Last updated: 22 July 2025
Course description
Some of the contents and language of this course has been refined for clarity and consistency using AI, however all contents have been organised, reviewed and finalised by Gradient Institute’s staff and experts.
We recommend taking this course after completing the Responsible AI Primer eLearning course from Gradient Institute, but it is not essential.
Not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) are increasingly exploring artificial intelligence (AI)—especially Large Language Models (LLMs)—to streamline admin tasks, support donor engagement, and deliver services more efficiently.
However, many are rightly concerned about the risks these systems pose to security, privacy, and confidentiality. These risks are especially important given the sensitive data NFPs often handle and the trust communities place in them.
This course helps NFP staff—especially those using or managing AI systems—understand and respond to these risks. It provides practical, non-technical guidance to support safer and more responsible AI use, while still enabling innovation.
By the end of this course, you will:
- Understand what privacy and confidentiality mean in the context of AI systems and how sensitive data can unintentionally be exposed
- Learn simple, effective steps to protect sensitive data and prevent accidental exposure when working with sensitive information
- Recognise common security threats, such as prompt injections and adversarial attacks
- Obtain strategies to reduce risk, including access controls, monitoring outputs, and testing inputs
Disclaimer: The contents of this session are technical advice only and should not be interpreted as legal counsel, particularly in relation to privacy and security compliance. We recommend seeking professional advice for your particular circumstances. Additionally, The security and privacy considerations covered in this course are not exhaustive. It is designed as an introduction to this topic, so that anyone working in a not-for-profit or mission-driven setting can begin using AI safely, responsibly, and with confidence.
Chapters
- Introduction
- Confidentiality & Privacy Risks
- Security Risks
- Approaches to Minimise Risk
- Final Scenario-Based Quiz
Course duration
This course will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Access requests
This course is free to Australian not-for-profit organisations through the support of a grant from Google.org, Google’s charitable arm. Please email Gradient Institute at info@gradientinstitute.org for a link to download this course.
Available eLearning formats:
- SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004
- xAPI package
- HTML package
Copyright notice
This eLearning course produced by Gradient Institute is copyright Gradient Institute 2025. Provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.