We are living in a time of rapid, dynamic challenges. With uncertainty high and new technologies emerging, it can be hard to know how to plan for what’s coming next, when to shift strategies, and how to put our energy to good use.
However, as the Technology Association of Grantmakers’ Executive Director, I am filled with a sense of rugged optimism and deep responsibility for the organization and community I serve.
The Heart of Our Challenges: Navigating Change
Over the last 18 months, as I’ve engaged with hundreds of philanthropic leaders on issues related to philanthropy and technology—including artificial intelligence—I’ve come to realize that the challenges we face are not entirely technical in nature.
In fact, many are hardly technical at all. At the heart of our challenges is change—and how we navigate it:
– How to make change happen for good
– How to scale change for greater benefit
– How to increase our resilience and ability to adapt
TAG’s Role: Supporting Good Change Through Good Technology
At TAG, we support the innovative, equitable, and effective use of technology in philanthropy. We believe that for philanthropic and nonprofit organizations to make good change happen, they need good technology.
Tech-savvy nonprofits are four times more likely to achieve their missions, according to Salesforce’s Nonprofit Trends Report.
Investments in technology innovation are key to scaling impact and building resilience—but this kind of change doesn’t just happen.
The desire to be changemakers, not just grantmakers, means funders must invest in both change-making and change-managing.
The Promise and Challenge of AI
Let’s look at AI, for example. The rapid development and influence of artificial intelligence are reshaping philanthropy and the world around us.
Beyond the growth of tools like ChatGPT, we’re now seeing industry-specific AI applications—a necessary and exciting shift to meet the demands of our times.
That is both necessary to meet the demands of these times and exciting for the possibilities these solutions hold. New tools often deliver what they promise, but the challenge is in the change. Learning new ways to do things is not only hard, it opens up new risks. How can we manage the adoption of new technology while addressing ethical concerns, societal impacts, and environmental considerations? How do we balance the promised productivity gains against our organizational mission? How do we lead with purpose?
People: The Most Critical Investment
All of this fast-evolving change is happening at a time when public trust is near an all-time low, according to the Pew Research Center.
That’s why we must never forget the most critical investment of all: our people.
People must be at the heart of this transformation. Our focus must remain on:
– Delivering real benefits
– Changing lives
– Creating new opportunities
Technology itself isn’t enough. You need people who know how to use it responsibly and effectively. It’s people who leverage new technology—and create the true difference.
Meeting the Moment with Intention
We’ve faced difficult challenges before. The last few years alone have seen a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic, efforts to subvert democracy across the globe, widening structural inequities, and the impacts of climate change, to name a few. Taking on tough challenges like these are core to the mission of philanthropy.
Technology has already transformed our work, enhanced our daily lives, facilitated new networks and relationships, and shaped our culture. Some of these changes have been good, and others have not. But technology is still the best lever to meet the challenges of these times and to scale impact. However, if we are to harness the benefits of technological advancements for the public good, and meet the moment we are living in, we must be prepared to embrace change and lead with intention.
At TAG2025
At TAG2025, philanthropic technology leaders will come together to explore three core themes: Navigating Change, Building Resilience, and Leading with Purpose.
As changemakers, the philanthropic sector has a duty to guide how technology is used for good—by investing not only in tools, but in the people who wield them.
Empowered with the right technology and the right mindset, I’m confident our community can make sense of the challenges that change presents—and navigate a course into the future.
— Jean Westrick
Executive Director, Technology Association of Grantmakers