What’s Happening in the Third Sector?
AI: All Incredible, or Another Irritant?
Back at our 2023 conference, we had a great keynote from Rob Jackson who discussed the changing nature of work and what this may mean for volunteering. This included discussing the place of AI in volunteering, volunteer management and overall volunteer engagement. In fact, he even blogged about it all the way back in 2018! In this month’s TeamTalk, amidst some interesting conversations around AI, why no revisit the topic?
So what is the role of AI in volunteering?
It’s no secret that AI can save you a lot of time. For volunteer managers, AI could be used to recruit volunteers; help you write detailed opportunity descriptions, create a list of onboarding questions, and even draft thank you letters for your volunteers. All this allows you to prioritise the human aspect of your role. Ultimately, AI can speed up admin tasks, giving you more time to connect with your volunteers regularly and consistently.
Away from volunteering, AI has also contributed towards some pretty amazing things. Read more on that here.
Where might we go wrong with AI?
Of course, it’s not all sunshine and roses when it comes to AI. While it can be a great tool to aid you at work, it has the potential to threaten the safety of jobs worldwide. If AI has the ability to replicate jobs being completed by humans, the knock-on effect will be lower demand for human labour, lower wages, and potential loss of jobs.
How do we use AI ethically?
Generally, AI should be used to complement your role, not replace it. For example, you can use AI tools like ChatGPT to write the outline of your volunteer descriptions if you’d like, but make sure it still has that personal touch. AI cannot replicate what makes each human unique. Within your organisation, you should make sure that any AI solutions you use align with your values and overall mission.
Overall, AI offers a great solution to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of volunteering and volunteer management. By using AI, you can also gain a deeper understanding of social issues, tailor your volunteer programs to meet the needs of volunteers, and ultimately make a greater impact in your community.
Some AI tools to aid volunteer managers:
For chatbots: ChatGPT, Bard
For design: Canva tools such as Magic Resize
For help with writing: Grammarly
For social media management: Hootsuite
A New Date for Volunteers’ Week
The 2024 Volunteers’ Week will launch on Monday 3rd June and continue until Sunday 9th June. As part of Volunteers’ Week this year, the Big Help Out will also be taking place from Friday 7 to Sunday 9 June. Stay tuned for more news!
Other stories:
Leave a Reply