AI for Good: How Artificial Intelligence is Changing the Way Nonprofits Work

On a bright Saturday morning in Trenton, seventeen Princeton University students gather in the parking lot of Mount Carmel Guild. They are members of the University’s Food Bank Express service club. I would soon be grouping them for assisting with various spring cleaning and outdoor beautification projects as part of a familiar volunteer day exercise with the century-old hunger relief institution. During water breaks, the teens chat about college plans – medicine, engineering, computer science – and how those careers might intersect with service. “We use technology in everything we do, so why not in helping people too?” muses one senior, eyeing a career in software development. His classmate, who plans to become a doctor, nods in agreement. For this new generation of volunteers, tech isn’t a distraction from community service; it’s a tool they’re eager to harness for good.

Such scenes illustrate a broader shift in the nonprofit world. 

From local food pantries to global aid agencies, artificial intelligence (AI) and data tools are starting to transform how charities fight hunger. The changes touch every aspect of the mission – improving how food is distributed, how organizations reach those in need, how volunteers are coordinated, and even how nonprofits plan for the future. 

In an era where AI is becoming a mainstay of modern society, nonprofits are recognizing that rather than resist this wave, they must learn to ride it. “AI is here to stay, and we have to embrace it as a means of expanding our reach,” says Mary Inkrot, executive director of Mount Carmel Guild. Inkrot, who has led the Guild’s food pantry and home health program for seven years, foresees AI “helping us to become more proactive with our services,” – analyzing community data to anticipate needs before a crisis hits.

Her perspective reflects a growing consensus in the nonprofit sector: technological innovation and compassionate service can go hand in hand.

The Princeton University students used an online sign-up system to organize their visit and snapped photos for social media as they worked – small examples of digital savvy enhancing outreach. 

When asked about the role of tech in charity, they were unanimous: it’s not just welcome, it’s necessary. “We’re all on our phones – if there was an app to track what the pantry needs or to remind us to volunteer, we’d use it,” one student remarked, noting how apps already match drivers with riders or diners with restaurants.

In fact, similar ideas are already reality in hunger relief. Platforms like Too Good To Go, connect restaurants and supermarkets with excess food to local food banks in real time, ensuring surplus meals don’t go to waste. And this is just the start. Emerging data backs up how urgent such innovations could be.

Hunger remains a massive challenge – the United Nations’ latest report on food security, found that over 700 million people worldwide faced food insecurity in 2023, a number elevated by the aftershocks of the global pandemic. 

Even in wealthy countries like the United States, tens of millions struggle to get enough to eat. On a national and global scale, hunger relief organizations are increasingly turning to AI to tackle the complexity of feeding communities in need.

One of the biggest challenges is deciding when, where, and how to allocate limited food resources – essentially a massive logistics puzzle.

AI systems can analyze huge data sets - from crop forecasts to economic trends for predicting where food shortages might occur. By spotting patterns that humans might miss, algorithms can help aid groups act faster and more efficiently. 

For example, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has been testing a machine learning tool that forecasts hunger trends up to 60 days in advance. “This innovative approach establishes the groundwork for a global, data-driven early warning system,” explains Kyriacos Koupparis, who heads WFP’s forecasting unit. “It will provide advance warnings, enable timely and targeted response and help save lives, livelihoods and scarce financial resources.”

In other words, AI is helping  us  anticipate food crises before they fully unfold – a radical shift from the reactive model of the past.

At the operational level, AI is also making food distribution more nimble. Consider the journey from farm or factory to food pantry. In the U.S., networks like Feeding America move billions of pounds of food through a network of 200 food banks. The logistics are daunting: trucks, warehouses, expiration dates, varying local demands.

AI-driven analytics are helping to optimize these supply chains. Algorithms can suggest the most efficient routes for deliveries or identify which donations should go to which city to minimize spoilage. By crunching data on consumption and inventory, AI can “quicken the redistribution of food to places in need before it expires.” 

Even at our modest pantry in Trenton, the principles of AI-driven efficiency hold appeal. Inkrot shares how early in the COVID-19 pandemic, demand at our food pantry spiked, going from 1,000 to nearly 1,800 household visits in a single month.

“We often had difficulty getting enough food each week,” she says. “Imagine if we’d had a tool that could accurately forecast the extent of that surge or similar ones after any given crisis. We could have lined up extra food - to say little of what that could mean for financial grants, as grantors often require service need  forecasts.”

The Guild continues to track monthly client numbers, supported by technology such as Oasis Insights and donation patterns through NeonOne - sharing information with partners such as Catholic Charities and Mercer Street Friends Food Bank. 

The Guild’s hope is to eventually tap into larger predictive models, knowing that AI can help connect the dots and that user-friendly AI tools are becoming increasingly available, even in resource-strapped communities.

As AI tools spread through the nonprofit sector, a big question looms: How do charities adopt cutting-edge technology without losing the personal, compassionate ethos that defines their work? It’s a delicate dance. 

Critics sometimes worry that algorithms and automation could make charity work cold or impersonal – for example, if a chatbot gives a hungry family a canned response instead of a warm voice, or if data models inadvertently overlook the most marginalized.

These are real concerns, and nonprofit leaders say the answer is not to ignore them, but to address them head-on with ethical, inclusive design. The prevailing attitude is one of “both/and”: embrace the efficiencies and insights AI offers and double down on the human-centric mission.

Inkrot is optimistic on that front. In her view, technology is a means to an end, not an end in itself. “At the end of the day, our work is about empathy,” she says. “AI can crunch numbers and spit out recommendations, but it’s our staff and volunteers who implement them with compassion.” 

She says that any AI the Guild employs  - would be guided by the organization’s values at every step. And the upside of smart tools is undeniable: “If AI can save two hours of paperwork, that’s two more hours staff could spend talking with a family in need, volunteers and funders,” she adds. That sentiment is echoed across many nonprofits experimenting with AI.

In 3 Sided Cube’s latest report, Harnessing AI for Good: Adoption Trends in the Charity Sector, it was shared that nearly half of global nonprofits are now testing AI in some form, though only about 2% have fully integrated it into their operations so far. The progress may be gradual, but it’s picking up speed as success stories spread. 

In the same report, 65% of organizations using AI said it has already made them more efficient – a sign that, when carefully implemented, these tools free up resources that can be redirected to the core mission.

This is how nonprofits change in the age of AI – not by abandoning the old values, but by infusing them with new vitality. Artificial intelligence is no longer science fiction or corporate jargon; it’s becoming part of the everyday toolkit for doing good.

Hunger relief charities, from global giants to local pantries, are learning that embracing AI can mean more meals delivered, more volunteers engaged, and more communities served, if they do so thoughtfully and inclusively. The challenge ahead is to shape these technologies in alignment with humanitarian principles. 

But as Inkrot, her staff and volunteers demonstrate, when compassion and innovation work in concert, the results can be truly transformative.

Rather than replace the human heart of nonprofit work, AI is helping it beat stronger – and that can only be a good thing for those who need it most.