DELTA DROP: Some Tips for Philanthropy Leaders

[Reader note: DELTA Drops are short posts, not quite articles with newsworthy lessons, observations and announcements about the network. Shorter than articles. Just as timely.]

It’s the last week of the school year here at Notre Dame, always a hectic time. In between my final class on Monday and the Institute’s final dinner on Tuesday, I squeezed in a quick trip to Nashville TN to talk to a fantastic group of family foundation leaders. The topic was DELTA -- in particular how they can support schools, churches, and community organizations that are navigating tough AI decisions and promoting human formation.

As I boarded the flight home, my first thought was that I love Nashville so much as a city. I wish I could have spent more than just a few hours out here. It’s a travesty to be in Music City and to eat no barbecue, hear no music, and purchase zero goo goos.

But more than that, I wish we had several days for these conversations rather than several hours. Speaking to this incredible group of leaders energized my own thinking about what philanthropic leaders in particular can do to support the DELTA force. These organizations have a critical function right now.

Here are a few concrete suggestions for family and small/medium-sized foundation leaders, coming from these discussions in Nashville today.

1) This is the year for your boards to get serious about the effects of AI on the institutions you care about. This technology is not going away; it is speeding up. Schools, churches, and community organizations are all poised for significant disruption. You can support leaders of institutions you care about as they strategize around these issues. There is still too much an aura of fear around AI – especially among institutions that are primarily invested in human formation. We have to stop doom scrolling and develop a strategy informed by an ethical vision. This is a great opportunity to fund your organizations to run strategic retreats this summer to focus in on their vision for doing their work well in the midst of the AI transformation.

2) Invest in baseline AI awareness in your boards and leaders so they can be thoughtful strategists. Your leaders should know the basics of how models are built and how they work. They should understand what models are and are not capable of doing. They should have criteria for evaluating AI products they might invest in and a plan for continuous learning. They should know what information sources are trustworthy. I’m adding it to my summer to-do to start curating a resource like this to share with foundation and board leaders in our network.

3) Tune out the AI salespeople; invest in internal leadership conversations that are committed to discerning what’s best for kids, families, and community members. There are a lot of consultants and ed tech entrepreneurs looking to profit from this disruption. Beware of product sales pitches or AI “silver bullets” being pitched to solve institutional issues that really need more sophisticated human leadership. Designate a trusted, long-tenured internal leader to skill up on their understanding of how AI affects the local environment. Survey what’s already changing in your own backyard, with your own stakeholders.

4) Let the DELTA Network help you get resources. We currently have faculty, staff, and trusted collaborators developing model curricula for different school types. We are piloting professional development opportunities for leaders of churches, boards, and community groups based on our framework. We’re still expanding our bandwidth, but we are thrilled at any opportunity to get good resources into the hands of more organizations. Even better, we would love the opportunity to co-create these programs with your leaders.

More to come in the months ahead spotlighting specific efforts we think are moving the needle.

While I didn’t have the chance to get any smoked meat or country music in on this trip, but I was able to eat the lunch of champions in BNA as I rushed to catch my flight to Chicago…