Jane Halstead
Brand & Comms Lead
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we live and work, but for many grassroots charities, keeping up with digital change can feel impossible. While large businesses are racing ahead with AI adoption, smaller charities often lack the time, skills, and resources to explore how it could benefit them.
At Neighbourly, we’re working to change that.
Introducing Ai123: AI for All
Ai123 is a new initiative designed to help small charities and community organisations understand and use AI in a way that works for them. Through simple, accessible learning materials and the support of enthusiastic volunteers from businesses, the campaign is breaking down barriers—making AI something that empowers charities, rather than overwhelms them.
Recent research highlights just how big the digital divide has become;
- 64% of smaller charities have yet to engage with generative AI (Neighbourly community survey)
- 72% of charities struggle with digital upskilling due to financial constraints (2024 Charity Digital Skills Report)
- 8.5 million people in the UK lack even basic digital skills (Good Things Foundation)
Meanwhile, corporate Britain is accelerating AI adoption, widening an already dangerous gap. We believe AI shouldn’t just be a tool for well-funded organisations—it should be a force for good in every community.
That’s why, through Ai123, we’ve set an ambitious goal: to train 100,000 people, creating a ripple effect of digital empowerment across the UK.
Scaling Impact Through ‘Train the Trainer’
To reach this goal, Ai123 follows a ‘train the trainer’ model. We’re equipping corporate volunteers, charity leaders and volunteers to become AI champions within their organisations—passing their knowledge on and creating a sustainable cycle of digital upskilling that includes members of the community.
Corporate volunteers play a pivotal role in making this happen. Through our partnerships, employees are matched with charities that need support, using our Ai123 learning templates to help them take their first steps with AI—from safety and security to prompt engineering and workflow automation.
Making a Difference: How Ai123 is Helping Age UK Hammersmith and Fulham
A great example of Ai123 in action is Age UK Hammersmith and Fulham. Supporting older people with essential services, the team saw the potential for AI to help streamline their admin work—but they didn’t know where to start.
Through Neighbourly’s corporate volunteering programme, an employee from Currys stepped in to help. Using the Ai123 learning materials, they guided the charity through the basics of AI, covering:
- Safety and security—how to use AI responsibly
- Prompt engineering—how to get useful, reliable responses
- AI-driven efficiency—how chat tools can free up time for frontline support.
The result? A team that once felt overwhelmed now feels empowered. They’ve gained the confidence to start using AI in a way that works for them—and, most importantly, they now have a roadmap for what comes next.
Be Part of the AI for Good Movement
If you’re a business looking to get involved, we’d love to talk. By partnering with us, you can help your employees make a real difference—equipping charities and their service users with vital digital skills while fostering learning and engagement within your own teams.
AI has the power to drive real social change. But to make it truly inclusive, we need to bring everyone along for the journey.
