Practical, responsible use of AI in mission-driven organisations
AI is increasingly accessible to charities, but the context is very different from commercial or technical environments. Charities work with sensitive information, vulnerable communities, donors, volunteers, and limited resources. The challenge is not access to the technology, but developing sound judgement about how AI behaves, where it helps, where it does not, and how to use it responsibly in everyday work.
This program is a free, charity-sector workshop designed to help people working in registered charities use AI more confidently and thoughtfully in a professional context. It focuses on practical understanding rather than hype, and on everyday use rather than technical implementation.
The session combines a strong foundation in how AI works in practice with selected, hands-on capabilities that are immediately useful for charity contexts. The emphasis is on judgement, data sensitivity, quality, and realistic use, supported by live demonstrations using documents and scenarios directly relevant to the charity sector.
The program deliberately does not focus on technical deployment, system integration, security configuration, or AI governance from an IT perspective. The focus is on how AI can support professional work — such as communications, policy, reporting, and internal documentation — without introducing unnecessary risk.
Important participation conditions
- This is a free course, offered as a charity-sector initiative
- Limited to ONE participant per organisation
- Only open to registered charities (not general not-for-profits or commercial entities)
- Participants must register using their work email address
- Places are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis
- Catering is not provided; there are many good cafés and casual eating options within a short walking distance of the venue
- Bring-your-own laptop or device is optional; all demonstrations are presented live, and participants are welcome to follow along or simply observe
To ensure the session remains focused and useful, this workshop is intended for people using AI as part of their everyday professional work, rather than for those responsible for technical implementation, systems, or enterprise IT oversight.
Prerequisites and access requirements
There are no formal prerequisites. However, to get full value from the session, participants will need access to a paid ChatGPT licence, or be prepared to obtain one. All demonstrations and examples are based on features available in paid versions of ChatGPT, and the course does not cover free-tier limitations or workarounds.
While most demonstrations are delivered using ChatGPT, the principles covered are broadly applicable across enterprise AI tools, including Microsoft Copilot, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude. In most cases, the differences are largely a matter of interface rather than approach. Practical distinctions between platforms are discussed where relevant. Google's NotebookLM is used as a charity-relevant communication and knowledge tool.
Program topics
Using AI safely in a charity context
What information can and cannot be shared, how data is handled in everyday workplace use, and how to think clearly about privacy, sensitivity, and risk. This section addresses common concerns early to remove unnecessary fear and establish confidence.
How AI actually works (and why that matters)
A clear, non-technical explanation of how AI produces outputs, what it is good at, where it struggles, and why it does not “understand” things in the way people often assume.
Judgement, trust, and professional responsibility
Why AI responses can sound convincing even when they are wrong, how over-reliance develops, and how to stay in control so AI supports professional judgement rather than replacing it — particularly important in mission-driven work.
Getting better results without increasing risk
Why AI works best as an iterative support tool, and how context, feedback, and refinement improve output quality more reliably than one-off requests.
Working with your own material
Using uploads, references, and structured documents to ground AI outputs in charity-specific context — including policies, reports, submissions, and internal documents.
AI for communications and clarity (NotebookLM focus)
Using NotebookLM to summarise, explain, and reframe complex information clearly — especially valuable for stakeholder updates, board materials, and internal knowledge sharing.
Practical charity-relevant use cases
Live demonstrations using charity-specific documents and scenarios, such as:
- Drafting and refining communications
- Summarising reports and submissions
- Supporting policy and governance work
- Preparing funding-related material, with appropriate caution
Using more than one AI tool
Where ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude differ in practice, why some tasks suit one tool better than another, and how to make pragmatic choices without unnecessary complexity.
Quality, reputation, and public trust
Why generic or low-quality AI output creates real reputational risk for charities, and how organisations can maintain standards while still gaining efficiency benefits.
What realistic AI adoption looks like in charities
How AI use varies across roles and teams, why some people move faster than others, and how to avoid a two-speed organisation if adoption is left unmanaged.
Your instructor
Tim Martin
Tim is a leading AI educator and commentator specialising in the practical workplace application and adoption of generative AI.
More about TimFAQ
SPOTS LEFT
12FORMAT
Face-to-face
DURATION
1 Day
STARTS
Friday 13 March9:00am - 4:30pmQUANTITY
VENUE
Opus Workspaces
Level 13, 200 Queen St, Melbourne, VIC 3000PRICE
$0
20% DISCOUNT when booking 2+ courses or 2+ people. Discount applied at check-out.
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What participants thought
Susie M
GM - Marketing & Sales
I would recommend Tim's training sessions to anyone. The content was relevant and tailored to the audience. Tim's delivery was very clear and concise and made for an enjoyable training experience for our team.
Michelle S
Office Manager
Absolutely fantastic workshop! A really great intro. I gained valuable knowledge that I can easily apply to my business. Highly recommend.
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