Thirty percent
That’s the estimate from a recent McKinsey report predicting that by 2030, activities accounting for up to 30 percent of hours currently worked across the U.S. economy could be automated — a shift accelerated by generative AI.
For corporate and nonprofit leaders alike, that projection signals both pressure and possibility. AI is poised to transform not only how organizations operate, and how people participate in and lead purpose-driven programs.
At the recent Taproot Foundation’s IGNITE conference, Benevity Chief AI Officer Ian Goldsmith described this transformation as an enormous opportunity for companies and employees, and for the very nature of purpose work itself.
How AI is transforming work and purpose
Taproot Foundation connects professionals with nonprofits through skills-based volunteering, helping social causes access the expertise they need to do more with limited resources. As jobs evolve, so do the skills employees can bring to those opportunities. And the potential impact grows exponentially.
“The evolution of work and the evolution of purpose are inseparable,” said Goldsmith. “When people learn to collaborate with AI in their day jobs, they can bring those adaptive, forward-looking skills into their volunteer work. That creates a ripple effect of capability and confidence that extends far beyond company walls, strengthening nonprofits, communities and the broader social sector.”
Goldsmith calls this AI and humanity in action — elevating rather than replacing human effort. When used responsibly, AI amplifies what makes people indispensable: empathy, creativity and judgment.
As employees adapt to this shift, they’re uncovering new strengths including analytical judgment, prompt literacy, critical thinking and ethical oversight. These abilities don’t replace existing expertise; they expand it. And those same skills are exactly what nonprofits need most as they begin navigating their own AI journeys.
Nonprofits and AI: early promise, persistent gaps
Research from Benevity Impact Labs shows that most nonprofit AI adoption remains in the early stages, experimenting with pilots or cautiously exploring new tools. Nearly a quarter (23%) of nonprofits aren’t considering AI at all, a hesitation Goldsmith sees as risky.
“AI doesn’t replace mission. It accelerates it,” said Goldsmith. “If nonprofits don’t start learning now, they risk being left behind by the very technologies that could help them do more good, faster.”
As shared in our 2025 State of Corporate Purpose, among organizations testing AI, the focus remains narrow:
- 44% are using AI for donor engagement and fundraising.
- Nearly 60% are using it for grant writing.
That’s a promising start. The real opportunity lies in streamlining operations and improving efficiency, freeing up staff time to focus on higher-impact work.
Yet significant barriers persist. According to Fast Forward’s 2025 AI for Humanity Report, nonprofit AI adoption faces two major challenges:
- 48% cite data privacy as their top concern.
- 41% cite limited in-house technical expertise.
Without technical staff, many nonprofits struggle to assess whether systems are ethical, secure or even fit for purpose. Closing this nonprofit AI adoption gap requires investment in digital capacity, philanthropic funding for infrastructure and education that gives nonprofit leaders confidence to use AI responsibly.
“The key isn’t just giving nonprofits new technology,” said Goldsmith. “It’s helping them use it well. When companies share their expertise and resources, they help turn AI from an abstract concept into real capacity on the ground.”
As more nonprofit organizations experiment with AI, new models of AI adoption are also emerging, proving that innovation doesn’t have to come at the expense of mission. In addition to AI-enabled nonprofits, where traditional organizations are using AI behind the scenes to automate tasks and improve efficiency, there are also AI-powered nonprofits (APNs). These are organizations that build tools where AI is core to their mission, such as matching refugees to resources or accelerating research breakthroughs.
Together, these models represent an expanding ecosystem of innovation that blends human compassion with computational power. And as nonprofits explore what’s possible with AI, their corporate CSR and grantmaking partners are moving quickly to scale similar capabilities — improving their own operations, and strengthening the broader network of social impact.
Corporate AI, CSR and grantmaking: the race to scale impact
As AI adoption grows across sectors, collaboration between corporations and nonprofits will become increasingly essential. The organizations that lead in this space won’t just share funding — they’ll share learning. Corporate teams experimenting with AI-driven efficiencies can help their nonprofit partners navigate similar transitions, while nonprofits can offer insight into how AI impacts real communities. This exchange of knowledge and perspective creates a virtuous cycle of innovation, ensuring that progress in technology remains grounded in human outcomes.
Corporate adoption of AI is accelerating at an extraordinary pace. According to StackAI, enterprise AI adoption is at an inflection point. What began as cautious pilots has become a race to scale generative AI for measurable impact across entire organizations. CSR and grantmaking teams are now part of that AI momentum.
Data from the Benevity 2025 State of Corporate Purpose shows that both foundations and CSR teams are exploring ways to use AI to enhance the grantee experience, though their approaches differ. Foundations are prioritizing more personal, trust-based communication with grantees, while CSR and grantmaking teams are embracing AI-driven efficiencies, often through Grants Management platforms, that simplify reporting, reduce administrative friction and give both sides more time to focus on outcomes.
According to Benevity data, optimism about AI’s potential remains high, with 85% of CSR leaders believing it will have a positive impact, even as most agree it isn’t yet ready for high-stakes or people-facing decisions. Still, companies see a clear opportunity: to use AI not just for operational improvement, and as a means to help their nonprofit partners thrive in a rapidly changing environment.
Corporate giving patterns reinforce that optimism. In just one year, community improvement and nonprofit capacity-building funding jumped from ninth to fourth place among giving priorities. And 82% of companies say nonprofits need more corporate support to leverage AI effectively.
“AI-ready nonprofits make AI-ready communities,” said Goldsmith. “When companies invest in the digital capacity of their partners, they’re not just funding programs. They’re building resilience into the entire social impact ecosystem.”
Companies increasingly recognize that empowering nonprofits to adopt AI responsibly is not just good citizenship. It’s good strategy.
From systems of record to AI systems of action
For years, CSR platforms served primarily as systems of record — tracking volunteer hours, logging donations and reporting outcomes. That made sense when measurement was the primary goal.
Today, purpose must operate at the speed and sophistication of modern business.
The system of action approach at Benevity represents that next evolution. It calls for responsible AI in CSR and integrated data to anticipate needs, connect people to meaningful opportunities and help lean CSR teams do more with less. It’s not about replacing the human touch — it’s about expanding it where it counts.
When routine processes are automated and insights surface faster, CSR professionals can focus on what matters most: partnership, storytelling and strategy.
That same philosophy applies to skills-based volunteering. The goal isn’t simply to log hours or count activities. It’s to use professional expertise in ways that multiply impact. As AI reshapes the workplace, employees are gaining new capabilities in data literacy, critical thinking and digital collaboration — skills that can help nonprofits work smarter and scale their missions faster. When those abilities are shared through volunteering, they don’t just solve immediate challenges; they build lasting capacity across the social sector.
Keeping CSR programs aligned to a changing workforce
When employees share emerging skills through skills-based volunteering, the impact reaches far beyond a single project. It helps nonprofits strengthen their digital capacity, innovate faster and deliver their missions with greater confidence. That exchange only works when companies make space for it, evolving their purpose programs to match the pace of workforce transformation.
Companies that hesitate risk letting their purpose programs — and their people — fall behind the pace of change. Employees who are learning advanced digital, analytical and creative skills in their day jobs want meaningful ways to apply them for good. Nonprofits, in turn, depend on that expertise to stay effective and future-ready. When that connection breaks, both sides lose momentum — employees may disengage, nonprofits may lose confidence and companies may see their impact narratives lose credibility in an age when transparency and technology move at lightning speed.
For those that act now, the rewards can be profound. Companies that evolve their programs can:
- Empower employees to apply emerging skills in meaningful, purpose-driven contexts.
- Equip nonprofits to use technology responsibly and effectively.
- Strengthen culture by proving that purpose isn’t an afterthought — it’s a forward-looking strategy.
In short, purpose is not separate from transformation — it is transformation.
A purpose-focused future powered by responsible AI
AI isn’t replacing people. It’s redefining how people create value — at work, in their communities and through purpose.
CSR programs can become the bridge between technological progress and human connection, where employees stretch into new capabilities, nonprofits build resilience and technology amplifies what makes us most human: creativity, empathy and collaboration.
When purpose programs evolve alongside AI, they become more than engagement tools — they become innovation ecosystems, connecting the ingenuity of the workforce with the needs of the world.
The goal isn’t to make AI human. It’s to make humanity more capable. When purpose evolves with AI, it becomes a powerful innovation engine.
“That’s the opportunity before us,” says Goldsmith. “AI is reshaping the world of work, and in doing so it can empower nonprofits to deliver greater impact. It frees us to deliver on our highest purpose – helping others.“
