About the AI Capacity Catalyst Program
Building AI Capacity for Social Impact
The AI Capacity Catalyst Program is a collaborative partnership between Social Enterprise Greenhouse and Ascend Impact Advisors designed to equip social impact and business leaders with practical AI skills.
Across six interactive workshops, participants from nonprofits, social enterprises, and small businesses learned to harness generative AI to enhance customer experiences, streamline operations, innovate services, and accelerate strategic growth.
The program is supported by generous funding from RI Commerce through their Innovation Matching Grant program.
Six Interactive Workshops
Fundamentals & Foundations
Introduction to AI concepts and capabilities
Foundation Models & No-Code Tools
Hands-on exploration of ChatGPT, Claude, and specialized AI tools
Prompt Engineering & Prototyping Strategy
Crafting effective prompts and planning prototypes
Advanced Topics & Design Workshop
RAG, fine-tuning, agentic AI, and prototype development
Testing Gauntlet
Evaluating and refining AI prototypes
Reflections & Showcase
Presenting final prototypes and sharing learnings
What Participants Learned
Foundation model features and no-code AI tools
Prompt engineering techniques and best practices
Advanced AI concepts: RAG, fine-tuning, and agentic AI
Prototyping strategy and implementation
Evaluating AI outputs and iterating on solutions
Responsible AI practices for social impact
Four Strategic Goals
Participants developed prototypes aligned with one or more organizational goals:
Accelerate Strategic Growth
Using AI for marketing, business development, and grantwriting
Enhance Customer Experience
Building chatbots, personalized communications, and responsive tools
Streamline Operations & Automate Workflows
Creating automated processes and workflow integrations
Innovate Products & Services
Developing new AI-powered offerings and capabilities
Led By
Social Enterprise Greenhouse
Social Enterprise Greenhouse catalyzes, connects, and invests in people driving transformational social impact to build a more just, equitable, and resilient economy.
Ascend Impact Advisors
Strategy and advisory firm focused on social impact, data & evidence, and AI for social good. Ascend helps organizations leverage technology and data to maximize their positive impact.
Learn more about our partners: