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We have just introduced an AI Policy. However, it addresses staff use of AI tools and essentially allows for the use of AI but all generated work must be reviewed by humans before being launched publicly.

I tested a response to one of our scholarship questions into a website called Copyleaks. I very quickly used up my free option, but I know there are other trackers if you Google them. Of the six I tested, only one came back as AI generated. As this is the first year we are even thinking about AI I'm not sure if this is a huge issue for us at this point.

I recently attended a webinar hosted by the Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG) where they shared a couple of IT policy templates, including one for AI. I'm attaching it in case it helps.

Michelle Collins

Oakville Community Foundation

The current methods of collecting and delivering specific thank-you notes to donors from students are often difficult. We'd like to see a system where a dedicated thank you note form can be configured and assigned to the student per opportunity and as needed and attached to the request, eliminating the need to use follow up forms. The choice between having fewer common follow ups (general thank you) and a large number of opportunity-specific follow ups (to get a specific follow up) is not a great one. A dedicated way of exporting these or emailing a donor directly would also be welcome.

I was having a philosophical conversation with a grant administrator and we were chatting about the average approval rate for grant processes. What would you consider a 'normal' approval rate (partial or full funding) for your competitive grants?

Hi folks, I'm looking to connect with other community foundation colleagues who have undergone strategy shifts that made significant changes to grant processes (e.g., decreased grant amounts, sunsetting previous grantee relationships that no longer are strategy aligned). We are shifting discretionary resources to 'upstream' policy and systems solutions, and this will have a significant impact on many 'legacy' direct service partners. Would love to hear any lessons learned or intel you might have on these topics!