest in bias-aware AI governance

Position experienced staff as strategy guides

Develop new productivity measurements."

Other resources referenced in this episode:

• Ethics, AI Tools, and Policies Webinar from Community IT: https://communityit.com/webinar-nonprofit-ai-framework/
• AI With Purpose: How Foundations and Nonprofits Are Thinking About and Using Artificial Intelligence from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (with lots of other resources on their site for the sector) https://cep.org/report-backpacks/ai-with-purpose-how-foundations-and-nonprofits-are-thinking-about-and-using-artificial-intelligence/
• Humanity AI consortium project from 10 Foundations https://humanityai.ai/ Humanity AI is uniting philanthropy in a broad coalition to build a more human(e) future in which AI is shaped by and for people.
• Tech to the Rescue matchmaking ideal AI projects from the social impact sector with ecosystem partners for funding and expertise. https://techtotherescue.org/
• Board.dev matchmaking tech-savvy individuals looking to serve on nonprofit boards with the nonprofits that need their expertise. https://board.dev/
• Responsible AI Adoption for Nonprofits: a Holistic Support Model webinar Jan 28, 2026 with Tech to the Rescue and Board.dev. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DSDEIrLFQxSApI8zQIUhyA#/registration

_______________________________
Start a conversation :)

• Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/
• email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com
• on LinkedIn

Thanks for listening.

Panel Discussion with Matt Eshleman, Steve Longenecker, Jennifer Huftalen, and Carolyn Woodard

Our experts answered your questions about where nonprofit tech is going next.

In part 1, Community IT senior staff discuss nonprofits and AI, and updated cybersecurity trends to be aware of. In part 2, they discuss updates to Microsoft and Google Workspace, and take audience Q&A.

AI, Cybersecurity, Google Workspace v Microsoft Office, Gemini v Copilot or ChatGPT or another generative AI tool, AI agents, AI FOMO, data data data, safety and security of your staff, budgeting for and maintaining basic IT, not to mention fancy IT … anything else you want to know about?

We don’t have a crystal ball but we do know our way around nonprofit IT.
We’ll look back at the trends of 2025 and what we got right last January, and we’ll look ahead to make predictions for 2026.

The nonprofit tech roundtable is always one of our most popular webinars every year. As with all our webinars, this presentation is appropriate for an audience of varied IT experience. Community IT is proudly vendor-agnostic, and our webinars cover a range of topics and discussions. Webinars are never a sales pitch, always a way to share our knowledge with our community.

_______________________________
Start a conversation :)

• Register to attend a webinar in real time, and find all past transcripts at https://communityit.com/webinars/
• email Carolyn at cwoodard@communityit.com
• on LinkedIn

Thanks for listening.