News and Announcements
RAISE Program Expands with Capstone Master Class and Sixth Partner as Demand for Nonprofit AI Training Grows
YWCA Calgary joins national pilot; Master Class event to reach 100+ nonprofit professionals across Canada
TORONTO, ON — March 5, 2026 —The Human Feedback Foundation has announced an expansion of RAISE (Responsible AI Adoption for Social Impact), Canada’s first national program helping nonprofits adopt artificial intelligence (AI) responsibly and effectively.
The RAISE expansion adds YWCA Calgary as the program’s sixth participant and introduces a new capstone Master Class that will provide training for more than 100 nonprofit professionals from across Canada, in addition to 500 learners who have gone through the program. This is made possible by an investment from DIGITAL, Canada’s commercialization partner for digital technologies.
“From cancer care to newcomer settlement to women escaping violence — RAISE is proving responsible AI adoption works across the full spectrum of nonprofit missions,” said Elena Yunusov, Executive Director of the Human Feedback Foundation. “Canadians trust nonprofits because they deliver. RAISE helps organizations adopt AI in ways that strengthen that trust.”
Canada’s nonprofit sector is 8.4 percent of GDP and employs 2.8 million people — it is the country’s social safety net. Demand for its services keeps rising while capacity hasn’t kept pace, and AI, when adopted responsibly, can help these organizations deliver on their missions. Led by the Human Feedback Foundation in collaboration with Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) and Toronto Metropolitan University, RAISE is the first national training program for Canadian nonprofits that helps organizations approach AI adoption as a long-term goal, rather than a one-off technology project. RAISE combines hands-on training, governance frameworks, and implementation support to help nonprofits build AI capacity while maintaining public trust.
YWCA Calgary joins Achev, CAMH, CanadaHelps, Canadian Cancer Society and Furniture Bank as RAISE program participants, a 12-month program run by CDL to help organizations adopt AI in alignment with their missions, creating scalable, positive outcomes.
“The RAISE program has been an invaluable sounding board, helping us focus our efforts where they will have the most impact and giving us confidence that we’re adopting AI in a responsible, mission‑aligned way,” shares Bruce Byford, Chief Financial Officer, YW Calgary. “Working with the CDL accelerator team has pushed us to reimagine how AI can support our work — from identifying the right use cases to understanding realistic timelines for implementation.”
The addition of a new capstone Master Class training is also an important part of the expansion. The training will convene a combination of first-time participants and alumni from participating organizations for the executive hands-on masterclass, delivered virtually and focused on the practical deployment of AI in mission-driven organizations.
Closing Canada’s AI Trust Gap
Canada ranks 42nd out of 47 countries on AI trust, with just 34% willing to trust AI-generated information; that’s 12 points below the global average (KPMG/University of Melbourne, 2025). While 80% of Canadian nonprofits are experimenting with AI, only 10% have formal policies to govern it (Imagine Canada/CCNDR, 2025). Canadians place their highest confidence in universities and research institutions to guide responsible AI, making nonprofit-academic partnerships like RAISE essential to closing Canada’s trust gap.
“RAISE brings the nonprofit sector into the age of AI responsibly, with humans in the loop and governance guardrails from day one, helping put AI to work for the benefit of all Canadians,” says Elena Yunusov, Executive Director, Human Feedback Foundation, and a project lead for RAISE.
The capstone Master Class training will take place Thursday, March 12, online from 10 am – 2 pm EST, Nonprofit professionals interested in participating can register at https://dais.ca/raise/
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About the Partners
About Human Feedback Foundation
The Human Feedback Foundation is a Linux Foundation AI & Data nonprofit advancing a more open and human-centered future for AI. HFF leads AI Tinkerers Toronto, Canada’s largest AI/ML builders community with 4,000+ members, and delivers RAISE — Responsible AI Adoption for Social Impact, Canada’s first national AI adoption program for nonprofits. Learn more at humanfeedback.io.
About The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University
The Dais is a public policy and leadership think tank at Toronto Metropolitan University, working at the intersection of technology, education and democracy to build shared prosperity and citizenship for Canada. Visit us at dais.ca.
About Creative Destruction Lab
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is a nonprofit organization that delivers an objectives-based program for massively scalable, seed-stage, science- and technology-based companies. Its nine-month program allows founders to learn from experienced entrepreneurs, increasing their likelihood of success. Founded by Professor Ajay Agrawal in 2012 at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, the program has expanded and now has 16 sites across ten countries: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Halifax, Paris, Madison, Seattle, Estonia, Berlin, Melbourne, College Station, Milan, London, San Sebastian, and Doha. Companies that have participated in the CDL program have created over $60 billion (CAD) in equity value. Learn more at creativedestructionlab.com.
About DIGITAL
DIGITAL connects technology builders and buyers to accelerate the adoption and commercialization of Canadian solutions. Established in 2018 under the Government of Canada’s Supercluster Initiative, DIGITAL brings together industry leaders, SMEs, and post-secondary institutions to collaborate on large-scale projects that drive innovation and the development of technology solutions in sectors critical to Canada, such as mining and energy, housing, workforce development and health.
Since inception, DIGITAL has delivered billions in projected revenue for Canadian companies, retained sovereign IP, launched hundreds of commercial products, and helped tens of thousands of Canadians gain the skills needed for the digital economy. digitalsupercluster.
For media inquiries or to learn more about the RAISE pilot, please contact:
Elena Yunusov
Executive Director
Human Feedback Foundation
elena@humanfeedback.io