Charities and CICs
Free at the point of use for the third sector
Charities, community interest companies and social enterprises carry the work that keeps communities standing, usually on stretched budgets and volunteer hours. They should not be the last to get safe, governed AI capability. The charity and CIC route costs the organisation nothing. Sponsors, corporate cross subsidy and grant funding pay for it.
What the route gives you
Time back for frontline work
Case notes, funding bids, rotas, minutes and impact reports are the tasks that eat volunteer hours. Foundation and Bronze target exactly those, with a before and after measure on each one.
Safety, data and safeguarding first
Third sector data is sensitive. The route teaches what may never be pasted into a public tool, how to redact and when a human must stay in the decision.
Trustee level assurance
A board can adopt a written AI use policy, see who is trained and evidence the controls in place if a funder or regulator asks.
Recognition people keep
Volunteers earn the same certificate and portfolio as any paid colleague, which supports the move into employment or further study.
How free is actually paid for
Free to the organisation does not mean free to deliver. Every place is underwritten, and we name the route openly so trustees and funders can see there is nothing hidden behind it.
Sponsor underwrite
A founder partner or sponsor funds a block of places and the places are released to charities and CICs at no cost. The sponsor is named on the cohort and in the annual awards.
Corporate cross subsidy
Every corporate colleague licence carries a small social value margin. That margin pays for third sector places, so commercial growth funds community capacity directly.
Grant and commissioning
Where a funder already backs a programme of work, the AI capability strand can be written into the bid at cost, alongside UK Shared Prosperity Fund and combined authority commissioning.
In kind partner delivery
Member services providers offer facilitator hours, tooling credits and clinic sessions in kind, which keeps the delivery cost of a free place low enough to scale.
Who the free route is for
- A registered charity, CIC, social enterprise or constituted community group.
- Operating in the North East, or delivering with a founder partner elsewhere.
- A named lead who can commit about 10 hours across 8 weeks.
- Willing to share an anonymised before and after measure with the funding sponsor.
If your organisation sits outside this, say so anyway. Larger third sector employers can take a funded or paid cohort and their contribution helps release free places for smaller groups.
What we work through together
There is no order form. We start with a conversation and shape the cohort around what your team actually does each week.
- Who is in scope. Paid staff only, or trustees and volunteers as well.
- Which tasks are eating the most hours right now, so the cohort has a real target.
- What data must never leave the organisation and which tools are already in use.
- Who signs the AI use policy and how it reaches the board.
- How impact is reported back to your funders and whether we can share it with sponsors.
- Whether a shared sector cohort or a private cohort suits your team better.
Start with a conversation
Tell us about your organisation, your team and the tasks that are eating hours right now. We will shape a cohort plan, a funding route and a reporting approach that fits your trustees and funders.