Building Board-Ready AI Guidelines Under Real Time Pressure
An organization needed its staff and board using generative AI safely, consistently, and without waiting for a policy that didn't exist yet.
The Challenge
Generative AI had already reached the organization's staff before any guidance had. Team members were experimenting individually, board members were asking what the organization's position was, and there was no shared standard for what responsible use looked like. Leadership wanted to move deliberately, not reactively: guidelines built around their actual mission and risk profile, not a generic policy template.
What We Did
- Discovery session with leadership to map the organization's risk profile, values, and current AI use
- Built a tailored AI use policy covering approved tools, privacy boundaries, donor and client data protections, and staff guidance for common scenarios
- Developed a board briefing document: what leadership approved, why, and how they'd monitor it
- Led a 90-minute staff training session, adapting the guidelines into scenarios the team recognized from their own work
- Delivered a board presentation so trustees could ask questions and formally adopt the policy
The Outcome
- A written AI use policy adopted by the full board
- Staff trained on the policy within the same week as board adoption
- Leadership able to answer donor and funder questions about AI use with a documented position
- No tools banned — a governance structure built around actual use, not fear
Client Voice
"Rachel has a unique ability to make a complex and rapidly evolving topic approachable, relevant, and actionable."