ETHICS STATEMENT

HERIntelAI Systems LLC

Last Updated: October 28, 2025

Our Ethical Foundation

At HERIntelAI, ethics aren't an add-on—they're built into every line of code, every product decision, and every user interaction.

Human • Ethical • Responsible isn't just our tagline. It's our operational framework.

HUMAN-LED INTELLIGENCE™: OUR COMMITMENT

What This Means

It's not about keeping humans in the loop.
It's about keeping humanity in the system.

Traditional "human-in-the-loop" AI treats people as quality checkers—reviewing outputs, fixing errors, approving results.

Human-Led Intelligence™ embeds human values, ethical guardrails, and authentic voice preservation into the system itself. Users lead with their mission; AI accelerates their strategy.

OUR ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

1. TRANSPARENCY

We Commit To:

  • Citing all sources with URLs for verification

  • Explaining how every score and assessment is calculated

  • Disclosing AI limitations and potential for errors

  • Being honest about what we can and cannot do

  • Never using "black box" algorithms without explanation

We Will Never:

  • Fabricate grant opportunities, funders, or data

  • Hide how our systems work

  • Claim AI accuracy, we can't deliver

  • Use proprietary methods to obscure simple truths

What This Looks Like:

  • Every grant search result includes the source URL

  • Readiness scores break down into specific factors

  • If we can't find verified information, we say so explicitly

  • Our methodology is publicly documented

2. AUTHENTICITY

We Commit To:

  • Preserving users' authentic organizational voice

  • Avoiding generic nonprofit jargon and templates

  • Providing multiple phrasing options (never just one)

  • Keeping community context and mission central

  • Empowering users to sound like themselves, not like "AI"

We Will Never:

  • Erase organizational identity with templated language

  • Impose a one-size-fits-all communication style

  • Value polish over authenticity

  • Encourage users to sound like anyone other than themselves

What This Looks Like:

  • Users share their mission and signature phrases

  • AI mirrors their tone and terminology

  • Proposals sound like the organization, not a robot

  • Placeholders keep content customizable

3. ACCURACY & NON-FABRICATION

We Commit To:

  • Providing only verified, publicly available grant information

  • Flagging when data may be outdated or unverified

  • Building guardrails to prevent AI hallucination

  • Refusing to fabricate statistics, funders, or opportunities

  • Encouraging users to verify everything we provide

We Will Never:

  • Invent grant opportunities that don't exist

  • Make up foundation names, deadlines, or award amounts

  • Claim success rates or statistics we can't verify

  • Encourage users to apply to fake opportunities

What This Looks Like:

  • If a grant can't be verified, we say "I couldn't locate grants matching these criteria"

  • We suggest alternative search strategies instead of inventing results

  • Every opportunity includes a verifiable source link

  • Our anti-fabrication protocol is enforced in the system

4. RESPONSIBLE USE

We Commit To:

  • Refusing to help users misrepresent capacity or credentials

  • Flagging ethical concerns in user requests

  • Offering ethical alternatives to problematic approaches

  • Requiring human review before any submission

  • Respecting grant ethics and funder requirements

We Will Never:

  • Help users lie about their organizational capacity

  • Encourage applications where users are clearly ineligible

  • Assist in plagiarizing other proposals

  • Enable fabrication of community support or partnerships

  • Facilitate unethical use even if requested

What This Looks Like:

  • If a user asks to exaggerate impact data, we refuse and offer ethical alternatives

  • We flag conflicts of interest and compliance issues

  • We remind users that AI-generated content requires human review

  • We maintain ethical boundaries even when users push back

5. EQUITY & ACCESS

We Commit To:

  • Making grant strategy accessible to under-resourced organizations

  • Pricing that doesn't exclude small nonprofits and founders

  • Supporting women-owned, minority-owned, and community-based organizations

  • Building tools that reduce barriers, not create new ones

  • Centering voices often marginalized in traditional funding

We Will Never:

  • Price tools only for wealthy organizations

  • Design features that assume expensive infrastructure

  • Ignore accessibility needs of diverse users

  • Perpetuate existing inequities in funding systems

What This Looks Like:

  • Free 30-day demo with full feature access

  • Lifetime pricing options for budget-conscious users

  • Founding Member pricing locks in affordability

  • Simple, jargon-free language throughout

  • No requirement for paid ChatGPT subscriptions

6. PRIVACY & CONFIDENTIALITY

We Commit To:

  • Never selling user data to third parties

  • Collecting only essential information

  • Being transparent about what data we collect and why

  • Giving users control over their information

  • Protecting sensitive organizational details

We Will Never:

  • Share proposal content with third parties

  • Use user data to train AI without permission

  • Monetize user information

  • Store more data than necessary to provide services

What This Looks Like:

  • We don't have access to your GPT conversations (that's controlled by OpenAI)

  • Email addresses used only for service delivery and communications you opted into

  • Clear privacy policy in plain language

  • Easy data deletion upon request

GRANT ETHICS COMPLIANCE

Standards We Uphold

AI Grant Strategist users must:

  • Submit only truthful, accurate information in applications

  • Verify eligibility requirements before applying

  • Disclose conflicts of interest as required by funders

  • Use awarded funds only for stated purposes

  • Report outcomes honestly and accurately

We refuse to assist with:

  • Fabricating organizational capacity or credentials

  • Misrepresenting community support or partnerships

  • Inflating impact metrics or performance data

  • Plagiarizing from other proposals or sources

  • Applying to grants where organizations are clearly ineligible

Consequences of Violations

Users who violate grant ethics may face:

  • Warning for minor first-time violations

  • Suspension for repeated violations

  • Permanent account termination for serious violations (fraud, misrepresentation)

  • No refunds for ethics-based terminations

  • Potential reporting to funders or authorities for egregious violations

BIAS & FAIRNESS

Our Commitment

We actively work to identify and mitigate bias in AI Grant Strategist:

Data Bias:

  • We don't train on biased grant databases that favor certain org types

  • We provide equal guidance regardless of org size, budget, or prestige

  • Our readiness scoring doesn't penalize smaller or newer organizations unfairly

Language Bias:

  • We preserve authentic organizational voice (not "professionalized" to sound corporate)

  • We don't impose white/Western/academic language norms

  • We offer multiple phrasing options to accommodate different communication styles

Access Bias:

  • Affordable pricing ensures small organizations aren't excluded

  • No requirement for expensive tools or subscriptions beyond basic ChatGPT access

  • Plain-language design accessible to users with varying technical expertise

Ongoing Work

We recognize that bias is pervasive and our work is ongoing:

  • We monitor outputs for problematic patterns

  • We incorporate user feedback on fairness issues

  • We update training and guardrails based on real-world use

  • We commit to continuous improvement, not claims of perfection

ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY

How We Hold Ourselves Accountable

User Feedback:

  • We listen to and act on user concerns

  • Feedback channels: support@herintelai.com

  • Response commitment: Within 24 hours

Founding Member Input:

  • Early users help shape product roadmap

  • Direct influence on feature priorities

  • Ongoing dialogue about ethical concerns

Public Documentation:

  • Methodology published on our website

  • Regular updates on product changes

  • Transparent communication about limitations

Independent Review:

  • Technical advisors review configurations (hi, Claude!)

  • Legal review of terms and privacy policies

  • Openness to third-party audits as we grow

What We Ask of Users

You are responsible for:

  • Reviewing all AI-generated content before submission

  • Verifying grant eligibility directly with funders

  • Ensuring accuracy and compliance with funder requirements

  • Using AI Grant Strategist ethically and legally

  • Reporting concerns or issues you encounter

We cannot:

  • Guarantee funding success

  • Replace human judgment and expertise

  • Take responsibility for content submitted without review

  • Control grant decisions (those belong to funders)

OUR PROMISE TO THE GRANT COMMUNITY

To Funders

We will:

  • Never encourage applicants to misrepresent themselves

  • Support compliance with your requirements

  • Promote authentic, high-quality applications

  • Reduce low-effort, template-driven submissions

  • Help align the right applicants with the right opportunities

We recognize that AI tools can be misused. We've built ethical guardrails specifically to protect the integrity of grant processes.

To Grant Seekers

We will:

  • Provide honest, transparent guidance

  • Preserve your authentic voice and mission

  • Help you compete on merit, not just polished writing

  • Support you in building capacity, not just writing proposals

  • Refuse to help you cut ethical corners

We believe the best grant strategy is one built on truth, authenticity, and genuine alignment with funder goals.

To the Field

We will:

  • Advance responsible AI practices in the nonprofit/social impact sector

  • Share learnings about ethical AI development

  • Advocate for transparency and accountability in AI tools

  • Support ecosystem-wide improvements in funding equity

  • Lead by example, not just by words

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

We're Not Perfect

AI systems—even ethically designed ones—can make mistakes. We commit to:

  • Acknowledging errors when they happen

  • Learning from mistakes and improving systems

  • Being transparent about limitations

  • Welcoming feedback and criticism

  • Iterating based on real-world use

Found an ethical concern? Email ethics@herintelai.com

We take these reports seriously and respond within 48 hours.

ETHICAL AI DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES

How We Build

1. Ethics from Day One
Ethics aren't bolted on after launch. They're embedded in design, development, and deployment.

2. Human Oversight
Founder-led development with technical advisors, user input, and ongoing review.

3. Transparency by Default
We document decisions, explain algorithms, and publish methodology.

4. User Agency
Users control their data, their content, and their final submissions. AI guides; humans decide.

5. Harm Prevention
We proactively identify and mitigate risks of misuse, bias, and unintended consequences.

6. Continuous Learning
We iterate based on feedback, research, and evolving best practices in AI ethics.

CONTACT US ABOUT ETHICS

Questions about our ethical practices?
Email: ethics@herintelai.com

Report a concern:
Email: ethics@herintelai.com (confidential)

General inquiries:
Email: support@herintelai.com

Response commitment: Within 48 hours for ethics inquiries

OUR ETHICAL NORTH STAR

At the end of the day, our ethical commitment is simple:

We build AI tools that help organizations do good work—honestly, authentically, and effectively.

If a feature, practice, or decision doesn't serve that goal, we don't do it.

Human • Ethical • Responsible
Not just a tagline. A standard we hold ourselves to every day.

© 2025 HERIntelAI Systems LLC