Governance — Lesson 1 | People United Foundation

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Lesson 1 • Governance

What AI Governance Means (and Why It Matters)

Governance is how your organization decides what’s allowed, who approves it, and how you respond when something goes wrong. It protects trust, compliance, and mission alignment.

Estimated time: 15 minutes Policy-ready Risk-aware

Key concepts

Governance is a system of decision rights + oversight + accountability.
Tools change quickly; policies and values provide stability.
Governance reduces risk and increases funder/institutional confidence.

Practice Exercise

Write a one-sentence definition of AI governance for your organization. Then list 3 risks governance should prevent.

Template (copy/paste)

ROLE: You are my governance assistant.
TASK: Draft a plain-language AI governance definition for a nonprofit.
OUTPUT: 1 sentence + 5 governance goals + 5 common failure modes.
CONSTRAINTS: No surveillance; emphasize accountability.

Governance note: policies should be enforceable, reviewed regularly, and owned by accountable roles—not “everyone.”

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