AI has gained prominence as one of the key resources in providing global solutions, having increased by an astonishing 300% in its application towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since 2018.

Several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) implement artificial intelligence to create social change, improve effectiveness, and solve urgent challenges. These organisations aim to transform healthcare services, improve education, eradicate poverty, and address climate change as a region.

They say that AI allows them to make better decisions, reach larger audiences, and improve the impact of their initiatives. We feature 13 outstanding AI for NGOs who are making a difference across the globe.

Also Read: 10 Ways Artificial Intelligence Can Help NGOs

What is an AI-enabled NGO?

It is an organisation that applies artificial intelligence and data-based solutions to improve its operations and activities in service delivery and decision-making.

These NGOs employ AI algorithms to address expansive issues, extending their scope and efficacy. There is evidence of growth in the number of artificial intelligence-backed nonprofits, as the most recent Fast Forward Startup Accelerator witnessed a 600% growth in applicants leveraging AI, showing increased interest in AI’s ability to make a social change.

AI can help nonprofits find new ways to scale their solutions, which was impossible.

13 Innovative AI Enabled NGOs You Should Know About

AI is transforming the way NGOs tackle global challenges. McKinsey’s research has identified over 160 AI-driven social impact initiatives.

These technologies align with the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals, offering solutions to help millions across developed and emerging nations.

Also Read: Challenges of Using Technology for Humanitarian Aid

Here are some AI Enabled NGOs you need to know:

Plan International

Plan International is a global humanitarian organization devoted to the promotion and protection of children’s and girl’s rights. Operating in over 80 countries, it has adopted computerized processes to improve its programs and advocacy work.

Plan International collaborated with Innovations and Consulting Solutions on the development of a chatbot utilizing Google Dialogflow. This chatbot was designed to engage with young users, offering personalized career advice and guidance. Through this partnership, Innovations and Consulting Solutions contributed their expertise in chatbot development, enabling Plan International to create a dynamic and impactful tool for empowering youth in their career decision-making journey.

Plan International, together with HURIDOCS and fellows from Google.org, launched the machine learning-based Human Rights Database. This unique application combs through large amounts of information and uses computer algorithms to discern trends and patterns in human rights abuses to help target girls’ rights advocacy more articulately at international forums.

BearingPoint and Plan International Norway have undertaken to develop an AI-based application that intends to enable seamless program reporting. This helps to speed up the data collection and analysis process, enhancing the understanding of program performance while improving staffing in key operational areas.

With these AI projects, Plan International is strengthening its capacity to serve children and communities in other regions of the world. The organization does this through the growing use of technologies, one of which is constant innovation in promoting children’s rights and gender equality.

Mercy Corps

Among the international NGOs, Mercy Corps is focused on relief and creating productive communities. They have progressed by applying AI to the problems, including setting up 68 WiFi hotspots since 2015 and providing digital cash and TCVs to refugees.

Mercy Corps received $8.5 million in funding through the Technology for Development initiative and $1.5 million in product expertise in partnership with Cisco. This collaboration highlights Mercy Corps’ commitment to using technology to expand its reach and positively impact vulnerable populations.

Fast Forward’s Startup Accelerator reported a 600% increase in AI-powered nonprofit applicants, reflecting growing innovation in this space.

WWF International

WWF International is among the leaders in using AI to address various ecosystem issues, such as climate change and biodiversity loss.

With ecosystems under increasing strain, WWF is applying AI to digital challenges related to wildlife conservation, food security, oceans, freshwater, forests, and climate change, among others.

AI is helping the organisation process vast amounts of data to monitor endangered species, predict environmental shifts, and optimise resource management.

This data-driven approach allows WWF to respond quickly to environmental crises, enhancing its ability to effectively and scale protect the planet’s natural resources.

AI for Good UK

AI for Good UK is a leading organisation aiming to change the lives of 100 million people by solving some of the world’s hardest problems.

Kriti Sharma, a technology for development influencer, started the organisation. It currently focuses on using AI for good and working with governments, the UN, businesses, and communities.

Sharma has been spearheading efforts to ensure ethical AI development and deployment. She is renowned for her TED Talk on eliminating bias from AI.

Working with a wide range of partners, AI for Good UK is undoubtedly effectively and creatively addressing major challenges for the betterment of society and the world.

The ITU AI for Good conference is one of the platforms that enable the creation of dialogues about AI worldwide.

This summit, which takes place each year in Geneva, is organised by the International Telecommunication Union Members and Sister UN agencies, XPRIZE Foundation, and ACM.

It is a platform of interaction among international players who articulate the role of AI in addressing global issues. The 2022 AI for Good Program provided insight into emerging areas and offered a rich array of accomplishments in AI.

By attending these summits, AI leaders generally communicate valuable factors and innovations that will determine how AI will be used to benefit mankind in the future.

Also Read: How Technology Helps in Increasing Humanitarian Aid?

AI 4 All

AI4All’s main objective is to provide underrepresented groups access to artificial intelligence education through mentorship and learning opportunities.

They were founded in the United States in 2015 by Dr Olga Russakovsky and AI expert Dr Fei-Fei Li. AI4All offers a free AI education program called AI4All’s Learning Open For All, which provides AI education content to schools, communities, and organisations that require it.

Also, a program aims to enable teachers to teach AI to 11th graders in a way that will not be difficult for them. The AI for All program seeks to create a diverse workforce of AI-enabled practitioners for tomorrow.

Solve by MIT

Solve by MIT is an AI for Good initiative designed to address global challenges through open innovation. It acts as a marketplace, discovering tech-based social entrepreneurs worldwide.

By integrating MIT’s Innovation Ecosystem, Solve helps create opportunities for collaboration and support. They focus on using AI to bridge wealth gaps, providing access to technology that enhances finance, education, and democratic processes.

With over 130 Solver teams, Solve is making a transformational impact globally. One key project is the SOLV[ED] Youth Innovation Challenge, helping young people engage in AI-driven social change.

World Resources Institute

The World Resources Institute (WRI) tackles environmental concerns, including food insecurity, climate change, and transitions towards sustainable energy.

The organisation works closely and in partnership with government authorities, businesses, and civil society. The WRI organisation employs AI techniques to address these challenges, primarily NBS, by restoring forests and landscapes.

In partnership with more than 50 Omdena AI changemakers, WRI is developing an interactive graphic using machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) advances.

This application demonstrates the impact of climate change and emphasises how Nature-Based Solutions can respond to such effects, thereby providing practical recommendations for effective climate action.

Shafaq Organisation

Shafaq Organisation continues to support vulnerable communities amid the Syrian humanitarian crisis, focusing on resilience and empowerment across sectors like emergency response, education, protection, and health. Recently, Shafaq has adopted AI and other advanced technologies to enhance service delivery and program efficiency.

In partnership with ICS, Shafaq Organisation implemented the Givy chatbot, an AI-powered tool designed to enhance communication and accessibility for beneficiaries.

Beyond the chatbot, Shafaq utilizes systems like Givy to optimize aid distribution through features such as secure NFC/QR transactions, customizable reporting, and offline functionality. These tools ensure that Shafaq’s programs remain efficient, accountable, and impactful.

Danish Refugee Council 

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) works worldwide to support displaced people, focusing on protection, economic recovery, peacebuilding, and more.

They are leveraging AI and machine learning (ML) to forecast forced displacement, initially in Afghanistan, Myanmar, and West Africa.

Through their innovative Foresight tool, DRC uses open data from sources such as the UNHCR, the World Bank, and other NGOs to predict displacement trends over the next few years.

These AI-driven insights allow DRC to enhance strategic planning and operational preparedness within their organisation and the broader humanitarian sector, helping them better respond to emerging crises and provide timely assistance.

World Food Programme

The World Food Programme (WFP) is the largest humanitarian organisation in the world. It is dedicated to saving lives in times of crisis, addressing instability, and building populations.

It deploys some AI technologies to maximise its impact in areas such as nutrition, food security, and climate impact. The WFP seeks to enhance nutrition for women and children, improve the productivity of smallholder farmers, and minimise food waste.

Through AI, the organisation enables nations to prepare adequately for climate change impacts and enhances human capital via school feeding schemes.

Technology helps them expand their outreach and serve target populations effectively, leading to an impactful change in food security worldwide.

UNDP

The UNDP, or the United Nations Development Programme, operates in 170 countries and aims to end poverty, promote equality, and increase resilience to extend development gains.

As a frontrunner in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UNDP developed a Digital Strategy in 2020 to respond to the rapidly changing times. This program creates the organisation’s digital capacity and reinforces governments across the globe.

With AI, UNDP embeds an appreciation for digital progression, leveraging such technologies to expedite progress in advancing SDGs while simultaneously managing risks and other trade-offs around the technology. This model allows for AI to be deployed in a manner that enhances global communities and induces positive development.

Catholic Relief Services 

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) aims to help poor and disadvantaged communities worldwide deal with crises, improve their income levels through farming, and access health services.

Education is crucial to CRS’s mission, which is to help children, mainly the disadvantaged, have access to quality education opportunities and learning.

Within the activities of AI for Good, CRS uses machine learning to forecast food shortages in households. This allows for proactive measures to be taken, thus assuring that constituents receive the required assistance.

By employing AI, CRS improves its order of operations to measure the effectiveness of the changes implemented. This resonates with their making positive and lon, long-term changes in

Save the Children

Save the Children is a pioneering global movement for children’s rights. It is dedicated to improving child health, education, and protection.

Renowned for efficiently using donations, it has transformed countless young lives. Their commitment to innovation is evident in their use of AI to tackle online child safety.

Save the Children partnered with Innovations and Consulting Solutions to enhance their complaint management process. Innovations and Consulting Solutions provided expertise in developing a system to convert voice inputs into text, enabling Save the Children to efficiently process and address complaints from beneficiaries. This collaboration streamlined communication and improved responsiveness to the needs of those they serve.

In collaboration with Omdena, 61 technology changemakers worked alongside Save the Children’s Technology for Development and Child Protection team.

They utilised data from diverse sources—forums, articles, and games—to gain insights and enhance safety measures.

Through Natural Language Processing (NLP) models, they uncovered patterns that help prevent online violence against children, ensuring a safer digital space for the future.

Conclusion

AI-enabled NGOs now address global challenges that transcend their predecessors’ burden. These organisations increase their efficiency, reach, and impact by harnessing AI.

AI solves problems previously impossible in fields such as environmental issues, healthcare, and education. As these organisations’ reach grows, their impact on the non-profit sector will be widespread and transformative.

At Innovation Consulting & Solutions (ICS), we provide tailored IT services and cutting-edge solutions for NGOs. By leveraging AI where it fits best, ICS empowers organisations to overcome challenges, optimise processes, and expand their outreach—partner with ICS to harness technology’s potential for lasting positive change.