Capacity Overload: AI for Social Work

CitizenAI
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Capacity Overload is a podcast about frontline nonprofit work and the technology that can support the people doing it. Each episode features a nonprofit leader or program director telling their story: who they serve, what they're up against, and where AI can actually help. Hosted by Jason Padgett and Oliver Belanger of CitizenAI. New episodes bimonthly.

Episodes

  1. Jul 30

    Why Most Nonprofit Leaders Still Fear AI, and How to Start

    Most nonprofit leaders are afraid of AI, and Bauer Family Resources CEO Tauhric Brown thinks that fear is costing the sector capacity it can't spare. He's saving 10 to 15 hours a week with AI tools and wants his peers to catch up. This episode covers exactly how a 97-year-old Head Start agency starts small with AI and where the savings show up first. Key topics covered: Why only 20 to 25 percent of nonprofit leaders are exploring AI and what it takes to move the restHow Microsoft Copilot works as a template builder that saved two executives 10 to 15 hours apiece every weekA hiring funnel that took 521 applications to make 4 offers, and where AI pre-screening fits without introducing biasStaffing under Head Start admin rate limits, broken down as value creators vs value enablersAutomating maintenance tickets around Davis-Bacon Act thresholds with a phased, low-risk rollout that keeps humans holding the liabilityBottom line: ask detailed questions, start with the low-risk high-volume work, keep a human in the loop, and reinvest every saved hour back into the mission. About Tauhric Brown:Chief Executive Officer of Bauer Family Resources, a Lafayette, Indiana nonprofit founded in 1929 and one of the nation's first Head Start pilot sites. He's a U.S. Army veteran and the former President and CEO of CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions. Website: https://www.bauerfamilyresources.orgTauhric on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tauhric-brown-8a85765 Tools and Resources Mentioned:Microsoft Copilot → https://copilot.microsoft.comClaude → https://claude.comNotebookLM → https://notebooklm.google.comOpenAI Codex → https://openai.com/codex/ About Capacity Overload: Capacity Overload is a podcast about frontline nonprofit work and how technology can support the people doing it. Brought to You by CitizenAI: CitizenAI is an AI-powered benefit navigator built for nonprofits and social service organizations.https://www.mycitizen.ai/https://www.linkedin.com/company/mycitizenai/ Oliver Belanger, Chief Operating Officeroliver@mycitizen.aihttps://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverbelanger/ Jason Padgett, Senior Advisorhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-grant-padgett/ If you found this information useful, please follow and share the show with others who are serving their communities.

  2. Jul 18

    How AI Helps Caregivers Get Back to Caregiving

    How do caregivers get back to actual caregiving when paper charting, whiteboards, and forms eat the day? Bess Witcosky, executive director of Joyful Journey Adult Day in West Lafayette, Indiana, lays out the barriers her nine-person care team faces, then gets a practical AI roadmap they can start using this month. Key topics covered: What adult day services provide for older adults with dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and stroke recovery, and how to know when a family should callWhy charting software built for skilled nursing fails adult day centers and keeps Bess's team on paperHow a Purdue University computer science partnership could build a custom real-time care dashboardVoice transcription, tablets, and photo capture as fast replacements for whiteboards and paper formsFree AI starting points inside a Google for Nonprofits account: Gemini Gems, NotebookLM, and a HIPAA business associate agreement with GoogleThe Joyful Journey Classic, a celebrity softball fundraiser at Loeb Stadium on August 23 featuring a home run derby and 40 local celebritiesThe bottom line: adult day centers don't need to wait for the care tech industry to notice them, because the tools to build their own capacity already exist. About Bess Witcosky:Executive Director of Joyful Journey Adult Day in West Lafayette, Indiana, and a member of Indiana's state association board for adult day services.https://joyfuljourneywl.orghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/bess-witcosky-b2b109217/ Tools and Resources Mentioned:Joyful Journey Classic → https://jjclassic.orgGoogle Gemini → https://gemini.google.comNotebookLM → https://notebooklm.google.comGoogle for Nonprofits → https://www.google.com/nonprofits/Positive Approach to Care by Teepa Snow → https://teepasnow.com Brought to you by CitizenAI → https://www.mycitizen.ai/ Oliver Belanger, Chief Operating Officer → oliver@mycitizen.ai | https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverbelanger/ If you found this information useful, please follow and share the show with others who are serving their communities.

  3. Jun 26

    Where Should Nonprofits Actually Start With AI?

    Episode description: If you run a small nonprofit and the AI conversation makes your eyes glaze over, this is the episode that brings it back down to earth. Luke Bassett, founder of Data Exchange in Fort Wayne, sits down with Jason Padgett and Oliver Belanger to talk about where mission-driven organizations should actually start, and why the best first step is usually the most boring one. Fort Wayne is home to more than 3,300 nonprofits employing over 40,000 people, and Luke spends his days connecting the people, ideas, and resources inside that community. He's also built custom software for nonprofits without a traditional coding background, including the ticketing app that now runs his own events. His take is refreshingly practical: the splashy agentic workflows get all the attention, but the real wins are meeting notes you don't have to take, an inbox you get through faster, and tools that are already sitting inside the software you trust. Jason and Oliver get into how to pick one ecosystem and grow into it, why your power users can become the champions who pull everyone else along, and how purpose-driven tools take the complicated parts off your plate so you can focus on the people you serve. Key topics covered: Why so few nonprofit leaders show up in the AI conversation, and what would bring them inThe lowest-effort place to start: meeting recordings, executive summaries, and faster inboxesHow nonprofits can use the AI already built into Microsoft and GoogleBuilding custom software with no coding background, and how Luke made his own event appMaking your website easy for AI agents and search to find your resourcesWhy the people who get responsibility for the work stay responsible for the outputStart with what you already know, pick one tool, and let curiosity do the rest. About Luke Bassett:Luke Bassett is the founder of Data Exchange, a Northeast Indiana community connecting technology, nonprofit, civic, and professional services people in Fort Wayne. His background spans growth, change management, and custom software development.Website: https://dx.events/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ldbassett/ Data Exchange happens next on August 28 from 3 to 5pm at Electric Works in Fort Wayne. If you're in the area, come find Luke. Tools and Resources Mentioned:Lovable → https://lovable.dev/Granola → https://www.granola.ai/Microsoft Copilot → https://copilot.microsoft.com/Google Gemini → https://gemini.google.com/NotebookLM → https://notebooklm.google.com/Is It Agent Ready (Cloudflare website scanner) → https://isitagentready.com/ Brought to you by CitizenAI → https://www.mycitizen.ai/Capacity Overload → https://www.mycitizen.ai/ Oliver Belanger, Co-founder and COO → oliver@mycitizen.ai | https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverbelanger/Jason Padgett, Director of Partnerships and Growth → jason@mycitizen.ai | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-grant-padgett/ If you found this information useful, please follow and share the show with others who are serving their communities.

  4. Jun 8

    Why Do People Quietly Leave Good Recovery Programs?

    People rarely leave a good recovery program because they gave up. More often a barrier hits after hours, nobody's around, and by morning they've already started to drift. Justin Beattey has built this field from the inside, and in this episode he explains what peer recovery coaches really do, why lived experience is the part you can't train, and where purpose-driven AI can keep someone connected in the moment they need it most. Key topics covered: What peer recovery coaches and peer support specialists do, and why the terms vary by state Why lived experience is the keystone that lets someone in recovery accept help Recovery capital, Maslow's hierarchy, and why basic needs come before self-actualization The 75/25 caseload formula that keeps a quarter of a specialist's hours open for urgent needs Transportation as the number one barrier and the case for digital recovery access in rural Indiana Where AI can support people in crisis with the right guardrails, and where a licensed human has to stay in the room The bottom line: technology can widen access and take the busywork off frontline staff, but only when it's purpose-built, has guardrails, and keeps the care team in the loop. About Justin Beattey: Vice President of Accreditation and Certification at Mental Health America of Indiana. He's also Executive Director of ICAADA, a statewide behavioral health certification organization, and founder of the Stanley W. DeKemper Training Institute, both housed within MHAI. A person in long-term recovery and one of Indiana's early recovery coaches. https://www.mhai.net/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-beattey/ Tools and Resources Mentioned: NotebookLM → https://notebooklm.google.com ChatGPT → https://chatgpt.com Brought to you by CitizenAI → https://www.mycitizen.ai/ [Capacity Overload landing page link → TBD] Oliver Belanger, Co-founder and CEO → oliver@mycitizen.ai | https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverbelanger/ Jason Padgett, Director of Partnerships and Growth → jason@mycitizen.ai | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-grant-padgett/ If you found this information useful, please follow and share the show with others who are serving their communities.

  5. May 26

    Autism, Magic, and AI: A Conversation With Cody Clark

    Cody Clark was diagnosed with autism at 15 months and told he might never walk or talk. Today he tours 45 states as a magician, speaker, and autism advocate. He sits down with Jason and Oliver to talk about the supports that changed his life, why autistic thinking is a natural fit for AI workflows, and where AI falls short for small businesses and nonprofits. Key topics covered: How the University of Louisville Autism Center used "follow the kid's curiosity" to teach speech and occupational therapyWhy magic became Cody's career-launching special interest and how it built executive function skillsThe Louisville Magic Club as a model for disability inclusion in adult community spacesHow Cody uses ChatGPT, Claude, and NotebookLM to run his touring businessWhy AI-generated event posters tank attendance for disability orgs and community eventsWhere autistic thinkers may have a real consulting edge in the AI economyBottom line: disability is a different way of thinking, and AI is opening up accommodations that weren't possible a decade ago. About Cody Clark:Touring magician, professional speaker, and autism advocate based in Louisville, Kentucky. Performs nationally for Arc chapters, autism societies, school assemblies, and corporate clients.Website: https://codyclarkmagic.comX: https://x.com/codyclarkmagicCody Clark Magic → https://codyclarkmagic.comWHAS Crusade for Children → https://www.whascrusade.org/The Arc of Boone County → https://www.arcboonecounty.org/University of Louisville Autism Center → http://education.louisville.edu/ Tools and Resources Mentioned:NotebookLM → https://notebooklm.google.com/ChatGPT → https://chatgpt.com/Claude → https://claude.ai/Perplexity → https://www.perplexity.ai/Canva → https://www.canva.com/ Brought to you by CitizenAI → https://www.mycitizen.ai/[Capacity Overload landing page — TBD] Oliver Belanger, Co-founder and CEO → oliver@mycitizen.ai | https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverbelanger/Jason Padgett, Director of Partnerships and Growth → jason@mycitizen.ai | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-grant-padgett/ If you found this information useful, please follow and share the show with others who are serving their communities.

  6. May 11

    How AI Helps Nonprofits Serve Aging Adults Better

    Tippecanoe Senior Services delivers about 400 Meals on Wheels per day to seniors across Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and Amy Wood runs the operations behind that and four other programs. She joins Jason and Oliver to talk about what happens when government, healthcare, and even job applications go digital-first while the people her organization serves still use flip phones, and how she's using AI to keep up with the marketing, the scam protection, and the resource navigation work that nobody has time for. Key topics covered: - Why digital-first government services are isolating some seniors while pushing others to adopt technology faster than they're comfortable with - The retiree who couldn't accept a Meals on Wheels driver role because he only had a flip phone and couldn't fill out the online application - How AI designed the Strut Your Mutt 5K fundraiser flyer when Amy's team had no graphic designer on staff - The family password rule that protects seniors from deepfake scam calls and voice cloning - ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity recommendations for older adults learning to use AI tools safely The senior tech gap isn't going away, but the nonprofits serving aging adults don't need a tech budget to start helping people on either side of it. About Amy Wood: Director of Operations at Tippecanoe Senior Services in Lafayette, Indiana, overseeing Meals on Wheels, AniMeals, the senior center, the SHARP home repair program, and a newly merged caregiver companion program. Previously spent 14 years at Greater Lafayette United Way. https://tippseniorservices.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-wood-42435290/ Tools and Resources Mentioned: Tippecanoe Senior Services → https://tippseniorservices.org/ Strut Your Mutt 5K, May 30 at 9 AM, John Dennis Wellness Center → https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/strut-your-mutt-2 ChatGPT → https://chatgpt.com How Nonprofits Can Use ChatGPT → [CitizenAI blog post TBD] Claude → https://claude.ai How Nonprofits Can Use Claude → [CitizenAI blog post TBD] Perplexity → https://www.perplexity.ai Brought to you by CitizenAI → https://www.mycitizen.ai/ [Capacity Overload landing page URL TBD] Oliver Belanger, Chief Operating Officer → oliver@mycitizen.ai | https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverbelanger/ Jason Padgett, Director of Partnerships and Growth → jason@mycitizen.ai | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-grant-padgett/ If you found this information useful, please follow and share the show with others who are serving their communities.

  7. Apr 28

    How GiGi's Playhouse Indianapolis Stays Free for Every Family

    Episode description: GiGi's Playhouse Indianapolis serves families touched by Down syndrome from prenatal diagnosis through career readiness, and every program is free. Executive Director David Johnson sits down with Jason Padgett and Oliver Belanger to explain how a chapter with two full-time staff and roughly fifty volunteers actually pulls that off, and what it took to dig the chapter out of bankruptcy in his first six months. David shares the founding story behind Nancy Gianni and her daughter Gigi, why the chapter is building a STEM lab as part of a long-term Alzheimer's prevention strategy, and what makes the GiGi's community feel different from any other nonprofit space he's worked in. Jason and Oliver get into where AI can take pressure off small nonprofit teams: matching families to the right Indianapolis service, pulling foundation prospects out of deep research, partnering with Purdue's VR labs, and turning a constant flow of in-person joy into the kind of social media content the internet is starving for. In this episode: The 99 percent volunteer model and how the math works The bankruptcy David walked into and how the chapter raised $150K in six months Generation G and the philosophy of being a little better every day Why STEM activities matter for adults with Down syndrome Practical AI use cases for nonprofit leaders without a marketing degree Connect with David and GiGi's Playhouse Indianapolis: Website: https://gigisplayhouse.org/indianapolis/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gigi%27splayhouseindianapolis David Johnson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjohnson2999/ Sponsor: CitizenAI helps families and case managers navigate the maze of community services and benefits in their area. Learn more at https://www.mycitizen.ai/ AI tools mentioned in this episode A companion blog post breaking each of these down for nonprofit teams is in the works. For now, here's the list referenced during the conversation: Claude and Claude Code, for divergent brainstorming and spinning up multiple landing page variations Suno, for generating original music ElevenLabs, also called 11 Labs, for AI voice generation Deep Research, available across major AI assistants, for foundation prospect research Image and video generators as a broad category, referenced for creative campaigns AB testing landing pages with AI assistance VR and AR programming through Purdue's labs Foundation models from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, referenced as sources of community grant funding Capacity Overload: AI for Social Work Real stories from the front lines of social work.

  8. Apr 11

    How AI Can Help Nonprofits Survive Federal Funding Cuts

    Federal rental assistance for housing nonprofits disappeared overnight, with no warning and no runway. In this first episode of Capacity Overload, Executive Director Marie Morse of Homestead Resources joins Jason Padgett and Oliver Belanger to talk about what that reality looks like for 1,500 families in Lafayette, Indiana, and what AI can actually do to help. Key topics covered: How federal funding cuts are hitting Indiana housing nonprofits right now, with no notice and no planFive AI tools nonprofit leaders should know: Google NotebookLM, Claude, ChatGPT, GrantExec, and Wispr FlowHow to use AI for grant and funder research without getting burned by hallucinationsUsing a chain of AI tools to automate the federal claims review process and expand who can do that workHow nonprofits can capture 40 years of institutional knowledge before it walks out the door with the executive director who holds itAI doesn't fix the funding problem, but for a team of five trying to serve 1,500 families, it can make a real difference in what gets done before 5 PM. About Marie Morse:Executive Director, Homestead Resources (Lafayette, IN). Marie has led Homestead for over 40 years. The organization provides HUD housing counseling, CDFI small-dollar loans, and 124 units of affordable senior housing across Tippecanoe County.https://homestead-resources.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-morse-26271318/ Tools and Resources Mentioned:Google NotebookLM → https://notebooklm.google.com/Claude → https://claude.ai/GrantExec → https://grantexec.com/Wispr Flow → https://ref.wisprflow.ai/jason-padgett Brought to you by CitizenAI → https://www.mycitizen.ai/ Oliver Belanger, Chief Operating Officer → oliver@mycitizen.ai https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverbelanger/ Jason Padgett, Director of Partnerships and Growth → jason@mycitizen.ai https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-grant-padgett/ If you found this information useful, please follow and share the show with others who are serving their communities.

  • 8 Episodes

About

Capacity Overload is a podcast about frontline nonprofit work and the technology that can support the people doing it. Each episode features a nonprofit leader or program director telling their story: who they serve, what they're up against, and where AI can actually help. Hosted by Jason Padgett and Oliver Belanger of CitizenAI. New episodes bimonthly.

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