May 29, 2025

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is growing rapidly – but is it a good thing?

That’s a question we’re frequently being asked by our own staff, and by our member organisations, and which we’re still working on……

So, as a (brave?) first step, I asked Copilot, the AI feature that’s popped up across many Microsoft applications, to:

Write me a blog (up to 300 words) as chief executive of Cumbria CVS about how charities in Cumbria might use AI, what advantages it offers and the risks it poses.

Here’s its answer……

AI and the Future of Charities in Cumbria

As Chief Executive of Cumbria CVS, I see enormous potential for AI to enhance how charities serve our communities. Used wisely, AI can increase efficiency, improve fundraising, and help deliver more targeted support—but it also comes with risks we must manage carefully.

The Benefits of AI

• Smarter Fundraising: AI can analyse donor trends, personalise outreach, and optimise campaigns, improving funding success.
• Efficient Service Delivery: Chatbots and AI assistants can provide 24/7 guidance, helping beneficiaries access support faster.
• Streamlined Administration: AI can automate routine tasks like reporting and financial tracking, freeing staff to focus on frontline work.
• Data-Driven Insights: AI can identify emerging needs, assess impact, and help charities allocate resources more effectively.

The Risks and Considerations

• Data Privacy: AI relies on vast amounts of data—charities must protect sensitive information and ensure compliance with regulations.
• Maintaining Human Connection: While AI improves efficiency, personal relationships remain vital to our sector. Over-reliance on automation risks losing that human touch.
• Bias and Fairness: AI systems can unintentionally reinforce discrimination if not carefully managed, so ensuring fairness is crucial.
• Cost Barriers: Accessing AI technology may be difficult for smaller charities, requiring collaboration and shared resources.

Moving Forward

AI presents an exciting opportunity for Cumbria’s charities, but thoughtful implementation is key. By embracing technology while safeguarding ethics and personal connections, we can amplify our impact and serve communities more effectively. Together, let’s explore how AI can enhance our work while staying true to our values.

And to be honest, that’s not a bad effort.

In Cumbria CVS, we’ve found AI can be really good at some tasks, for example, producing a first draft of meeting notes from a transcript of an online meeting, or summarising the key points form a long document.

But there are other things it’s not so good at, and if it doesn’t know a specific detail, it’ll merrily make something up to fill the gap. So, a bit of proof-reading is always required!

Where does that leave us?

You’ll probably be pleased to know that we’ve no plans to introduce the Cumbria CVS Chat Bot to answer all your questions any time soon. We’ll continue to explore what AI can offer, but for now, we’ll be making sure there’s a human keeping an eye on what it gets up to.

And finally, it’s well worth being aware that AI can tend to reinforce existing stereotypes. Another mountain rescue volunteer asked AI to generate a cartoon showing a “mountain rescue hero”. It took her a few attempts to convince it that there were women in mountain rescue teams.

And then……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think, for now, I’ll stick to choosing my own kit to head out onto the fells in!

 

 

 

 

Carolyn Otley
CEO
Cumbria CVS