Client Story:
Accelerating AI Adoption with Microsoft 365 Copilot

The Jim Joseph Foundation engaged Ideal State to accelerate its transition to an AI-powered organization through the rapid rollout of Microsoft 365 Copilot for all staff.

This initiative focused on assessing M365 readiness, identifying high-value use cases tailored to philanthropic operations, delivering comprehensive training, and establishing a Copilot Success Hub for sustained adoption. 

Client Overview

The Jim Joseph Foundation is a philanthropic organization committed to fostering vibrant Jewish learning and engagement for youth, young adults, and educators across the United States. By investing in innovative educational programs, the Foundation aims to build a more connected and knowledgeable Jewish community. As digital tools evolve, the Foundation recognized the potential of AI to amplify its impact, streamline grant-making processes, and enhance collaborative efforts in education.

The Challenge

With a growing reliance on Microsoft 365 (M365) for daily operations, the Jim Joseph Foundation sought to integrate M365 Copilot to boost productivity and innovation. However, fragmented data stores, inconsistent governance, and varying staff familiarity with AI posed barriers. Key issues included suboptimal content discovery, security risks in shared files, and underutilized M365 features— all of which could undermine Copilot's effectiveness. The Foundation needed a structured approach to assess AI readiness, identify tailored use cases, train staff, and establish ongoing support to ensure AI tools like Copilot could transform educational grant management, content creation, and team collaboration without compromising data integrity.

Our Approach

Ideal State collaborated with the Jim Joseph Foundation to deliver a comprehensive AI-readiness program centered on M365 Copilot rollout. We framed the initiative as essential groundwork for leveraging AI to drive organizational efficiency and mission alignment. The phased approach included:

• Assessing AI Readiness: Conducted a rapid review of M365 configuration, data health, licensing, governance, and security using standard reports and IT consultations. This covered areas like inactive sites, content sprawl, DLP policies, and sensitivity labeling, resulting in a prioritized findings and recommendations report to optimize for Copilot's AI capabilities.
• Identifying High-Value Use Cases: Facilitated a 90-minute stakeholder session to map pain points in content creation, discovery, and processes to Copilot solutions. We defined personas, scenarios, success criteria, and risks, selecting context-specific examples (e.g., grant proposal drafting, meeting summarization) for training—ensuring AI integration addressed real Foundation needs.
• Training Staff on M365 Copilot: Designed and delivered two 90-minute virtual training sessions for all staff, including hands-on demos in Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and the Copilot app. The session incorporated Foundation-specific use cases, data security best practices, responsible AI discussions, ideation brainstorming, and Q&A. We provided a recorded version, slide deck, and companion materials for sustained learning.
• Implementing a Copilot Success Hub: Built a dedicated SharePoint site with training resources, news feeds, and best practices. Integrated collaboration spaces in Teams for announcements, Q&A, and champion support. 

Our user-centric methodology emphasized collaboration with Foundation leads, focusing on data stewardship and governance as pillars of AI readiness.

Results and Impact

Completed in mid-2025, the initiative equipped the Jim Joseph Foundation with a robust AI-ready M365 environment, enabling seamless Copilot adoption.

Outcomes included:

• Enhanced Productivity and Innovation: Staff reported reduction in time spent on routine tasks like document drafting and data analysis, freeing resources for high-impact educational initiatives.
• Improved Data Governance and Security: Recommendations led to refined DLP and sensitivity labeling practices, reducing compliance risks and ensuring AI outputs were accurate and secure.
• Widespread Adoption: Staff reported increased confidence in using Copilot, with the Success Hub generating ongoing engagement through champion-led shares and updates.
• AI-Empowered Mission: The Foundation is now rolling out Copilot for advanced scenarios, such as AI agent-assisted grant reviews and employee self service.

"Ideal State's guidance was pivotal in demystifying AI for our team and integrating it thoughtfully into our work. We're now better equipped to advance our mission with greater efficiency and creativity"