Civic orgs are being asked to do more with less.

Our program is designed for enthusiasts and skeptics alike. Wherever you stand on that spectrum, curiosity, openness to experimentation, and a willingness to explore the edges of what AI can and can’t do — in a safe, friendly environment — are what set successful participants apart.

Typical profiles of successful participants include civic and nonprofit professionals, including executive directors, program managers and officers, communicators, researchers, fundraisers, and journalists. They might feel that they are only scratching the surface of what AI can do for them, or that they want to better understand its risks before deciding how to use it. Others might not use it at all and feel worried they’re falling behind.

This experience is designed for people with no coding or technical background. The brief Application form will help us assess whether you are too advanced for the content.

A useful analogy: Imagine it’s 100 years ago, and cars are beginning to hit the production line — bringing with them concerns about job displacement, noise and environmental pollution, corporate conglomeration, and safety.

This accelerator is driver’s ed in the early days of cars: It’s for people who want to learn to drive the car effectively in a safe, friendly environment — discussing guardrails, exploring how the engines work, and taking turns behind the wheel — even if the roads are still bumpy and unpaved.

If that describes you, consider applying. But if you’re not comfortable getting behind the wheel right now, we totally understand. This program might not be a good fit right now.

Truthfully? It depends. If time or budget barriers are too high for you right now, or if you prefer a lightweight learning experience, there are some outstanding self-paced learning opportunities available for free. We particularly like Claude Academy’s AI Fluency course.

But if you’re someone whose learning benefits from a schedule to keep you on top of things, the energy that a live session or community of peers brings, opportunities to ask questions, or learning by doing with feedback from instructors—those are harder to find for free, and they’re part of what makes this course special.

Live sessions are highly acclaimed, interactive, virtual workshop experiences. In each session, your facilitators — who are certified trainers by leading AI providers like the OpenAI Academy — will lead you through short explanations, live demonstrations, guided experimentation, and discussion.

These are highly participatory sessions, and the final session of this accelerator will feature presentations by participants. More details will be shared during the program.

Between the 90-minute live sessions and optional practice sprints (homework) and coaching, plan for about two hours per week — more if you spend more time with the material and community.

As you evaluate your availability, remember that for those celebrating holidays in late November, there's no session the week of November 23, 2026.

Join from a quiet place with reliable Wi-Fi and a computer with a working microphone and speakers or headphones. Live sessions take place on Google Meet, so you will need an up-to-date web browser that supports that free videoconference software. We will share the meeting link and any preparation guidance before the cohort begins.

Participants are encouraged to join with multiple screens — to follow the live session on one screen, and practice in AI tools on the other — but that is not required.

There will be opportunities for participants to sign up for short 1:1 coaching with one of your facilitators. Bring a specific challenge, an experiment, or a question. Booking details will be shared with the cohort.

These coaching sessions are consistently among the highest rated components of our program. Although they’re optional, they are a great opportunity to connect with your instructor to have a tailored conversation about your own AI questions, workflows, or strategy.

You can follow the demonstrations and participate in discussions without any paid accounts, but some features may need the lowest paid-tier consumer subscription to AI tools, or enterprise AI tool access. You’ll share more details about your tool access in the application, so we can help assess fit.

No one will be required to pay for a tool or create an account they are not comfortable using.

No. The accelerator is tool-agnostic. Your facilitators have deep experience teaching major LLM tools, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot, and they focus on transferable skills you can use across platforms: prompting, verification, responsible use, workflows, and everyday tips and tricks.

The particular tools featured in your sessions are selected by your facilitators based on a variety of factors — including last-minute decisions based on how much usage quota remains in their own accounts! In many cases, you’ll be able to replicate your facilitators’ demonstrations in your preferred tool, even if the experience looks a little different.

Responsible use is part of the learning throughout. We will discuss verification, bias, privacy, organizational policies, and when human judgment must lead.

You’ll often be invited to share your work, including sharing your screen if you are comfortable. When sharing any work, use public, sample, or appropriately anonymized material for exercises, and follow your organization’s rules.

There is no formal capstone project. Optional Practice Sprints help you try something useful between sessions. In our final session, you’ll share a specific, achievable idea to tackle after the program. Your facilitators will share more details later. It’s simple, low-stakes, and no slides are required.

This cohort is open to participants representing organizations or joining independently. The application will ask you to share the organization you’re representing, if any.

To receive your certificate, show up as your authentic, curious self to all five 90-minute sessions, and complete a final program survey.

Join the future-cohort interest list and tell us your time zone and preferred language. Spanish-language cohorts are planned for the future, let us know if you are interested. We will also share upcoming Salons and other opportunities. This cohort is taught in English.

We review applications for fit and available places on a rolling basis. If accepted, you will receive enrollment information and a secure payment link. Applying does not involve payment or guarantee a place. You’ll be registered once we receive that information and the payment.

The last payment deadline is October 30, 2026. Please review the Accelerator Terms, including payment and cancellation details, before enrolling.