AI Training for Nonprofit Teams in Michigan and Ohio

Most nonprofits don’t have a training department. They have a program director who also writes the grants, an office manager who also runs the newsletter, and a small group of people doing the work of a much bigger team.

Then someone says, “We should be using AI.” And nothing happens. Not because staff don’t care, but because nobody has time to figure it out.

Michigan’s AI and the Workforce Plan names this problem. It says small and mid-sized organizations often lack the resources, talent and technical support to adopt AI well. That’s the gap I work in.

Ohio is building the same bridge

Ohio is moving fast. In May 2026, JobsOhio announced an expansion of AI Ready Ohio, a free AI training and certification program open to all Ohio residents. It includes in-person training for more than 3,000 people in the Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo areas, and online training for anyone in the state. JobsOhio also says fewer than 20 percent of Ohio companies have adopted AI.

I’m a member of AI Ready Ohio, and I think it’s a great place for individuals to start. Teams often need one more step: practice with the tasks they do every week, with colleagues in the same room. That’s where my workshops fit.

Start small, with one real task

The best way to learn AI is not a long webinar about what it might do someday. It’s picking one task you already do and finishing it with help.

For a nonprofit, that might be:

• Turning rough meeting notes into a clean board update

• Drafting a first version of a donor thank-you

• Rewriting a grant paragraph in plainer language

• Summarizing a long report so staff can read it in five minutes

  
  

None of these requires coding. They require one skill: writing a clear prompt, which is a plain-language instruction to the AI tool. If you can explain a task to a new volunteer, you can learn to write a good prompt.

Why prompts matter more than tools

AI tools change constantly. A method for asking clearly, giving context and checking the answer works in any of them. That’s why I teach the method first and the software second.

What humans still do

AI can draft, but it can’t know your mission, your donors or your community. Staff still decide what’s accurate, what fits your voice and what’s appropriate to share. Good training covers that too, including a simple policy so everyone knows what information should never go into an AI tool.

What a workshop looks like

In my workshops, everyone brings a real task from their own job and finishes it in the room. People leave with something they can use Monday morning, not a binder.

I train nonprofit teams on-site across Lenawee County, Southeast Michigan and Northwest Ohio, including Toledo, Sylvania, Perrysburg and Bowling Green. I also teach live online sessions for groups anywhere in Michigan and Ohio.

Not sure where your team stands? Book a 20-minute fit conversation. I’ll tell you whether I’m the right fit, and if I’m not, I’ll say so.