Transforming Nonprofit Operations with Microsoft AI Builder

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Microsoft AI Builder is a powerful and user-friendly toolset provided by Microsoft to create custom artificial intelligence (AI) models without extensive coding or data science expertise. It is part of the Microsoft Power Platform, which includes tools like Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI. AI Builder breaks down the barriers of technical complexity, allowing non-technical users to tap into the potential of AI. With its user-friendly interface and pre-built templates, nonprofit professionals can now easily build and deploy AI models tailored to their specific needs. 

This tool simplifies the process of building AI models by providing step-by-step guidance and intuitive workflows. It allows you to train models using your own data, or you can start with pre-built templates that are tailored to specific use cases, such as processing forms, analyzing sentiment, or detecting objects in images. This opens up a world of possibilities, empowering nonprofits to automate tasks, gain insights from data, and optimize their operations.

By using AI Builder, you can quickly bring AI to your apps and flows that connect to your business data that is stored in the underlying data platform (Microsoft Dataverse) or in various cloud data sources, such as SharePoint, OneDrive, or Azure. 

You can access AI Builder within Power Apps and Power Automate.

Tailored Templates for Nonprofit Needs

AI Builder provides a range of pre-built templates designed to address common challenges faced by nonprofits. These templates include business card readers, receipt processors, text classifiers, form processors, object detectors, and more. Each template serves as a starting point, guiding nonprofits through the process of building AI models for tasks such as donor management, program evaluation, sentiment analysis, and document processing. By leveraging these templates, nonprofits can save time and resources, accelerating their journey towards AI-driven innovation.

1. Business Card Reader: This template allows you to extract information such as name, phone number, email address, and job title from business cards.

2. Receipt Processing: With this template, you can extract relevant information from receipts, such as vendor name, date, total amount, and line-item details.

3. Text Classification: The text classification template enables you to categorize text into predefined categories or labels. This can be useful for sentiment analysis, topic classification, or content tagging.

4. Form Processing: This template helps automate the extraction of data from forms, such as surveys or application forms. It can extract specific fields or information from the form and save it in a structured format.

5. Object Detector: The object detector template allows you to build models that detect and classify objects within images or videos. This can be useful for tasks such as inventory management, quality control, or security surveillance.

6. Language Translator: This template enables you to create models for language translation. It helps translate text content from one language to another, allowing you to build multilingual applications or services.

7. Prediction Model: The prediction model template allows you to build models based on historical data for predicting outcomes or making forecasts. This can be applied to sales forecasting, demand prediction, or customer behavior analysis.

What you can do with AI Builder

Here are a few simple business scenarios where nonprofits can leverage Microsoft AI Builder to enhance their operations.It's important to start with smaller, achievable projects and gradually expand AI implementations based on the nonprofit's resources, goals, and impact areas. 

1. Donor Engagement and Personalization: Use AI Builder's text classification capabilities to categorize and analyze donor communication, such as emails or survey responses. This can help identify donor preferences, sentiments, and interests, enabling personalized engagement and tailored communications.

2. Volunteer Matching: Build a model using AI Builder's object detection capabilities to match volunteers with appropriate opportunities. By analyzing volunteer skills, availability, and preferences, nonprofits can streamline the volunteer matching process and ensure the right fit for each opportunity.

3. Document Processing and Data Entry: AI Builder's form processing template can automate the extraction of data from various documents such as application forms, membership forms, or surveys. This saves time and reduces manual effort in data entry, allowing nonprofits to focus on their core activities.

4. Sentiment Analysis for Social Media: Utilize AI Builder's text classification capabilities to analyze sentiment in social media posts related to your nonprofit's cause or campaigns. This can help understand public sentiment, identify influential supporters, and address concerns or negative sentiment effectively.

5. Program Evaluation and Impact Assessment: Leverage AI Builder's prediction model capabilities to create models for forecasting outcomes or measuring the impact of nonprofit programs. By analyzing historical data, nonprofits can gain insights into program effectiveness, make data-driven decisions, and refine their strategies.

6. Chatbot for Frequently Asked Questions: Build a chatbot using AI Builder's capabilities to provide instant responses to frequently asked questions from beneficiaries, donors, or volunteers. This reduces response time, provides consistent information, and enhances user experience.

7. Text Translation for Multilingual Services: Utilize AI Builder's language translation capabilities to automate the translation of written content into different languages. This can be valuable for nonprofits serving diverse communities or working internationally.

What is the Pricing for AI Builder?

Microsoft AI Builder is part of the Microsoft Power Platform, and the pricing for AI Builder is typically bundled with other services within the Power Platform. The Power Platform offers different licensing options, including:

1. Power Apps per App plan: This plan allows you to create and run individual apps using Power Apps. AI Builder is included, but usage is limited to the licensed user.

2. Power Apps per User plan: This plan provides more comprehensive access to Power Apps and AI Builder, allowing licensed users to create and use unlimited applications.

3. Power Automate per User plan: This plan focuses on workflow automation using Power Automate. AI Builder is included in this plan, allowing licensed users to leverage AI capabilities within their automated workflows.

4. Power Automate per Flow plan: This plan is targeted specifically at users who need to automate workflows and does not include AI Builder capabilities. However, AI Builder can be added as an additional add-on to this plan.

It's important to note that nonprofits may be eligible for discounted or special licensing options from Microsoft. Microsoft NTA offers nonprofit pricing at discounted rates and licensing programs for eligible nonprofit organizations. Nonprofits interested in utilizing Microsoft AI Builder and other related services should reach out to Microsoft NTA to learn more about eligibility, pricing, and available support for leveraging AI technologies.