QLD AI Hub Sunshine Coast: AI Productivity for Non-Profits

Less Admin, More Mission

You didn't start working in the nonprofit sector to spend your days buried in your inbox, wrestling with grant guidelines, or writing up meeting minutes at 9pm.

That admin still has to happen, though. Every hour you spend reformatting a report or drafting the same kind of email for the fifth time is an hour you're not spending on the work that matters.

This practical, beginner-friendly workshop shows you how to hand the drudgery to AI, so you can get back to your mission.

Across three hands-on sessions, you'll learn real techniques you can use the very next morning, using tools your organisation might already have: ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.

What you'll learn

Session 1: Email Tame the inbox. Summarise long threads in seconds, draft replies that sound like you, and build a reusable assistant for the emails you send again and again.

Session 2: Grant proposals and reports Make funding submissions less painful. Decode dense funder guidelines, match your programs to the criteria, and turn your program data into a compelling story without staring at a blank page.

Session 3: Meeting admin Never write minutes from scratch again. Capture actions, generate clear minutes, and draft follow-up emails from your notes or a transcript, whether you meet on Teams, Zoom, or in person.

Confidentiality comes first

When you're working with donor details, beneficiary information, and sensitive communications, you can't just paste anything into any tool.

This workshop teaches you a simple rule for keeping confidential data safe, so you can use AI with confidence instead of worry.

Who this is for

Nonprofit staff and volunteers who are comfortable with the basics of AI but want to move beyond simple prompts to genuinely save time.

You don't need to be technical. You just need to be tired of admin.

What's included

Three hands-on sessions with practical, take-home techniques

A workbook to guide you on the day and back at your desk

Morning tea and lunch

A safe practice dataset so you can learn without using confidential information

What to bring

A laptop and charger, plus your own real-world examples to practise on.

You'll also need a ChatGPT and/or Microsoft Copilot account set up before the day, so you can dive straight into the hands-on sessions.

We'll give you a safe practice dataset so you can learn the techniques without using any confidential information.

Your facilitators

Dr Karen Sutherland, University of the Sunshine Coast and Dharana Digital. Dr Karen Sutherland is the author of Artificial Intelligence for Strategic Communication (Palgrave Macmillan) and advises four AI taskforces spanning local, national and international levels. A Senior Lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast and Co-Director of the Queensland AI Hub's Sunshine Coast chapter, she researches and teaches how AI is reshaping the communication profession. Through her consultancy, Dharana Digital, she helps organisations adopt AI in ways that are practical, ethical and useful.

Bart Puszko, Blue Seas AI - Founder & Principal.

Bart Puszko, Blue Seas AI - Founder & Principal. Bart helps businesses scale using AI without adding headcount. He designs AI systems that make organisations more efficient, AI-native and best-in-class in their industry. His focus is helping leaders and teams get the foundations right to use AI to its full potential. Bart is the 2025 Sunshine Coast Business Award winner, a 2025 Australian AI Awards finalist and a Queensland Government AI Mentor (through the Mentoring for Growth program).

Dev Batra, Managing Director, SanskAI

Dev is the Managing Director at SanskAI, a full-stack agency that functions as an external R&D department for businesses across Australia. Most of his work falls into two buckets: helping established teams adopt AI in ways that move the numbers, and building custom software that reduces dependency on subscriptions. A FWD>FEST 26 speaker, Dev has led Strategy & International Expansion at an AusIndustry-backed incubator and serves as a mentor with Generation Innovation.

How to find us on the day: Environmental Centre, the first building on the right after you enter the College gates and parking is location next to Environmental Centre.