Nonprofits are rewriting the playbook on how they engage with their communities. At the heart of this shift? Digital communications and AI. Take Lenny Learning. The AI-powered nonprofit helps K-12 educators support students’ mental health and teach essential life skills (like conflict resolution and emotional regulation). For Lenny Learning, AI isn’t a new widget they’re slapping onto an old model. It’s been central to their mission from the start.
I recently caught up with Lenny Learning co-founder Ting Gao and Twilio’s Chief Social Impact Officer Erin Reilly about nonprofits’ evolving use of AI in communications. Twilio, which powers the tech behind some of the world’s most impactful nonprofits, recently released its latest edition of The State of Nonprofit Digital Engagement Report. The report digs into how nonprofit organizations are leveraging AI and digital engagement tools to further their missions. And now, let’s dig in with these leaders to see how AI is powering up impact for nonprofits everywhere.
Shannon Farley: Ting, could you tell me about how Lenny Learning is using AI?
Ting Gao: AI is core to how we support schools. Our AI tool, Lenny, acts as a co-creator for educators and counselors. It helps them tap into vetted content and brain health research — whether it’s a small group session on coping with anxiety or a classroom lesson on building relationships, Lenny delivers personalized resources that cover mental health in a really holistic way.
Teachers tell us that it not only saves them time but also helps them feel more prepared. And this is major for students. It means they get the timely, personalized support they need to live happier, healthier lives.
We often hear, “I wish Lenny existed years ago.” Seeing the impact across school communities has been incredible, and we’re excited to keep building on that momentum!
Farley: Educators are stretched thin, and students need more support than ever. How does Lenny Learning serve as the go-to resource for both mental and behavioral health — freeing up educators to focus on students?
Typically, educators spend around four hours creating a behavioral health lesson or intervention. With Lenny, it takes just two minutes.
Take one of our counselors in Irving, Texas. She shared how she used to spend hours every week searching for the right video. Then, she had to adjust resources to fit her students’ needs, and translate everything into Spanish for a small group. This is on top of managing daily crises. There just isn’t enough time to create these resources when educators are constantly putting out fires. For too long, the norm has been reacting to crises as they happen.
Lenny completely shifts that by giving educators custom interventions, vetted materials, and resources right when they need them. One feature that’s popular right now is Lenny’s ability to create parent handouts. Counselors can quickly send home a note about what was covered so parents can continue the work at home.
Some of our counselors have said that Lenny saves them over 100 hours each semester. 100 hours! That’s 100 more hours (per counselor!) to dedicate to direct counseling — or just more time to make a bigger impact. It means fewer students slipping through the cracks and more targeted support when it’s really needed.
Farley: Lenny Learning’s work is clearly filling a huge need in schools for accessible mental and behavioral health support. Thank you, Ting.
Erin, with nonprofits like Lenny Learning leading the charge, AI is clearly taking off in the sector. According to Twilio’s research, nonprofits are actually adopting AI faster than many private companies. What do you think is driving that?
Erin Reilly: Since the AI boom has kicked off, we’ve seen some interesting trends in the nonprofit sector. Our research found that 58% of nonprofits are using AI in their digital communications compared to just under half (47%) of business to consumer (B2C) businesses. This directly counters the misconception that nonprofits are slower to adopt new technology. We know there’s growing demand for nonprofit services, but the reality is nonprofits often operate with limited resources, and many have seen resourcing tighten since 2020 as donations and access to grant funding decrease. AI is emerging as a critical tool that can help nonprofits save time and deliver services to more people more effectively, and we’re excited to see this continue.
Farley: How have you seen nonprofits increase their impact with AI?
Reilly: A really great example is Tarjimly, a nonprofit that connects people in dire, many times dangerous, situations to real-time translators. Across the globe, we are facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, with over 110 million individuals forcibly displaced due to natural disasters, conflicts, and political unrest. Language plays a pivotal role in helping refugees to access crucial services. Tarjimly connects volunteer translators with refugees, asylum seekers, and anyone in need via call, chat, or video to break down language barriers and get them the help they need. With support from Twilio.org and Google.org, Tarjimly leverages AI to handle the necessary but resource draining administration work. AI helps Tarjimly efficiently match those in need with the right translator at the right time. This is a great example because AI is a necessary tool to assist optimization, but it cannot replace the human element. This includes understanding the language, context, and empathy needed in these situations. At Twilio, we really view AI as a great tool and assist, enabling people to focus on what only humans can uniquely do.
Farley: We saw how Lenny Learning’s personalized approach drove real impact for a counselor in Irving, Texas. As nonprofits grow, how can they keep a personal connection with the people they’re serving?
Reilly: Meaningful, personalized experiences with an organization aren’t just a nice-to-have — they’re essential for success. Just like consumers expect personalization when interacting with their favorite brands, nonprofit program participants expect the same personalized interaction. Interestingly, our report found that program participants only feel understood about half the time, revealing a major opportunity for nonprofits to improve. Challenges like budget constraints and meeting the changing needs of end users stand in the way. This is where AI can be incredibly useful and help organizations more efficiently analyze their program participant data. For example, AI can help personalize communications such as SMS and email with the best local resources and information at a scale that isn’t possible with limited resources. AI is also very good at making sense of large amounts of data, so nonprofits can utilize AI to quickly help them identify feedback and needs for their communities so they can respond in a more timely manner.
Farley: At Fast Forward, we’ve seen so many opportunities for nonprofits to use AI to save time and deliver services more effectively. For example, the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project is using AI to scale its virtual help desk, providing individualized answers to thousands of legal immigration questions. But, as you mentioned, there are budget constraints and concerns to consider. What have you observed in terms of how beneficiaries feel about AI?
Reilly: Nearly everyone is concerned about data privacy and security when it comes to AI. What’s clear is that nonprofits adopting AI to engage constituents should be transparent about that in order to build trust. It’s a delicate balance between using AI to better understand constituents’ preferences and needs, while also being very clear and open about how that data will be acted on.
We live in an age where people are used to organizations collecting and storing their personal data, but that doesn’t mean people are comfortable with it. AI relies heavily on data in order to deliver results, so as it becomes more ubiquitous, we all have a responsibility to hold ourselves and our organizations to a high standard of transparency. For example at Twilio, we introduced what we call ‘AI Nutrition Facts,’ which is our way of clearly communicating with our customers and their end users how their data is being used in a clear and familiar way.
We are starting to see how AI is helping nonprofits across sectors get more value from their digital engagement efforts. The future of AI in the nonprofit sector is all about identifying the operational or programmatic activities in which AI can make a tangible difference. In healthcare, where many organizations operate as nonprofits, patient appointment scheduling plays a critical role in sustaining revenue. These nonprofit healthcare organizations are using AI to speed up scheduling response times, reduce missed appointments and ultimately increase patient satisfaction scores and revenue.
As the demand for nonprofit services increases, nonprofits will continue to adopt AI to amplify their impact and provide more personalized support that scales and meets constituent needs. There are a lot of possibilities with AI, and I’m excited for what’s in store!
To learn more about Twilio.org’s State of Nonprofit Digital Engagement, please visit: www.twilio.org/2024-SONDER
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