Introduction: Embracing Innovation with Integrity
As a community of makers, Pratt Institute has always been a place where we honor the craft of relationship-building. We believe that technology should be in service of people, and to that end, we are pleased to introduce Charlie, the newest development in our journey toward a human-first future.
Generosity remains a profoundly human act. Our goal is to proactively adopt emerging technologies to strengthen — not replace — the human connections that define our community. Smarter tools allow us to provide personalized communications that provide updates most meaningful to you and to create more time for humans to have the deep conversations and shared visions that define our mission.
What is Charlie and How Does it Support Pratt?
Charlie is an AI-powered agent within the Blackbaud “Development Agent” ecosystem. Unlike traditional software that simply records data, Charlie is a form of Agentic AI. This means it is designed to operate with autonomy inside carefully defined guardrails, taking action and managing workflows under the constant supervision of our Institutional Advancement (IA) staff. Charlie serves as a detail-oriented extension of our team, assisting with:
- Personalized Outreach: Generating tailored conversations that respect your history with Pratt and suggest relevant events, information and opportunities at the right moments.
- Immediate Inquiry Response: Ensuring you receive helpful answers to routine questions even outside of standard business hours. And, when a question is complex, elevating to the right person within Pratt.
- Consistent Engagement: Maintaining ongoing engagement with supporters, alumni and friends, Charlie helps us get closer to our ambition — ensuring every member of the Pratt community has a point of contact.
The Purpose Behind the Technology
At Pratt, we are focused on the compounding return we earn when AI-driven time savings are not just absorbed as productivity gains, but are reinvested into the most human and important parts of our work. Automating engagement outreach expands our reach while allowing our team to focus on the events, meetings, gatherings and conversations that can only happen with human connection. Charlie helps us bridge the gap to deliver the thoughtful engagement you deserve.
Transparency and the Human-Machine Collaboration
Trust is built through honesty, and we believe transparency is the bridge between innovation and community confidence.
One of our most frequent questions is: “Is Charlie pretending to be human?” The answer is a definitive no. Pratt is committed to radical transparency. We know that familiarity breeds trust when transparency leads the way.
- Explicit Disclosure: Charlie’s identity will always be clearly disclosed in all communications. You will always know when you are interacting with an AI-powered tool.
- Built-In Human Oversight: Charlie does not make mission-critical decisions. IA staff set the guardrails, review communications, and supervise outreach to ensure it aligns with Pratt’s brand and values.
- Academic Standards: We apply the same academic integrity principles to our administration as we do to our students: “We give credit where it is due.” Being honest about our use of AI is essential to the moral contract we hold with our supporters.
Protecting Your Privacy and Data Security
We recognize the very real and valid concerns around data privacy and algorithmic bias in all AI tools. Charlie utilizes the industry-leading standards and blackbaud addresses these concerns directly. To learn more about your data’s use, please visit (IA Data Policy)
- Native Integration & Seamlessness: Charlie is embedded directly inside Raiser’s Edge NXT, our secure system of record. This means your personal information stays within Pratt’s secure environment.
- No Public Training: Your data is not used to train public, external AI models. Your interactions with Charlie remain private and exclusive to Pratt.
- Bias Mitigation: To address the rising concern of algorithmic bias, we utilize human-AI collaboration to audit models and surface equity safeguards, ensuring fair treatment for all members of our community.
- Audit-Proven Standards: Our systems maintain SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliance, involving annual third-party audits and penetration testing.
Your Rights and Choices
Under the Pratt Institute – IA Data Policy, you have specific rights regarding your information. We view your choices as a vital part of our vision. You may limit how we interact with your data.
Alumni wishing to withdraw consent for AI-assisted communication or to exercise any of their rights to change their communication preferences can do so by emailing devops@pratt.edu.
Conclusion: Technology in Service of People
Philanthropy is, by definition, about the love of humanity. At Pratt, technology will always remain in service to keeping the human component at the center. AI is simply one of many tools we use to amplify the empathy and connection that already exists within our community. Charlie allows us to be more responsive and relevant, but it is our human community — and you, our supporters — who are vital to our work.
We welcome your candor and feedback on Charlie or any other communications. You can let the team know more about your experiences by emailing us at fundforpratt@pratt.edu.