The conversation around Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the philanthropic sector has shifted from “if” to “how.” A recent survey the DH Leonard Consulting team conducted exploring the use of AI among grantmakers and grantseekers, reveals a landscape defined by rapid adoption on one side and slow, cautious governance development on the other. For a sector built on trust and impact, this creates both a powerful opportunity for efficiency and a critical moment for establishing clear ethical guardrails.
The Grantseeker’s Reality: Adoption Outpaces Governance
For organizations seeking funding, AI is no longer an abstract concept—it is a functional tool. The survey data shows a decisive embrace of AI by grantseekers, driven primarily by the need for efficiency and productivity.
The majority of grantseeker respondents are currently leveraging AI for supportive tasks related to their applications, with 65.5% reporting usage in areas such as research, outlining, or developing funder talking points. This suggests AI is seen as a powerful efficiency booster, automating time-consuming preparatory work.
Figure 1. 2026 Grantmaker and Grantseeker AI Survey – Grantseeker utilization of AI in supportive tasks
More strikingly, nearly three out of five grantseekers (58.8%) report using AI, either regularly or infrequently, in the actual writing of their grant applications. This finding confirms that the technology has moved beyond simple support functions and is now directly contributing to content generation in the high-stakes world of fundraising.
Figure 2. 2026 Grantmaker and Grantseeker AI Survey – Grantseeker utilization of AI in writing applications
However, this rapid operational adoption is far ahead of organizational policy. Over half of grantseeker organizations surveyed (52.6%) currently do not have a formal AI usage policy in place. While a promising 31.9% indicated that a policy is under development, the current reality is that most organizations are operating without clear, shared standards for acceptable AI usage. The collective challenge for grantseeker organizations is clear: codify internal best practices before rapid adoption creates unexpected internal and external risks.
Figure 3. 2026 Grantmaker and Grantseeker AI Survey – Grantseeker AI usage policy
The Ambiguity of Disclosure: The “Did You Use AI?” Question
As grantseekers consider where and how to adopt AI, a natural point of friction emerges at the intersection of technology and accountability: disclosure of their use both internally and with their grantmakers.
Currently, the question of whether an applicant has used AI is still rare, with 90.7% of grantseeker respondents stating they have not yet seen it on an application (Figure 4).
Figure 4. 2026 Grantmaker and Grantseeker AI Survey – Did you use AI question on grant applications
As AI use becomes normalized, this question is expected to become standard. For those who have encountered the query, the predominant feeling is uncertainty, cited by nearly half of all respondents (48.3%). This prevailing uncertainty is the most significant finding on the disclosure front. It suggests that the simple “Yes/No” question is insufficient for the complexity of the technology. Many open-ended responses from the survey indicate that grantseekers struggle to draw the line: Does using an AI-enhanced grammar checker count? Does synthesizing a mountain of public data with an AI tool require disclosure? What are the implications of saying “Yes”?
Figure 5. 2026 Grantmaker and Grantseeker AI Survey – How “Did you use AI?” make grantseekers feel
The sector must recognize that an ambiguous disclosure question can introduce unnecessary anxiety or, worse, discourage innovation. Grantmakers have an opportunity to provide clarity now—defining what constitutes reportable AI use and setting expectations for its ethical application—before the question becomes ubiquitous.
The Grantmaker’s Evolving Role: A Proactive Moment
While the majority of survey respondents were grantseekers, the small group of grantmaker data points offers preliminary, but critical, insight into the funding community’s mindset.
Among the few grantmaker respondents, the sentiment toward AI use on a grant application leaned either Neutral or Positive. This indicates that there is no widespread, immediate hostility toward the technology, but rather a cautious willingness to engage.
The grantmaker community is also navigating its own policy and implementation gap.
- External Policy is Nascent: None of the grantmaker respondents reported currently asking applicants about their use of AI.
- Internal Practice is Varied: The use of AI for internal operations—such as drafting guidelines or evaluating proposals—is in the earliest stages of exploration, with respondents split between using the technology, having no current plans, and actively discussing the possibilities. Furthermore, most of the grantmaker organizations surveyed in this small group currently lack a formal AI usage policy.
This moment presents a critical window of opportunity. With grantseekers already utilizing AI for efficiency, the onus is on the grantmaking community to move from a reactive, wait-and-see approach to a proactive, policy-driven one.
Moving Forward: From Ambiguity to Action
The survey’s findings paint a clear picture: AI adoption is happening now, driven by grantseekers focused on productivity, and a policy lag exists on both sides of the application process.
To navigate this new reality successfully, the philanthropic community must collectively address the ambiguity:
- Grantmakers must set clear expectations. Define what AI use is acceptable, what must be disclosed, and, crucially, why the information is being collected. Clarity will reduce uncertainty and promote ethical, effective use.
- Both grantseekers and grantmakers must formalize internal policies. AI usage policies should not be seen as restrictions, but as frameworks for ethical practice, ensuring transparency, data security, and accountability for all outputs.
- The sector needs an open dialogue. Foundations and nonprofits should collaborate to share best practices and common definitions. This partnership is essential to ensuring that AI serves the sector’s ultimate goal of maximizing social impact.
The AI era is here. By taking proactive steps today, the grantmaking ecosystem can harness this powerful technology to enhance efficiency without sacrificing the trust, rigor, or the human element that defines philanthropic work.
*For full transparency, this blog was authored with the assistance of AI. We provided, in a locked LLM system, the survey, the survey data without identifying information of participants, and the transcript of our February 2026 1-hour Lunch and Learn “Funders Are Asking Did You Use AI to Write Your Grant… How Do You Answer?”