Exponential AI
“Exponential AI” represents big “change everything” projects like self-driving cars, cancer drug discovery, or standalone software bots that would mentor youth or run hotlines. Right now, exponential impact requires working with dedicated technologists to find the right use cases, identify and clean large data sets, and build new tools.
Incremental AI
“Incremental AI” has more modest goals, less risk, and is capable of being immediately useful to everyday staff. Its goal is to use low-cost, existing off-the-shelf products such as ChatGPT just as we use Gmail or Excel, to help our colleagues eliminate the least favorite, most repetitive elements of their jobs and get more done in service of clients and mission.
A Sprint To Incremental AI Literacy
On our five-point measurement scale of AI Literacy a “1” is someone who only uses AI when it’s invisible (eg. Netflix recommendations) and a “5” is a sophisticated AI team leader who is bringing Exponential projects to their organization. Most individual nonprofit staff will see significant benefit at “3” – regular use of generative AI in their daily workflows to drive 10%+ increases in efficiency, improve equity, and fight burnout.
At the organizational level, the tipping point is to have 50% of staff – at all levels and departments – reach an incremental AI Literacy level of 3.
The goals of the AI for Nonprofits Sprint are clear and measurable. Using pre- and post-engagement data, we will bring 5,000 nonprofit staff from 100 nonprofits to baseline AI literacy in 2025.
At each Member nonprofit we:
1
Administer our baseline AI Use Survey to understand where each Member is starting
2
If needed, provide templates to support the establishment of Placeholder Staff AI Use Guidelines.
3
Provide a one-time, 90 minute, kickoff training to all staff at all levels.
4
Support a 4-6 month facilitated peer-learning program, including:
- Launching an AI Learning Team with 5 – 25 staff.
- Team must have access to a paid “frontier” level model of AI. The AI Sprint can distribute 5-10 free licenses, depending on Member size.
- Team members pledge to try AI for real work 1-2 hours / week
- AI Sprint staff host facilitated peer-learning Zoom calls monthly, by staff functional area (fundraisers talk to fundraisers, child care staff to child care staff, etc)
- Online video library of proven use cases, by AI Learning Team members
Upcoming Webinars
Funders and Field Partners support the Sprint with resources and expertise:
- Arbor Rising
- Civic Hall – Andrew Rasiej (Co-Founder)
- Decoded Futures – Jake Porway
- EGF Accelerator – AiLun Ku
- Fast Forward – Kevin Barenblat (Co-Founder and President)
- Fordham University – Lauri Goldkind (Professor) (individual)
- Fund for the City of New York – Lisette Nieves (President)
- Just-Tech – John Greiner (President and Founder)
- OpenAI / ChatGPT (in-kind donor of free AI licenses)
- Robert Sterling Clark Foundation – Lisa Pilar Cowan (individual)
- RoundTable Technology – Joshua Peskay (3CPO)
- The Tow Foundation – Meghan Lowney
- The Tiger Foundation – Charles Buice
AI Sprint Members participate in our programming and represent 15,000+ nonprofit staff:
- A Little Piece of Light
- Acacia Center for Justice
- America On Tech
- Arab-American Family Support Center
- Aurora Women and Girls Foundation
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC
- Bloomingdale School of Music
- Bronx Tech Hub
- Brooklyn Level Up
- Brooklyn Workforce Innovations
- BUILD NYC
- buildOn
- BxReBirth
- Cardinal McCloskey Community Services
- CASES
- Center for Appellate Litigation
- Center for Community Alternatives
- Center for Employment Opportunities
- Center for Family Life
- Center for Hearing and Communication
- Center for Justice Innovation (CJI)
- Child and Family Services of Erie County
- Children of Promise NYC
- Children’s Aid Society NYC
- Citizens Committee for New York City
- City Growers
- City Teaching Alliance
- Climate Cardinals
- Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF)
- Colin Powell School @ CCNY
- Community Financial Resources
- Community Information Trust
- Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCCA)
- Cypress Hills
- DelgraciaCorp
- Digital Girl, Inc.
- Drive Change
- Eagle Academy Foundation
- East Boston Social Centers, Inc.
- East Side House Settlement
- Edith and Carl Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst
- Educate!
- EGF Accelerator
- Exalt Youth
- Fast Forward
- Finequity
- Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People and Families Movement
- Friends of the Children New York
- Fund for the City of New York
- Futures and Options
- Global Kids
- Goddard Riverside Community Center
- Good Call
- Good Shepherd Services
- Graham Windham
- Grand St. Settlement
- Grantmakers for Girls of Color (G4GC)
- HBSAB CAP
- Human Services Council (HSC)
- India Home
- Institute for Community Living (ICL)
- Internationals Network
- Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement
- JAIA
- JASA
- JCCA
- Justice in Motion
- Justice System Partners
- Latinos for Education
- Lead By Example & Reverse The Trend, Inc
- Lenox Hill Neighborhood House
- Liberty Resources
- LSA Family Health Service
- Macaulay Honors College
- Madison Square Boys & Girls Club Foundation
- Mission: Cure
- Mixteca Organization, Inc.
- Mouse
- National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ)
- New View Alliance
- New York City Employment and Training Coalition
- New York Law School (NYLS)
- New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
- New York Legal Assistance Group
- Nonprofit New York
- Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC)
- NPower
- NYC Bird Alliance (formerly NYC Audubon)
- Ocean Bay CDC
- Oliver Scholars
- Partnership with Children
- PENCIL
- Per Scholas
- PowerOptions
- Pratt Area Community Council, Inc. (DBA)IMPACCT Brooklyn
- Public Agenda
- Purpose in Motion
- Queens Community House
- READ 718
- Rebuilding Together NYC
- Red Dot Foundation Global
- Red Hook Initiative
- Riley’s Way Foundation
- Robin Hood Foundation
- RochesterWorks, Inc
- Sadie Nash Leadership Project
- Sanctuary for Families
- SCO Family of Services
- Selfhelp Community Services, Inc
- Southeast Bronx Neighborhood Centers, Inc
- Sunnyside Community Services (SCS)
- Supportive Housing Network of New York (SHNNY)
- The Bronx Defenders
- The Children’s Law Center
- The Fresh Air Fund
- The Grace Foundation of New York
- The HOPE Program
- The Knowledge House
- The Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York, Inc. (KCS)
- The New York Foundling
- The Parris Foundation
- The Public Theater
- The Reading Institute
- The Tow Foundation
- The Urban Assembly
- United Neighborhood Houses
- United Way of New York City
- University Settlement
- Urban Bush Women
- Vera Institute of Justice
- Vitala Global Foundation
- Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS)
- Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS)
- Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corp (WHEDco)
- Women’s Prison Association (WPA)
- World YMCA /YMCA of Greater San Francisco
- Worth Rises
- Youth Action Programs and Homes
- YWCA of the City of New York
Our Leadership
The Fund for the City of New York (FCNY) is a core infrastructure nonprofit serving the New York community since its establishment by the Ford Foundation in 1968.
FCNY’s Cash Flow Loan Program has made 17,000 bridge loans totaling $1.45 billion. Its fiscal sponsorship work supports more than 80 quasi-independent Partner Projects. And the organization’s initiatives extend beyond New York, aiding communities globally by adapting its innovative solutions to local contexts. FCNY also places graduate students in community planning roles and celebrates civic excellence through its prestigious Sloan Awards.
Rich Leimsider is the Entrepreneur-In-Residence at FCNY and the Director of the Nonprofits for AI Sprint. After introducing the concept of Incremental AI for nonprofits, he has developed and hosted in-person and online nonprofit AI events engaging 1500+ staff from 400+ NYC nonprofit organizations. He is certified in prompt engineering from Vanderbilt University and AI Essentials from Google.
Previously, Rich founded the PSLF.nyc Campaign – helping 70,000 New Yorkers access $4.6 billion in student loan relief. Earlier he served for five years as Executive Director of Safe Passage Project, a nonprofit organization that provides free lawyers to child refugees. He created and led programs at nonprofits including the Aspen Institute and Echoing Green. Rich is a graduate of Williams College, Harvard Business School, and NYC public schools and has most of an MSW from the University of Texas. He serves on the board of Nonprofit New York and lives in Brooklyn with his family.