Thank you to everyone who attended our Conference & AGM 2023, which took place last week as a hybrid event. The agenda for the day was packed and we appreciate everyone taking the time to attend – we hope you found the day as useful and engaging as we did!
The main theme of the event was AI and the Charity Sector, with expert speakers and a panel discussion covering all aspects of AI from policy and ethics to real life examples of implementing AI into customer service tools. In addition, our AGM took place and we took the conference as an opportunity to engage with members and stakeholders and gather detailed feedback in our upcoming strategy review.
For those who weren’t able to attend, here’s an overview of the day.
AGM
We started at 10am with our 24th Annual General Meeting, we said thank you and farewell so some of our trustees and welcomed Catherine Parker to our board. We still have vacancies on our board, so if you’re interested in joining us please get in touch.
If you’d like to know more about what VONNE has been doing over the last year, you can watch our annual review video here and download our annual report here.
Strategy Review
Next, we spent some time in breakout groups discussing the next steps of our Strategy Review for 2024 – 2027. Over the last six months, VONNE has undertaken a strategy review questionnaire with members and stakeholders, board discussions and workshops with staff at our recent away day. Breakout groups at our annual conference gave us the opportunity to have more detailed discussions on the four key points that came from all of the previous discussions:
- Developing future areas of work for VCSE organisations (question 1)
- Focussing on workforce development for the VCSE sector (question 2)
- Supporting partnerships and collaborations (question 3)
- Developing further opportunities for support (question 4)
We gathered some excellent feedback from our groups and are working to evaluate this, which will help to inform our next steps.
AI and the Charity Sector
After lunch and an opportunity to network with peers, we launched into our afternoon conference session, AI and the Charity Sector. With seven presentations, two AI demonstrations and a panel Q&A to work our way through, it was an afternoon filled with information and resources to help charity organisations think about how AI can be integrated into their work. Here’s an overview of the day:
Edd Baldry from Torchbox kicked off the afternoon with an introduction to AI, what it is, and how it has developed over time. He raised some practical points of use of AI within the VCSE sector, including how Greenpeace have personalised messages to donors around campaigns and are providing better quality communications through AI. Edd also raised points of value for AI in organisations, including augmenting workflows, pattern recognition and personalised experiences.
Clare Mills at Charity Finance Group highlighted the issues around generative AI, including making sure people’s original thinking has been credited in the outputs and when to be transparent about when you have used an AI platform as a VCSE organisation.
Next up, Zoe from Zoe Amar Digital gave a pre-recorded presentation running through her AI Checklist for trustees and charity leaders. She highlighted that 35% of VCSE organisations are already using AI, but where so many organisations are stretched in both time and resources, this can create difficulty in looking into the use of AI, making sure organisations implement AI ethically and appropriately.
Up next, David Scurr from CAST talked about AI and creating space within organisations to learn, develop and experiment with it, always with the aim of building greater collaboration and learning alongside colleagues. Following David, two organisations CAST have worked with gave practical use experiences of AI within their work.
Magid El Amin from Catch22 explained how machine learning works and how data recognised patterns for greater outputs. He also spoke about a secondary project of his, Cause Companion AI, which is an AI enabled fundraising supporter identification tool and ChatGPT interface.
Andy Bell, CEO of Head First AI gave a case study from Scottish Citizens Advice Bureau National Helpline and highlighted how AI can streamline processes to make sure beneficiaries are through to the right person.
Finally, Salvia Mirza from Resonant Consulting summarised the future of AI. She explained the capabilities of AI in terms of VCSE funding, investment, campaigns, communications and the changing workforce.
Following on from a panel discussion, which was a fast-paced conversation covering ethical implications, data and creating the space to test AI responsibly, the conference came to a close with Chair of VONNE, Alison Dunn highlighting that AI must be used with intention, integrity and inclusivity.
If you’re interested in received any information from the Conference, including recordings of presentations and the Digital Delegate Pack, please contact the VONNE team.