2026 AI Nonprofit Leader Program
“AI should never replace your values. It should reflect them.”
This year, the Nonprofit Chamber will welcome 55 nonprofit leaders from across Alberta to participate in a series of workshops led by Tacit Edge, designed to build a strong foundation of AI literacy and help leaders unlock new possibilities for their organizations, teams and communities.
With the first two 2026 AI Nonprofit Leader Program cohorts now complete and a final cohort set to begin in September, we're already seeing the impact extend well beyond the virtual classroom. Participants are returning to their organisations with practical AI skills and responsible strategies to streamline administrative work, freeing up time and capacity to focus on the work that matters most.
The impact is tangible. One participant used AI to review and realign a 158-page policy and procedure manual, refining it to under 100 pages when brevity was required to reopen their facility following a flood. Across the first two cohorts, participants built more than 15 working AI tools and applications, putting what they learned directly into practice.
The immediate feedback from participants reflected just how transformative the experience was:
“The most valuable part of the six-week learning experience was gaining the confidence to actually use AI in my daily life and volunteer work.
Before the program, I would have rated my AI confidence at about 4 or 5 out of 10. I understood some of the possibilities, but I was unsure how to apply AI effectively. The program provided practical, hands-on experience that helped me move from being curious about AI to using it regularly.
I now use AI to help prepare board reports, presentations, communications, budgets, travel plans, and research projects. I also learned how to ask better questions and work collaboratively with AI to achieve better results.
The biggest change was my mindset. I no longer see AI as intimidating or experimental. I see it as a practical tool that helps me work more efficiently, improve the quality of my work, and free up time for more important activities.”
“I would tell a nonprofit leader to invest as much time and energy as they can into the experience. It is absolutely worth every minute.”
For one participant, the shift went beyond becoming more comfortable with AI. They used it to search across years of board minutes and locate policy approval dates that previously required hours of manual work.
Another reported a complete mindset shift: “It's really taught me that I'm not thinking big enough. I was still thinking small with things that AI could do for me. I recognize now there's no end to what we can do with this.”
Those reflections echo one of the program's core goals: shifting the conversation from should we use AI? to: how can we use it responsibly to better serve our communities?
The six-week program helped leaders move beyond experimentation by applying AI directly to their own workflows. Participants explored applications ranging from communications and reporting, to strategic planning and service delivery – while also developing ethical AI policies that reflect the needs of their organisations.
The program also gave participants the opportunity to build tools that would have previously required significant time and resources. One participant built a custom, multi-mode communications agent in under 30 minutes. That tool could have represented roughly six months and $200,000 of custom development. Another created three working AI agents in seven days. Every participant left with at least one working build they could continue developing and applying within their organisation.
But the real measure of the program is what’s happened since the sessions ended.
For Steven Archambault, Director and Co-founder of Stonewall Recovery, the program moved his organisation's operational goals “leaps and bounds ahead.” AI has allowed him to reduce administrative time so he can “focus on what we're here to do, which is serve those struggling with addiction.”
Archambault has changed the way he applies for grants since taking the program, using an AI database: “A grant that would have taken me three weeks now takes me three days.”
He also discovered what AI could do beyond individual tasks. In the final week of the program, Archambault created three AI agents to handle different tasks for his organisation.
“I never would even have known what a freaking agent was before this program. I've created three agents in this last seven days that are doing things for me at different times. It's a game changer.”
For nonprofit leaders, these aren't just efficiencies on paper. They're hours returned to leaders who are already balancing limited resources with significant demands on their organisations.
Ashlee Mohn, Director of Communication and Engagement at Trellis Society, routinely uses The Morning Brief she created during the program. The tool surfaces decisions and commitments each morning, helping to lighten her “cognitive load to be a better leader.”
Mohn's confidence in her ability to use AI has also grown:
“I feel a lot more confident in understanding how to use AI. I think my prompts have gotten better. I think questioning the responses that AI gives me and still bringing that human lens to it. I've just gotten better at asking the right questions to get the information that I need.”
For nonprofit leaders, AI literacy is increasingly part of understanding the changing landscape in which they work. The AI Nonprofit Leader Program gives leaders the opportunity to explore that landscape alongside their peers, test practical applications and develop approaches that reflect the needs and values of their organisations.
“This aligns directly with the Nonprofit Chamber's mission to build capacity across Alberta's nonprofit sector, equipping organisations to tackle complex challenges with both practical tools and bold vision,” said Nonprofit Chamber CEO Angie Gelinas. “This is only the beginning!”
In a few weeks, the final 2026 cohort will begin, bringing another group of nonprofit leaders together to build their AI literacy and explore what responsible, practical AI use can look like in their organisations.
For more information visit our NonprofitNow+ offerings on our website.
This program was made possible through the foundational sponsorship of RBC and The Calgary Foundation, whose investment ensures our community's leaders have the tools to navigate today's complexities. Seeing a great thing underway, ATB Financial also stepped in to provide access to their grantees so more leaders could participate in the AI cohorts. Thank you to all of our partners for their support of this program and these leaders, and to Tacit Edge for their dedication to this work and our sector.