Get Tech Smart - May Hot Take by Patrick

Running a community or voluntary organisation is incredibly rewarding — but let’s not pretend it’s not a lot. There’s the outreach, the organising, the events, the reporting, the fundraising, the thank-yous, the newsletters… and that’s all before you’ve had your second cup of tea! 

Here’s the good news: you don’t have to do it all the hard way. AI (artificial intelligence) might sound like something from a sci-fi movie, but it’s actually a super useful tool that can help you save time, cut down on admin, and get your message out faster — all without losing your unique voice. 

Admin and Comms, Supercharged 

It’s not just newsletters — AI can also help speed up your everyday admin and communications. Here are just a few ideas: 

• Write thank-you emails to donors and volunteers 
• Summarise meeting notes or event feedback 
• Draft press releases or funding applications 
• Create social media posts tailored to different platforms 
• Translate key info into other languages 
• Generate reports or updates for stakeholders 

You’re still in control, but AI takes care of the first draft — which means you can focus on adding the human touch instead of starting from scratch every time. We cannot emphasise that you need to edit/adapt/correct your first AI draft of anything you create to ensure you are creating your own authentic voice to any piece of work. 

Find Collaborators and Funders 

I recently attended the Hapori Communities Conference in Tauranga and wrote the following for a session on creating a ‘Braindump ideas’ document when trying to find collaborators – this can also be adapted to see where you intersect with funders too! 

Ideas on how to use ChatGPT to get stuff done faster in engaging other organisations:

1. Open your browser at https://chatgpt.com/ 
2. Type this in “Create a letter with 10 bullet points why [X organisation] and our organisation is an amazing fit to collaborate – use this from [X organisation’s website - here you copy/paste their page on their visions/goals] and this from ours [Copy/paste same thing from yours], from the point of view of a For Purpose / Not For Profit organisation talking to the CEO of business” or similar wording 
3. The points are 

• What you want – i.e. 10 bullet point letter; introductory letter; ‘seeking a meeting’ letter; ‘proposing an interest in collaborating’ etc. 
• Using info from both websites to look for alignments 
• Who’s talking – i.e. you, a For Purpose; Trust; Community Garden; etc. 
• To whom – i.e. CEO, financial officer, grants admin; etc. this directs to what kind of vocabulary will be used. 
• Direction/Tone – i.e. an amazing fit, how being disparate companies benefit each other; conversational tone; in the language of banks; to a crown minister; etc. 
• You can also dictate how many words if you want 

  4. This creates, in mere seconds, a document you can use with your team or whomever to use as a springboard to kōrero around. 

  5. It’s a time-economic way to choose 10 companies who are not seemingly aligned and seeing if there’s an amazing opportunity. 

  6. ALWAYS re-edit to make sure its what YOU want. 

Work Smarter, Not Harder 

AI isn’t here to replace you — it’s here to support you. Think of it like a digital co-worker who’s really good at writing and organising (but doesn’t need lunch breaks). With just a bit of experimenting, you’ll find it’s an absolute time-saver.  So if your to-do list is growing longer than the biscuit queue at your AGM, it might be time to give AI a try. You’ll be amazed how much time you can save — and how much more energy you’ll have for the parts of your work that really matter. 

Work smarter, not harder. Your community deserves the best of you — not the burnt-out version. Let AI help you shine! 

Ngā mihi nui,
Patrick Davies, Engagement Officer.
Community Networks Aotearoa.