6 Ways Nonprofits are Using AI in Education

As a first-generation college graduate, Alex Bernadotte knew firsthand the impact that a college degree can have on someone’s life trajectory. What made the difference for her were the mentors who helped her decode her college’s hidden curriculum — the unstated expectations that students need to know to succeed, but are often not taught explicitly. 

Alex’s experience led her to create Beyond 12, a nonprofit organization that aims to close the economic divide by providing students with the tools they need to graduate. Beyond 12 combines near-peer coaching with an AI-powered mobile app to guide students to success. Their mobile app, My Coach, connects students with their coach for 1-1 support, and prescribes targeted actions based on students’ personalized characteristics. Since its founding, Beyond 12 has served over 150,000 college students, 76% of whom are the first in their families to attend college.

Now, Beyond 12 is on an ambitious goal to serve 1 million students annually by 2030, over 10 times the number they serve today. Keeping students apprised of the latest information across a large higher ed system requires a lot of resources that could be better spent supporting students. This process is currently managed by a team of six. To that end, Beyond 12 is building an AI-powered “Content Development Assistant” to automatically pull information from college websites and generate short-form content tailored to first-generation college students. Beyond 12 anticipates this tool will decrease time spent on repetitive tasks by 66%, reserving their staff’s time to better support learners with an authentic human connection. 

Beyond 12’s tool is just one example of the myriad ways AI in education can close equity gaps and be leveraged for good. AI is reshaping the world, demanding trust and equity at its core, and through the Salesforce Accelerator – AI for Impact, nonprofit organizations like Beyond 12 can test out innovative solutions.

Creating space for AI in education

The Salesforce Accelerator aims to close the AI access gap by providing flexible funding, pro bono expertise, and technology to organizations. With those resources, nonprofits can accelerate AI in education, crafting solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. Each organization is matched with a team of Salesforce employee volunteers who help develop their solutions. 

The accelerator provides the space to take risks and build capacity – luxuries that many organizations don’t have. Experimenting with AI in education can be costly, leaving many nonprofits at risk of getting left behind. In fact, the vast majority of nonprofits believe digital transformation is a “need-to-have” or “must-have,” but many lack the resources to fully invest in emerging technologies like AI. Moreover, digitally mature nonprofits are nearly twice as likely (93% vs. 50%) to say that technology has helped them be more efficient or improve their impact. 

Beyond 12, alongside CareerVillage.org, CodePath.org, College Possible, Per Scholas, and Teacher Development Trust, are all developing inspiring AI solutions as part of the Salesforce Accelerator – AI for Impact program. Collaborating with mentors and technology experts, these nonprofits are pursuing revolutionary AI ideas across education and economic opportunity.

Here are some other ways AI is helping these organizations make a difference:

AI “students” help teachers improve skills. Teacher Development Trust, a UK organization that supports teachers, is developing a program that allows teachers to practice with AI “students.” The simulations are designed to help teachers improve and gain confidence with support from AI and human coaches. Watch this video to learn more.

AI-powered coaching for academic excellence. College Possible, a nonprofit focused on higher ed access, is building an AI-driven platform with personalized recommendations that help coaches serve students from underinvested communities. Using predictive and generative AI, College Possible is building an AI layer to enhance and personalize services at scale. This includes creating a knowledge base for coaches with personalized guidance and predicting supplemental services and success pathways for students. Watch this video to learn more.

Making all staff a data scientist. CodePath.org, a nonprofit that trains students to succeed in the tech industry, is leveraging generative AI through two innovative tools: AI “co-workers” who are trained on company data and can be queried in Slack for feedback, and a conversational data terminal that allows staff to query large volumes of data stored in Tableau. These solutions help CodePath’s small team scale their reach by enhancing their feedback systems, data reporting, and insights on student learning. Watch this video to learn more.

Generative AI resumes for job seekers. Translating skills from one industry to another is difficult, and a challenge that coaches at Per Scholas spend a lot of time addressing with their learners. Per Scholas, an organization providing skills training to prepare underemployed adults for careers in tech, is leveraging generative AI to draft resumes that are customized to a learner’s experience and the job they are applying for. Watch this video to learn more.

Your own personal career coach, right in your pocket. CareerVillage.org, a nonprofit focused on unlocking free career services, is building an AI Career Coach to democratize access to career information for millions of young people globally. With tailored advising for 14-24 year olds, the AI Career Coach provides access to a menu of career activities including drafting resumes, interpreting job posts, conducting mock interviews and more. Watch this video to learn more.

Salesforce’s AI for Impact Accelerator cohort present their Big AIdeas for Good at World Tour NYC pictured with President and Chief Legal Officer Sabastian Niles; SVP, Climate and Innovative, Naomi Morenzoni; and Senior Director Amy Guterman. Full broadcast is available for viewing on Salesforce+

From creating safe simulated environments for teachers to generating automated “coworkers,” AI is reimagining what is possible for nonprofits and allowing these organizations to focus on what they do best – empowering learners and strengthening communities. These solutions are not just projects, but transformative initiatives that have the power to shape the future of education and technology. The next generation of AI for impact is a reality unfolding before our eyes.

Naomi Morenzoni, SVP and Amy Guterman, Senior Director specialize in supporting and funding innovative technology solutions for social impact. They joined forces to co-author a post to highlight the most recent Salesforce Accelerator – AI for Impact.