A newsletter on Responsible AI and Emerging Tech for Humanitarians
When a crisis hits, humanitarian organisations face a double challenge: they must organise themselves quickly to deliver life-saving assistance to people in need while also mobilising to raise the funds that are needed to deliver this critical response. Appeals go out to the public, proposals are drafted for governments and foundations, and teams work round the clock to research donors, prepare budgets and craft messages that inspire trust and support. Once the funds are raised, they must be allocated quickly and fairly – often all within the crucial first 72 hours of humanitarian response [1].
These tasks are essential but also time-consuming when every hour counts. This month, Humanitarian AI Unpacked explores the fundraising and allocation side of humanitarian response and how artificial intelligence can support it. Use cases include scanning grant databases and drafting the first versions of proposals, segmenting audiences and tailoring emergency appeals as well asl AI-powered chatbots to engage donors. AI has the potential to speed up some of the behind-the-scenes work that fuels a rapid response [2].
But AI is not a silver bullet. If used carelessly, it can introduce bias, misrepresentation and risky messaging, quickly destroying the hard built trust that is so important for donors [3].
This month, we will highlight how organisations are experimenting with AI for smarter donor engagement, communications and fairer, more transparent funding allocation alongside the ethical guardrails needed to ensure automation strengthens, rather than undermines, public trust.
Case Study
AI supported cash transfers
Give Directly
Floods can hit affected communities hard by destroying homes, crops or infrastructure. Cash assistance is ideally provided in advance of the flood happening, to allow communities to prepare.
In Nigeria and Bangladesh, GiveDirectly uses Google Research’s AI flood forecasting technology ‘Flood Hub’ to identify villages that are at-risk, and automatically trigger anticipatory cash transfers - sometimes within 48 hours - so families can buy supplies, protect homes or evacuate before floods strike.
In Nigeria, the team leveraged the technology in combination with local data and insights to include farmland and other vital areas beyond residential zones to enhance the forecasts and make sure impacted communities were accurately accounted for.
The project shows how technology and community knowledge together can deliver faster, fairer humanitarian assistance through targeted funds allocation. GiveDirectly plans to extend the AI application to forecast other disaster events, such as droughts, and to expand to other countries, such as Kenya.
📎 Get in touch: Vera Lummis, Senior Manager of Digital innovation vera.lummis@givedirectly.org
Who’s Doing What
Other examples of AI tools being used across the humanitarian sector.
CARE International – Fundraise Up
Fundraise Up is an AI-powered online donation form that encourages donors to cover payment transaction fees, allowing organisations to allocate more funds directly to their work.
📎 Contact: Info@careinternational.org
Unicef - AI to raise more for children in need
This case study shows how UNICEF Australia used AI-driven donor modelling to send fewer direct mail appeals yet increase net revenue by 26%, improve campaign return on investment by 35%, and saved $30k in direct mail costs.
📎 Contact: support@unicef.org.au
Editor’s Choice
Curated reads and resources our team found especially insightful this month.
📖 How AI Can Deepen Nonprofit Relationships, Stanford Social Innovation Review (2025) Explores how AI tools like predictive analytics, donor segmentation and chatbots help nonprofits personalize engagement, improve donor retention and free up staff time, while emphasising ethical oversight to protect trust in humanitarian fundraising. It sets out four principles organisation should adopt to ensure AI aligns with their values.
📖 Generative Artificial Intelligence and Humanitarian Representations: Mirror or Solution?, Alternatives Humanitaires (2025) Relevant to the comms around fundraising, this articles examines how generative AI is reinforcing stereotypes (e.g. “white saviour,” passive victim) in humanitarian imagery and argues that these misrepresentations not only erode dignity but can also harm fundraising.
📺 AI & Humanitarians: What are the implications for skills and people development in the sector?, Humanitarian Leadership Academy (2024) In this webinar, experts from NetHope and Nesta are talking about the skills required by leadership to make effective decisions about use of AI in their organisations, and about the skills required at all levels of humanitarian organisations to effectively understand and embed AI tools including for fundraising and funds management purposes.
Skill Up
Short, practical learning picks for practitioners - no tech background needed.
Philantropia’s webinar on AI-Powered Fundraising: Maximizing Impact in 2025 (free) provides practical insights into integrating AI into fundraising efforts. You will learn how AI can enhance your overall fundraising strategy- from donor mapping to streamlining grant proposals.
Namaste Data's 50 Fundraising Prompts, Gen-AI Toolkit for Nonprofits (free) A ready-to-use set of 50 generative AI-driven prompts tailored for different fundraising channels (annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, events) which can help humanitarian teams speed up outreach and improve message relevance while keeping things authentic.
SAFE AI Glossary, CDAC Network et al. (free) A glossary to help those working in crisis and humanitarian response to understand key AI and humanitarian words and phrases. It also highlights words that have a different meaning in tech and humanitarian worlds that you should be aware of.
Podcast Spotlight
Voices from the sector on emerging tech deployment in humanitarian response.
Countering Disinformation in the War in Ukraine
Humanitarians in the Agentic Age
In a world where AI-powered question answering interfaces and AI agents are becoming the new informational gatekeepers, how can humanitarian organizations adapt their communications strategies to stay visible, credible, and prominent?
In this episode of Humanitarian AI Today, guest host Roderick Besseling, Head of the Data and Analytics Unit at the Norwegian Refugee Council and Brent Phillips, speak with Matthew Brown from Profound, a startup that helps companies track, control, and optimize their marketing and communications content for the agentic internet and Lucy Hall, a Data and Evidence Specialist from Save the Children's Humanitarian Leadership Academy.
🕐 Run time: ~40 min
Upcoming Opportunities
Stay ahead of funding calls and events.
📅 AidEx 2025
When: 22 – 23 October 2025, Geneva (free, in person)
A day of panels and workshops exploring human-centred approaches to disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response amidst digital innovation and geopolitical change.
🔗 More info
💰 FCDO - EthiopiAI programme
Deadline: 3 October 2025
Proposals (max £4.6 million) for responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) automation and optimisation solutions used in priority areas including health, education, humanitarian, economic development and climate action in Ethiopia.
🔗 More info
💰 Eureka Network – Disaster Resilience, Response & Recovery Projects
Deadline: 31 October 2025
International R&D funding (range EUR €150K- €5M ) for collaborative projects (min. two organisations across Eureka member countries) developing AI, digital tech, materials, or devices to enhance disaster resilience, emergency response, and post-crisis recovery.
🔗 More info
💰 European Commission - Improving disaster risk management and governance Deadline: 12 November 2025
Support inclusive, innovative risk governance and resilient emergency systems so that authorities, communities, and disaster-response actors can prepare, respond, recover, and learn from crises more effectively. Total budget is €10.5M.
🔗 More info
Shannon Farley, Executive Director, Fast ForwardThese moments of connection, grounded in genuine curiosity about your donors' lives, are what make the job delightful. AI can't replicate that kind of human interaction.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the articles featured in this newsletter are solely those of the individual authors and do not reflect the official stance of the editorial team, any affiliated organisations or donors.