SMART.AI Framework
Two frameworks for nonprofits putting AI to work without spending down the trust they took years to build.
Start here
The Suite Overview runs just two pages. It explains what each framework does, how the two fit together, and which one to reach for first. Read it first if you only have five minutes.
SMART.AI: the adoption and governance spine
Six steps, discovery through stopping rules. Reach for this one when a client says they want to start using AI.
Step one isn't a policy draft. It's declaring amnesty, before you ask staff what AI they're already using. Nobody tells the truth to a process that punishes honesty, and every shadow-AI problem I've seen started with an organization that skipped that step.
SAFE.AI: the power and justice lens
Four moves for tools that land on the people your client serves. Reach for this one when a client is about to buy something that touches their community.
Crucial steps for getting diverse staff buy-in and engagement. It gives you the questions to ask in the vendor meeting before the contract is signed, rather than after.
How you can use these
This Suite is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
You can use these frameworks in your own work, including paid client engagements. Running the steps with a client counts as use, not adaptation, so it carries no obligation beyond crediting the source. You can also adapt them, translate them, shorten them, or build on them. If you share the adapted version with anyone, it goes out under the same license and retains the credit.
To credit such work, copy this line: Adapted from the SMART.AI Practice Suite by Gayle Roberts, CFRM. gayleroberts.com/smart Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.