Community of Practice: AI and Technology

Description

DANA is launching a new quarterly Community of Practice focused on AI and Technology for nonprofits, co-led with Tech Impact and supported by the OpenAI Foundation. 

This Community of Practice will provide nonprofit leaders with practical, plain-language guidance on emerging AI developments, along with peer discussion and shared resources to help them make informed, confident decisions. The goal is to build collective knowledge across Delaware’s nonprofit sector and promote responsible, mission-driven AI adoption, not to chase trends, but to strengthen nonprofit impact.  

Our inaugural session on March 27th will focus on From Drafting Tools to AI “Agents”: What Nonprofits Need to Know.

AI is shifting from simple “help me draft” tools to systems that can complete multi-step tasks across your tools and workflows. These systems are often called agents.

In this session, we will explore:

• What this shift really means for nonprofits.
• Where AI agents could create capacity.
• Where they introduce new risks.
• What changes with accountability when software begins taking actions.

We will also connect this to a timely leadership challenge: how to plan and budget for AI as you enter budget season.

Together, we’ll talk through practical questions such as:

• What counts as AI spending?
• How should you think about tools vs. training?
• What about change management and staff readiness?
• How do you avoid overinvesting — or underpreparing?

You will leave with clearer language, better questions, and a stronger framework for decision-making.

About the presenter: 

Ryan Harrington is the Managing Director of the Data Innovation Lab (DIL) at Tech Impact where he focuses on developing data science projects for social good. Previously, Ryan was the lead data scientist at CompassRed Data Labs, a data science and analytics consulting firm where his focus was on developing models using a combination of statistical methods and machine learning techniques. Outside of work, he co-founded and co-organized Open Data Delaware, an organization dedicated to improving data transparency within government institutions and applying data and technology to solve civic problems.

Harrington holds a B.S in environmental and business economics from Rutgers University and an M.S. in business analytics from Drexel University. Prior to his work as a data scientist, he was a high school math teacher through Teach for America and spent time building Delaware’s entrepreneurial ecosystem at 1313 Innovation. Outside of work he enjoys Euro-style boardgames, attempting to woodwork, and travel - from Zion to Zanzibar.

The Community of Practice: AI and Technology is brought to you in partnership with Tech Impact and supported by a grant from OpenAI Foundation.