AI Foundations for Nonprofit and the Public Sector

Presented by Well Design

What: Most nonprofits, municipalities, and mission-driven organizations aren't behind on AI. They're behind on the foundational work AI exposes: unclear data, undocumented process, no shared decision on what "impact" even means for their systems. This session is a working discussion, not a tools demo. We'll dig into what mission-driven organizations tend to delay or avoid, why that avoidance is rational, and what it actually takes to get to a place where AI is a meaningful lever instead of a distraction.

Who: Leaders working in nonprofit, philanthropic, public sector and institutional organizations looking for an overview of how to correctly think about AI transformation in their orgs

In this session you’ll discuss and learn about:

Data you can trust: what "garbage in" actually looks like in a mission-driven org, and where it usually starts
Tools and approaches: separating real capability from noise
People and process: what changes for your team before any tool does
Building systems that reflect your organization's voice and judgment, not a generic model's
Governance, ethics, and risk: who decides, and what happens when no one has
Where this goes: what "AI-ready" looks like a year from now, and what it costs you to wait

You walk away with: An understanding of the unglamorous groundwork that makes AI worth doing.

Just for fun: Happy hour and networking to follow! Just outside the session room on the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce courtyard

Bonus: Have a chance to be among the first to experience the amazing new WMHCC space on Godfrey SW