10 ChatGPT Updates Nonprofits Can Use Right Now
[updated September 18, 2025] These updates have landed over the past year. Each one is designed to save you time in the long run so you can focus more on your mission, family, and yourself. Feature availability varies by subscription plan. I’ve included notes below so you can try what’s available to you today and bookmark the rest.
Budget tip: If you want to upgrade from the free account to access more tools, OpenAI offers nonprofit discounts. Eligible organizations can receive 20% off ChatGPT Business plans through the nonprofit application portal. Larger nonprofits can contact sales for a 25% discount on Enterprise plans.
1) Projects (Now Available to Everyone!)
What it is: A workspace where you can collect files, set custom instructions, and organize conversations around specific topics, now available to free users as of September 2025.
Why it matters: No more re-explaining your brand voice, program details, or grant boilerplate. Projects keep everything organized for appeals, grants, events, or ongoing campaigns. Each project has its own memory, so context carries across multiple conversations.
Try it: In the left menu, click Projects → New project. Add your style guide ("warm, conversational, community-first"), upload relevant files, and set key instructions. Start conversations within the project to maintain context.
File limits: Free users can upload 5 files per project, Plus users get 25, and Pro users get 40.
Starter prompt: "Using the files in this project, draft a 350-word donor update with a 2-line impact summary and a P.S. asking for volunteer sign-ups."
2) Canvas (available across all devices)
What it is: A side-by-side editing workspace with real-time collaboration and export options. Now available on web, desktop, and mobile.
Why it matters: Make transparent, trackable edits to your donor letters, social posts, one-pagers, and board memos. You can export directly to PDF, Word, or Markdown without copy-pasting.
Try it: Start a new chat → choose Canvas from the model options → paste your draft or start fresh. Request specific changes and accept, reject, or modify them inline.
Starter prompt: “Trim to about 300 words for donors, make the opening more specific, and add a 2-bullet ‘By the numbers’ box from the stats in my draft.”
3) Record Mode (mac desktop app, team plans and higher )
What it is: One-click audio recording with automatic transcription, summary, and action items—currently limited to Mac desktop app for Team subscribers and above.
Why it matters: Transform partner meetings, committee calls, and volunteer huddles into organized follow-ups without manual note-taking. Sessions can run up to 120 minutes.
Try it: In the Mac app, click Record before your meeting. ChatGPT creates a structured summary with timestamps and suggested action items. Audio is deleted immediately after transcription for privacy.
Starter prompt: "From this recording, create a list of decisions made, action items with owners and deadlines, and a 5-sentence recap for our board chair."
4) Deep Research (all paid users)
What it is: Agentic research that searches the web and synthesizes a cited brief.
Why it matters: Faster policy scans, need statements, and landscape reviews with citations you can hand to program or grants staff. Reports include quotes.
Try it: Next to the chat box → + → choose Deep Research. Specify geography, timeframe, and audience. Ask for citations and pull quotes.
Starter prompt: “Create a 1-page brief on youth food insecurity in [state], 2022–2025 trends, with 6 recent sources and 4 pull quotes we can use in a grant.”
Plan note: Plus and above get full access. Free has a limited version. Usage caps vary.
5) Connectors (plan/region dependent)
What it is: Secure connections to apps like Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar, SharePoint, Canva, and Notion (rolling out globally with automatic integration for Google services).
Why it matters: Pull information from your existing tools without manual searching. Perfect for triaging emails, summarizing reports, or finding that paragraph from last year's appeal.
Try it: Settings → Connectors → Connect your most-used apps. Start with read-only access to specific folders or email labels.
Starter prompt: "From our 'Board Reports' Google Drive folder, create a one-page executive summary with key outcomes, three chart-ready metrics, and one compelling client story."
6) Memory & Personalization (all plans)
What it is: ChatGPT remembers your preferences, organization details, and writing style across all conversations.
Why it matters: Eliminates repetitive setup. Set your tone, audience, and organizational preferences once, and ChatGPT applies them consistently.
Try it: Settings → Personalization → Custom Instructions. Add 3-5 key points about your organization's voice and audience.
Starter prompt: "Remember: We serve individual donors, write at an 8th-grade reading level, always include concrete impact examples, and use warm, accessible language."
7) Data Analysis upgrades (all plans)
What it is: Enhanced ability to process multiple files, clean data, and create visualizations, now available across all subscription levels.
Why it matters: Clean donor lists, standardize contact information, and generate call sheets without complex spreadsheet formulas.
Try it: Upload messy CSV files and ask for specific formatting. ChatGPT can merge files, remove duplicates, and standardize data formats.
Starter prompt: "Clean this donor export: standardize phone numbers to (###) ###-####, split first/last names, remove email duplicates, and create a call sheet with columns for Name, City, Last Gift Amount, and Notes."
8) Branch in New Chat (all plans)
What it is: Fork a thread from any message to explore a different direction without cluttering your main draft. Available on the web for all logged-in users.
Why it matters: Keeps your workspace neat. Instead of piling donor emails, grant drafts, and random to-dos into one long thread, you can branch off the moment you realize, “This should’ve been a new chat.”
Try it: Right-click a message → Branch. Your original thread stays intact, and your new idea opens in a fresh chat.
Starter prompt (in the branch): “Draft a quick board meeting recap with key takeaways and action items.”
9) o3-mini and reasoning models (all plans)
What it is: Advanced reasoning models optimized for complex tasks in math, coding, and science. o3-mini replaced o1-mini in January 2025.
Why it matters: Perfect for busy teams to automate routine follow-ups like weekly donor reports, monthly board prep reminders, or quarterly grant deadline alerts. No more missed deadlines or forgotten tasks.
Try it: Use the model selector to choose o3-mini for reasoning tasks or "Reason" option on free plans.
Starter prompt: “Generate 50 personalized thank-you lines, 25 words or less, using the attached gift list. Keep tone warm and specific. Avoid repeating phrasing.”
10) Scheduled Tasks & Automation (Plus Plans and Higher)
What it is: Set automated reminders and recurring tasks that ChatGPT delivers via email, push notification, or in-chat at specified times, launched January 2025.
Why it matters: Simply ask ChatGPT to schedule something: "Remind me every Monday at 9 AM to review this week's donor follow-ups." Available in o3-mini and o4-mini models.
Try it: Open the mobile app and tap the voice icon (the far right button with vertical lines, next to the chat the chat box) to start a conversation.
Starter prompt: "Send me a weekly fundraising recap every Friday at 4 PM with this week's donor contacts, upcoming events, and action items for next week."
How to pick your first win (this week)
Pick one workflow that currently takes you 15–30 minutes (like editing updates, organizing files, or summarizing meetings). Set a small goal: “Save 20 minutes on Thursday’s donor newsletter.” Note the time saved and keep the prompt that worked for your team to reuse.
You don’t need all 10 features, just one small improvement can give you time straight back to your mission.