Since Anthropic released Sonnet, I’ve been using Claude more and more to create projects and edit my writing. When Artifacts was announced, on August 27, 2024, I wanted to understand what this tool could do for me and my nonprofit colleagues. Here’s what I learned about Artifacts.
What Are Claude Artifacts?
Claude Artifacts are specialized outputs that Claude creates during a conversation, appearing in a separate panel or window in Claude’s interface. They’re designed to create substantial, self-contained content you want to come back to edit, update, modify, or reuse multiple times. To trigger Artifacts, you must request that Claude create one as you start working on a task.
Features of Claude Artifacts include:
- Separate display in a dedicated side panel
- Persistence for repeated access
- Easy editing through further conversation
- Version tracking as the Artifact evolves
- Specific formatting for particular content types
Artifacts are text-based; Claude still can’t create visual designs, spreadsheets, or interactive elements. However, Artifacts can be used as a more dynamic interface than a chat box. They differ from regular AI by being designed for ongoing use and refinement.
How to Create and Use Claude Artifacts
Creating a Claude Artifact involves a back-and-forth conversation:
- Request an Artifact for a specific purpose.
- Provide information as Claude asks questions.
- Review and refine the generated Artifact.
- Finalize after iterations.
Examples of Three Ways Nonprofits Can Use Claude Artifacts
- Customizable Fundraising and Case for Support Templates
While there’s no one-size-fits-all grant template, you can use Claude Artifacts to create customizable documents for your fundraising efforts that you can refer back to (and don’t have to paste into your GDrive.):
- Initiate template creation: Ask Claude to help create a specific fundraising template.
- Provide organization-specific information: Follow prompts to share details about your mission, programs, impact, and fundraising goals.
- Develop different types of templates within the Artifact function, such as:
- Case for Support Outline
- Donor Appeal Letter Template
- Review, refine, and finalize the templates.
These templates provide a solid foundation, ensure consistency in messaging, and can be tailored for different funders or campaigns by going back and working with them.
- Developing Your Nonprofit’s Theory of Change
A Theory of Change maps out your organization’s initiatives by identifying long-term goals and working backward to determine necessary preconditions. Here’s how to use Claude Artifacts for this:
- Initiate the Artifact: Ask Claude to create a Theory of Change Artifact.
- Provide information about your organization’s mission, goals, programs, target population, and challenges.
- Develop the Theory of Change, including inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and impact.
- Review, refine, and finalize the Artifact.
Remember, you’ll eventually want to transform the text-based content into a visual representation using design software or working with a graphic designer.
- Donor Database Documentation
Artifacts can be an excellent tool to create a guide for your donor management system rules and documentation:
- Initiate the guide creation.
- Provide organization-specific information about your donor management practices.
- Review and refine the initial draft.
- Customize best practices for your organization.
- Finalize the guide, including key term definitions, data entry instructions, and best practices.
This process ensures everyone on your team has a consistent, customized reference for using your donor database effectively.
Conclusion
Artifacts represent a significant leap in AI-assisted document creation and management for nonprofit professionals already using Claude. By leveraging this feature for materials requiring frequent updates or refinement, organizations can streamline their processes and maintain more accurate, up-to-date documentation across various operations.
Here’s a video from the Anthropic team that I enjoyed and wanted to share with you all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUdNaAAc4FY
PS Let me know if you’d like help working with AI in your nonprofit practice or organization. My consulting practice focuses on effectively coaching nonprofit leaders in using AI, building custom AI tools within Claude and ChatGPT, and creating acceptable use policies to roll out AI across your organization. Schedule time to talk with me here.
Since Anthropic released Sonnet, I’ve been using Claude more and more to create projects and edit my writing. When Artifacts was announced, on August 27, 2024, I wanted to understand what this tool could do for me and my nonprofit colleagues. Here’s what I learned about Artifacts.
What Are Claude Artifacts?
Claude Artifacts are specialized outputs that Claude creates during a conversation, appearing in a separate panel or window in Claude’s interface. They’re designed to create substantial, self-contained content you want to come back to edit, update, modify, or reuse multiple times. To trigger Artifacts, you must request that Claude create one as you start working on a task.
Features of Claude Artifacts include:
- Separate display in a dedicated side panel
- Persistence for repeated access
- Easy editing through further conversation
- Version tracking as the Artifact evolves
- Specific formatting for particular content types
Artifacts are text-based; Claude still can’t create visual designs, spreadsheets, or interactive elements. However, Artifacts can be used as a more dynamic interface than a chat box. They differ from regular AI by being designed for ongoing use and refinement.
How to Create and Use Claude Artifacts
Creating a Claude Artifact involves a back-and-forth conversation:
- Request an Artifact for a specific purpose.
- Provide information as Claude asks questions.
- Review and refine the generated Artifact.
- Finalize after iterations.
Examples of Three Ways Nonprofits Can Use Claude Artifacts
- Customizable Fundraising and Case for Support Templates
While there’s no one-size-fits-all grant template, you can use Claude Artifacts to create customizable documents for your fundraising efforts that you can refer back to (and don’t have to paste into your GDrive.):
- Initiate template creation: Ask Claude to help create a specific fundraising template.
- Provide organization-specific information: Follow prompts to share details about your mission, programs, impact, and fundraising goals.
- Develop different types of templates within the Artifact function, such as:
- Case for Support Outline
- Donor Appeal Letter Template
- Review, refine, and finalize the templates.
These templates provide a solid foundation, ensure consistency in messaging, and can be tailored for different funders or campaigns by going back and working with them.
- Developing Your Nonprofit’s Theory of Change
A Theory of Change maps out your organization’s initiatives by identifying long-term goals and working backward to determine necessary preconditions. Here’s how to use Claude Artifacts for this:
- Initiate the Artifact: Ask Claude to create a Theory of Change Artifact.
- Provide information about your organization’s mission, goals, programs, target population, and challenges.
- Develop the Theory of Change, including inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and impact.
- Review, refine, and finalize the Artifact.
Remember, you’ll eventually want to transform the text-based content into a visual representation using design software or working with a graphic designer.
- Donor Database Documentation
Artifacts can be an excellent tool to create a guide for your donor management system rules and documentation:
- Initiate the guide creation.
- Provide organization-specific information about your donor management practices.
- Review and refine the initial draft.
- Customize best practices for your organization.
- Finalize the guide, including key term definitions, data entry instructions, and best practices.
This process ensures everyone on your team has a consistent, customized reference for using your donor database effectively.
Conclusion
Artifacts represent a significant leap in AI-assisted document creation and management for nonprofit professionals already using Claude. By leveraging this feature for materials requiring frequent updates or refinement, organizations can streamline their processes and maintain more accurate, up-to-date documentation across various operations.
Here’s a video from the Anthropic team that I enjoyed and wanted to share with you all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUdNaAAc4FY
PS Let me know if you’d like help working with AI in your nonprofit practice or organization. My consulting practice focuses on effectively coaching nonprofit leaders in using AI, building custom AI tools within Claude and ChatGPT, and creating acceptable use policies to roll out AI across your organization. Schedule time to talk with me here.