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Where Should Nonprofits Actually Start With AI?
Episode description:
If you run a small nonprofit and the AI conversation makes your eyes glaze over, this is the episode that brings it back down to earth. Luke Bassett, founder of Data Exchange in Fort Wayne, sits down with Jason Padgett and Oliver Belanger to talk about where mission-driven organizations should actually start, and why the best first step is usually the most boring one.
Fort Wayne is home to more than 3,300 nonprofits employing over 40,000 people, and Luke spends his days connecting the people, ideas, and resources inside that community. He's also built custom software for nonprofits without a traditional coding background, including the ticketing app that now runs his own events. His take is refreshingly practical: the splashy agentic workflows get all the attention, but the real wins are meeting notes you don't have to take, an inbox you get through faster, and tools that are already sitting inside the software you trust.
Jason and Oliver get into how to pick one ecosystem and grow into it, why your power users can become the champions who pull everyone else along, and how purpose-driven tools take the complicated parts off your plate so you can focus on the people you serve.
Key topics covered:
- Why so few nonprofit leaders show up in the AI conversation, and what would bring them in
- The lowest-effort place to start: meeting recordings, executive summaries, and faster inboxes
- How nonprofits can use the AI already built into Microsoft and Google
- Building custom software with no coding background, and how Luke made his own event app
- Making your website easy for AI agents and search to find your resources
- Why the people who get responsibility for the work stay responsible for the output
Start with what you already know, pick one tool, and let curiosity do the rest.
About Luke Bassett:Luke Bassett is the founder of Data Exchange, a Northeast Indiana community connecting technology, nonprofit, civic, and professional services people in Fort Wayne. His background spans growth, change management, and custom software development.Website: https://dx.events/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ldbassett/
Data Exchange happens next on August 28 from 3 to 5pm at Electric Works in Fort Wayne. If you're in the area, come find Luke.
Tools and Resources Mentioned:Lovable → https://lovable.dev/Granola → https://www.granola.ai/Microsoft Copilot → https://copilot.microsoft.com/Google Gemini → https://gemini.google.com/NotebookLM → https://notebooklm.google.com/Is It Agent Ready (Cloudflare website scanner) → https://isitagentready.com/
Brought to you by CitizenAI → https://www.mycitizen.ai/Capacity Overload → https://www.mycitizen.ai/
Oliver Belanger, Co-founder and COO → [email protected] | https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverbelanger/Jason Padgett, Director of Partnerships and Growth → [email protected] | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-grant-padgett/
If you found this information useful, please follow and share the show with others who are serving their communities.
View all episodes
By CitizenAIEpisode description:
If you run a small nonprofit and the AI conversation makes your eyes glaze over, this is the episode that brings it back down to earth. Luke Bassett, founder of Data Exchange in Fort Wayne, sits down with Jason Padgett and Oliver Belanger to talk about where mission-driven organizations should actually start, and why the best first step is usually the most boring one.
Fort Wayne is home to more than 3,300 nonprofits employing over 40,000 people, and Luke spends his days connecting the people, ideas, and resources inside that community. He's also built custom software for nonprofits without a traditional coding background, including the ticketing app that now runs his own events. His take is refreshingly practical: the splashy agentic workflows get all the attention, but the real wins are meeting notes you don't have to take, an inbox you get through faster, and tools that are already sitting inside the software you trust.
Jason and Oliver get into how to pick one ecosystem and grow into it, why your power users can become the champions who pull everyone else along, and how purpose-driven tools take the complicated parts off your plate so you can focus on the people you serve.
Key topics covered:
- Why so few nonprofit leaders show up in the AI conversation, and what would bring them in
- The lowest-effort place to start: meeting recordings, executive summaries, and faster inboxes
- How nonprofits can use the AI already built into Microsoft and Google
- Building custom software with no coding background, and how Luke made his own event app
- Making your website easy for AI agents and search to find your resources
- Why the people who get responsibility for the work stay responsible for the output
Start with what you already know, pick one tool, and let curiosity do the rest.
About Luke Bassett:Luke Bassett is the founder of Data Exchange, a Northeast Indiana community connecting technology, nonprofit, civic, and professional services people in Fort Wayne. His background spans growth, change management, and custom software development.Website: https://dx.events/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ldbassett/
Data Exchange happens next on August 28 from 3 to 5pm at Electric Works in Fort Wayne. If you're in the area, come find Luke.
Tools and Resources Mentioned:Lovable → https://lovable.dev/Granola → https://www.granola.ai/Microsoft Copilot → https://copilot.microsoft.com/Google Gemini → https://gemini.google.com/NotebookLM → https://notebooklm.google.com/Is It Agent Ready (Cloudflare website scanner) → https://isitagentready.com/
Brought to you by CitizenAI → https://www.mycitizen.ai/Capacity Overload → https://www.mycitizen.ai/
Oliver Belanger, Co-founder and COO → [email protected] | https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverbelanger/Jason Padgett, Director of Partnerships and Growth → [email protected] | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-grant-padgett/
If you found this information useful, please follow and share the show with others who are serving their communities.