Community IT Innovators Nonprofit Technology Topics

Nonprofit AI: Resources Hub for Courses and Certifications

• Community IT Innovators • Season 7 • Episode 55

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This week Carolyn Woodard covers how to get AI literate, moving from the big-picture policy questions she's been focused on lately back to a practical roundup: how do you and your staff build AI literacy, and do you need a certificate to prove it?

She starts with free and low-cost nonprofit-specific options: PoliSync's four-module Certificate in Applied AI for Social Good, and Tim Lockie's hands-on AI for Anyone course through The Human Stack ($99). She also points to more general platforms like LinkedIn Learning, plus certifications straight from the source: Anthropic's free AI Fluency for Nonprofits course and paid Claude Certified Associate exam, Microsoft's AI Business Professional Certificate for Copilot users, and Google's Gemini certifications (for general knowledge, no previous experience necessary.) For a deeper resource, she recommends Cheryl Contee's book AI for Nonprofits and its companion AI4NP.org knowledge hub.

Carolyn's take: if you like structured learning and taking a class, or need a credential for a job or your own development plan, get one; if you're a self-directed learner already experimenting hands-on, you can decide if you need that credential too. 

Either way, AI literacy is what lets you and your organization make informed, values-driven decisions about how, or whether, to use these tools. She closes on a bright note: data center moratoriums are gaining momentum in cities and counties nationwide, proof that community advocacy is having a real effect.

This episode covers:

  • Free and low-cost AI literacy courses for nonprofit staff.
  • Certification options straight from Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google for teams already using Claude, Copilot, or Gemini.
  • How to decide whether you actually need a certificate, based on your learning style and goals.
  • A recommended book and knowledge hub for going deeper on AI at nonprofits.

Resources Mentioned:

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Carolyn Woodard

Hello and welcome to the Community IT Innovators Midweek Nonprofit AI Check-In. My name is Carolyn Woodard. I am your host and not an AI expert, as I always say. I'm really curious about what AI is doing. I'm not really a techie by background. And so I'm just so fascinated to see what nonprofits are doing with AI in this moment, how nonprofits and philanthropy are responding to the concerns about AI in this moment. And I hope that I can give you, you know, a little bit of news, a few resources every week, and can keep the conversation going.

Carolyn Woodard

So I feel like the last month or so, I have the last several episodes, I have spent a lot of time on the big picture and kind of big policy questions, big philosophical questions, uh, big questions about how can we each participate in creating the future of AI where it's not all data centers and uh extracting resources and knowledge from people, but it's more human-oriented, and we can take advantage of these amazing tools that can do things that our nonprofits need done, uh that we could be in a better space where there's more security, the energy use is renewable and manageable, and the knowledge base is um, you know, owned by the people who are benefiting from it instead of the people who extracted that knowledge.

Carolyn Woodard

So I wanted to move away this week from that big picture question back to maybe some smaller picture questions about uh if you've got been giving a lot of thought to AI and you're thinking about the policy, the ethics, the big picture, the politics, um and you and your organization are want to use AI. You've been using it, experimenting with it, you yourself want to know more about it.

Carolyn Woodard

We've been saying for a while now, being AI literate helps you make those bigger ethical decisions of whether you're gonna use AI and how you're gonna use AI.

Carolyn Woodard

So, how do you and your staff get AI literate? And so I've got some resources for us today that'll help you find some resources that are made specifically for nonprofits and some that are more you know from the company side to get certifications.

Carolyn Woodard

And so let's just go through a few of them and I will include them all in the show notes so you can look up uh more resources on how to either get AI Literate or get those certificates.

Carolyn Woodard

So this is one that I had not heard about. It's called Polysync. They offer a certificate in Applied AI for Social Good. It's uh free four modules that are built specifically for nonprofit professionals, uh, and the four units are on foundations and ethics. So, what is AI and what are the ethics of it? Operations, research and data, and storytelling and advocacy. It is free, as I said. It's modular. You can do one or all four, and it's kind of low commitment, but it's an introduction.

Carolyn Woodard

I've mentioned this one before. The Human Stack has an AI course called AI for Anyone. This is an approachable 60-minute hands-on training with Tim Lockie, who runs, who IS the Human Stack basically. Um,

Carolyn Woodard

The Human Stack does a lot of other IT training for nonprofits, how to kind of build up a person on your team, maybe somebody who's already an accidental techie, and give them more of the skills they need to do more strategic management of IT.

Carolyn Woodard

And, you know, as the AI boom has happened, uh Tim also has been really interested in it and seeing the opportunities and the need for the ability to get smart fast at AI. So

Carolyn Woodard

Tim's training is designed to get you actually using it. So he does a lot of activities where you'll actually do something as you're learning about the AI. Uh, so he has ideas on prompting. He kind of takes the mystery out of it if you haven't been using it or if you've used AI and been underwhelmed. He can show you where there's a lot of opportunity and just ways that you can use it right now for productivity and maybe to do some things like in your inbox or you know, to manage your time better. So that's a really good one.

Carolyn Woodard

I've heard really good things about that one and Tim's you know, friend of the pod. So can uh go over there and uh see what he's got. Um, it is not a free course, but it is definitely something worth looking into. Uh at the moment, that course is $99, so very affordable and uh definitely something that you know if you are concerned with costs, someone could take it and then share those learnings with the other people on your stuff.

Carolyn Woodard

I went to the NTEN site because they have a lot of training usually and cohorts. Um, right now, all of their cohorts are closed. Um, but they did do the spring uh AI for Nonprofits cohort. So I'll keep an eye on that. They may do it again in the spring. Um, they they have very high quality courses and classes, and the fact that it's in a cohort with other people from other nonprofits, then you have this alumni group, you know, that you can tap into and ask questions and uh just connect with the network with afterwards. So, like I said, that's from NTEN. It's not open right now, but keep an eye on it because uh as soon they'll be offering that again.

Carolyn Woodard

All right, then there's a couple of other ways that if you are looking into trainings, you may already be familiar with. There's LinkedIn Learning through LinkedIn has free classes that lead to certificates that you can share on LinkedIn. They're usually pretty structured, and LinkedIn vets the course providers. So people can, you know, sign up, apply to do a LinkedIn learning with something that they are very familiar with and can teach someone else about, but there is that vetting there. You you have to be accepted to offer that course.

Carolyn Woodard

So the LinkedIn learning, I've heard a lot of good things about it from people who've done the different courses and they have a bunch on AI. So go ahead and take a look at that. It's not necessarily going to be geared toward nonprofits, but if you're looking for an intro-to-AI course, you know, it may you may not need something that's specifically geared to nonprofits. If you just want to know, like, how do I use AI with my Asana or how do I use AI Copilot with my inbox, those sorts of things. Have a look on, look on LinkedIn Learning.

Carolyn Woodard

And there's some other uh learning companies out there. Udemy is one that I've heard of, um, and you know, some other courses like that. Unfortunately, Udemy has a Nonprofit Plan Discount, but it's more of it's kind of like the Etsy of um courses. So anyone can put a course up there. So you the variety, there's a big variety in the quality of the courses. So you just have to have a look. And

Carolyn Woodard

I'm not sure, you know, how much those, if you do get a certificate at the end of one of those courses, how how seriously it'll be taken. I think, you know, the LinkedIn learning, those certificates are meant to go right on LinkedIn. So that's something to look at. Uh and there's other companies that do online courses as well, in addition to Udemy. That's just one that I have heard of.

Carolyn Woodard

All right, then you could go to the actual source, right? So you can get certifications in Claude, Copilot, and Gemini. Uh there's Anthropic Academy, it's free. You can get that certificate, uh, and they have a bunch of different classes on there to how to use Claude and what do you do with it.

Carolyn Woodard

They do also have some paid classes. There's uh something you can get called the Claude Certified Associate, which is going to be more technical, and that one is $99 and up, depending on how many you do. So something to look into. Again, I'm gonna share all of these links in the show notes. Uh, we had some people at Community IT who have done the Claude certification, so they seem to think that was pretty good deal, and they got a lot out of it. So a little mini recommendation there. If Claude is something that you're you're using, they have a lot of free resources and they do have these certificate courses, the Academy, I should say.

Carolyn Woodard

And then uh Microsoft has uh something called the AI Business Professional Certificate for non-technical Copilot users. So if you are in a, you know, you're using Microsoft and you're you know interested in Copilot because it is plugged into everything. It can get you can use Copilot with SharePoint, you can use Copilot with Excel, with Word, you know, all of these different pieces that all integrate together. That's the kind of genius of Microsoft's platform. So if you're interested in that, they do provide that uh certificate, the AI Business Professional Certificate over on Microsoft. Uh

Carolyn Woodard

For Google, they have Gemini certifications. Uh so far, it's only for the education sector that they have specific through Google for those uh Gemini certifications.

Carolyn Woodard

But of course, all of these tech companies have knowledge bases that you can look stuff up.

Carolyn Woodard

And, you know, I've had a lot of success uh using an AI tool to help me understand more about that AI tool. So you can take that route as well. If you already have a license to something, just go into it and you know, you can ask it, use it as a thought partner. I want to get better in this. Uh, can you talk to me? How do people usually use this tool with this other tool, etc.?

Carolyn Woodard

And then I interviewed, um, I don't know, month or so ago, Cheryl Contee, who wrote the book AI for Nonprofits, which is a fantastic resource. If you haven't picked that up already, each chapter has different um pieces of what AI at nonprofits, you know, using AI in fundraising is a lot different than using it in um accounting or using it for programs or using it for grant writing or for grant making. So she has different uh chapters on the different areas uh written by other experts in those areas, and then uh she kind of pulls it all together and what does this mean for nonprofits generally? Um fantastic resource, so I do recommend that.

Carolyn Woodard

And um, she has a curated Knowledge Hub for AI for Nonprofits, and I will include that in the show notes also. It's AI 4 np.org. And this is like a hub, basically. So it has tools, it has templates, other courses, events, webinars, peer learning. Uh, it's all connected and built around the book AI for Nonprofits, which came out last year, 2025. Um, it is fiscally sponsored by NTEN. So it pairs up with the other courses that NTEN is offering or not offering right now, since there's a lot of other resources on this hub. Um,

Carolyn Woodard

Contee is known for she, if you heard my interview with her, she doesn't have a lot of patience with um thinking that you're going to be able to not use any AI at all at work. So AI is really permeating uh every aspect of, I mean, every tool that we use has an update that has a new AI chat or a new AI wizard or you know, something that it does with AI that um now you get to do too, whether you wanted to or not. Not using AI is not something that she uh believes is really possible.

Carolyn Woodard

And I have to say, uh in a lot of ways, I do agree with her on that. Uh gen AI, of course, that's something that you use by choice, but the AI that's creeping into all of our other tools, our CRM, our Zoom. When you're on Zoom, there's an AI assistant. So um it's good to know about it.

Carolyn Woodard

As I keep saying, like the AI literacy helps you make informed decisions uh based on your values, your ethics, your organization's values, your organization's ethics and policies.

Carolyn Woodard

Hopefully that is a helpful uh knowledge hub, and it's got a lot of resources there as well if you're looking for more on how to learn more about AI for nonprofits. Okay.

Carolyn Woodard

This kind of leads me to this question of, and I don't know, if you are a person who gets certifications, then you probably don't need this next piece. But um, a lot of people ask, like, well, do I need a certification to prove I'm AI literate? Um, should I get a certification if it's not required for anything? Um, can I, how can I talk my work into supporting professional development time? If I need an hour a week to take these certifications or do these classes, or if I want to pay for something, one of the paid options or join a cohort or that sort of thing.

Carolyn Woodard

So I guess for me, it really comes down to your like what you what you're trying to do and what your learning style is.

Carolyn Woodard

So if you need a credential, you need a credential. Like if that's coming up for something you have it's on a job application or you're thinking about your life in nonprofit tech world and uh want to get some certifications under your belt so you can put them on LinkedIn, like definitely that's something that's worth doing for you.

Carolyn Woodard

If you if you aren't going to need a certification and pretty much are able to teach yourself AI, then you know don't worry about it. Uh,

Carolyn Woodard

If you're a self-learner and you've been experimenting hands-on already with AI tools, you probably already have the knowledge to pass a certification if you need to. So, you know, go ahead and and get it, or if you don't have the time right now, just you know, wait until you need that certification.

Carolyn Woodard

I think I want to talk a little bit to people who are more structured learners, or if you're unsure where to start.

Carolyn Woodard

So, as I always say, this is a huge tidal wave. It's washing over all of us. And if you don't know what AI is, you can maybe feel a little bit left out in some conversations where people are talking about, oh, the I use Agentic AI to do this, or I had my AI connect up these three other tools, and now it's just saved me, you know, hours a day. Um,

Carolyn Woodard

So if you're trying to figure out where to start and you are the type of person who likes to take a class, which you know, no shame, like a lot of us learn that way. If that's your learning style, then definitely pick something that's gonna work for you, that has, you know, assignments and um, you know, tests, exams, quizzes, uh, so that you get there, if that's what's motivating to you and how you learn, maybe get a friend, like two of you at your organization, take it together so that you can keep each other accountable and finish it.

Carolyn Woodard

You know, a lot of these certifications can be kind of open-ended, like you do them at your own pace. If you're the person who would start something and then maybe get super busy and not be able to finish it, get an accountability partner or maybe somebody in your family that wants to learn too for their job and do it together. So I think that's something that I would um point you toward.

Carolyn Woodard

You know, learning a lot of nonprofits consider ourselves learning organizations. So we do pride ourselves on professional development and providing the spaces for people to like often you're in a nonprofit job, there's it doesn't have any relationship to what you got your degree in way back many years ago in college or grad school. Uh, so a lot of nonprofits have a lot of learn on the job type of opportunities and job titles, and that's great.

Carolyn Woodard

And um, if you're at that type of a place that um provides some time and space for you to get better at things that you need to do to be better at your job, then definitely look into some of these credentials and some of these courses for AI.

Carolyn Woodard

Because it's not going away. Like the next a year from now, AI is gonna be different than it is now. Two years from now, it's gonna be different again.

Carolyn Woodard

So that doesn't mean don't get the credential now. It just means you'll be better prepared for the many twists and turns that AI is gonna take with nonprofits, the more literate you are now in how AI works, who the big players are, what you can do with it, what you shouldn't do with it, what's not safe to do with it.

Carolyn Woodard

So if those things have been bothering you or you're a little bit nervous about getting your feet wet in AI, there's a bunch of good resources here in the show notes. And I urge you to just um get started and uh learn as much as you can about it.

Carolyn Woodard

Because even if your organization is not gonna use AI or is gonna try not to use AI, the communities that you care about are gonna be impacted, whether or not they use AI either. So knowing as much as you can about it, starting with this podcast is a good place to start.

Carolyn Woodard

But if you need something that's more structured in a course, I hope you'll check out some of these resources and I hope that they'll help you.

Carolyn Woodard

Oh, quick thing I wanted to just close on a good note of people power. So it seems like every day I see new notifications of new moratoriums that are going in around data centers. ...Just put a pause on it. The companies have made their move to try and get as much approved as quickly as they could before people really knew what they were doing. Now that it's becoming obvious what a drain on resources these data centers are, there are a lot of moratoriums going in. So you can just Google it. People Power still works.

Carolyn Woodard

I shared a while back that uh Erin Brockovich website, which is tracking data centers and uh how those movements are going.

Carolyn Woodard

So sometimes it can seem like the little guy is never going to get anywhere, but I think we're we're definitely in the past month, I've seen a lot more stories about moratoriums and a lot more stories about concern all the way up at elected officials level. So keep writing those Congress people, keep uh going to your planning board meetings or zoning meetings. It really is having an effect.

Carolyn Woodard

You know, this is like I said, this is not stopping, but with regulation and good siting and good energy grid use and regulation, those data centers uh can be made to be more uh human oriented toward our environment and less profit driven toward, you know, whatever with the environment. So keep it up. That is a success story.

Carolyn Woodard

And I will see you Friday for our regular podcast, and then I'll be back here next Tuesday for some more nonprofit AI. Until then, take care.