Get the free AI Policy Kit

Everything a Canadian nonprofit needs to write its AI rules, get them approved and keep them working. Plain language. Your first version takes about an hour.

Inside: the policy in Starter and Systems versions, a one-page staff card, an AI register, a board brief, wording for emails, grants and the people you serve, a vendor question sheet, a privacy check form, an incident card, a training sign-off, and a one-hour session guide with ten scenario cards. Word, Excel and PDF. Free to use and change.

Cover of Nimara's free AI Policy Template for Canadian nonprofits

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Open the kit in Google Drive Download the kit (ZIP)

How to open the ZIP: on Windows, right-click it and choose Extract All. On a Mac, double-click it. If it won't open, use the Google Drive button instead.

Open “00 Start Here” first. It walks you through your first hour.

Want a hand putting it in place? The next step is a free 30-minute assessment. No cost, no obligation.

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What’s in the kit

Free · Plain language · Word, Excel and PDF

AI can hold the pen. Only a person signs. Every piece of the kit comes back to that one idea. It’s free, it’s in plain language, and it’s built for Canadian nonprofits of every size.

What’s inside

Start Here. Your path through the first hour, the first month and every six months.

The policy, two versions. Starter for teams that use AI to write and plan. Systems for teams where AI also works inside forms, records and reports.

Staff Card. The rules on one page: a traffic light for information, a five-second check, and who to ask.

AI Register. A spreadsheet of every AI tool and automation, who owns it, and how to switch it off.

Board Brief. Two pages, three quarterly questions, and a ready motion to approve your policy.

Wording Pack. What to say in emails, on your website, in grants, and to the people you serve.

Vendor Question Sheet. Ten questions any AI company should answer in writing.

Privacy Check Form. For any automation that reads personal information.

Incident Card. What to do, and what to say, when something goes wrong.

Training and sign-off. A 30-minute training checklist and a staff acknowledgement.

Worries Poster. The fears people bring to AI, and the rule that answers each one.

Session Guide and Scenario Cards. Run a one-hour session with ten real situations from nonprofit work.

The worries it answers

People have real fears about AI. The kit names them out loud, then answers each one with a rule.

“Private information will leak.” Personal information never goes into AI chat tools.

“AI will make things up.” A person checks every fact before anything leaves.

“AI will judge people unfairly.” AI never decides who gets help, money or a job.

“AI will replace our staff.” AI takes on paperwork. People keep the work with people.

“Nobody will be responsible.” A named person answers for it, and people are told quickly.

Your first hour

Before (10 minutes). Your AI lead fills in the easy blanks: your name, your tools, your contact.

The session (60 minutes). Two to five people, including someone from the front line. Start with the Worries Poster, work through three scenario cards, then finish the policy together.

After. Send the policy and the Board Brief to your board. Hand out the Staff Card.

Who it’s for

Executive directors. Who want clear rules without hiring a consultant.

Board members. Who need to approve AI use and ask the right questions.

Operations and program leads. Who are already using AI, or being asked to.

Funders and networks. Who want to help grantees and members get this right.

Why we built it

Up to 80% of Canadian nonprofits used AI for at least one task in 2025. About 10% had a formal AI policy. For nonprofits under $500K, it was 5%. (Imagine Canada and CCNDR, January 2026.)

We couldn’t find a free Canadian kit, so we built one. We wrote our own AI policy first, and we publish it at nimara.ca/ai-use-policy.

Questions

Is this legal advice? No. It’s a plain-language starting point. Check which privacy laws apply to you.

Is it really free? Yes. Use it, change it, share it with your team.

Can we change it? Please do. It’s your policy. Delete what doesn’t fit.

Is there a French version? It’s on the way.

What’s the catch? None. If you’d like help running the session or setting up your first automation safely, you can start with a free assessment. There’s no obligation.