Earlier this year, a team of our Executives in Residence (EIRs) began researching the use of AI in nonprofits and worked to develop an AI policy for Capacity Canada. It was approved by our Board of Directors on July 25, 2025 and we’re pleased to share it in case it can be a helpful resource for other organizations.
The work included discussions on philosophy and the ethics of using Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative AI as they exist now. You’ll see that our policy includes 12 “We believe” statements through which we attempt to articulate Capacity Canada’s philosophy on AI. It then moves on to procedures including examples of acceptable and unacceptable use.
A resource we found helpful was the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.
The AI landscape is evolving so quickly that we are committed to ongoing review of the policy to help ensure it remains current.
In terms of providing training to our team on the use of AI, we found a helpful set of e-learning modules on LinkedIn that cover the usage of Microsoft Copilot. You can find them here.
If your organization is interested in developing your own AI Policy and looking for facilitators to help with the process, our EIRs are available to assist for an hourly fee. Connect with Andrew Wilding at [email protected] for more information.
Written by: Scott Williams, Executive in Residence, Capacity Canada