Tourism Workshop Australia-wide
Ethical AI for Community Grant Writing
Support your community group to use AI for writing successful grants
Deliver this live training where community group staff learn which AI tasks work for grant writing and which create privacy disasters. Participants practice the safe workflow with real grant guidelines during the session. Available as a virtual session or a two-hour in-person workshop.
- Duration flexibility
- Team focused
- Tailored to tourism
One Upload Away From Disqualification
Learn which documents you can safely give AI and which ones will destroy your funding eligibility in 30 seconds.
Using AI without knowing what's dangerous
Not because community groups lack judgment, but because they’re using AI without clear boundaries.
What becomes possible with this training: Your team will know exactly which documents they can upload safely and which ones will destroy your eligibility.
Writing grants that sound like AI wrote them
Not because AI is bad, but because grant writers don’t know where AI helps versus where it destroys your application.
What becomes possible with this training: Your team will learn which tasks to give AI and which tasks require human truth and evidence.
Wasting time because they're using AI wrong
Not because you need more AI features, but because nobody showed you the workflow that actually works.
What becomes possible with this training: Your team will cut writing time from 20 hours to 8 hours by using AI for the right tasks.
Meet Your Trainer
20+ Years of Real-World Experience
Despina Karatzias has spent more than two decades helping business owners and tourism operators find clarity when they feel stuck and confidence when they need it most.
A Trainer Who Understands Business Reality
She’s managed, started and led businesses for over twenty years and delivered hundreds of hours of training and workshops across Australia, empowering people to simplify strategy, embrace innovation, and build sustainable growth.
Strategic Focus, Genuine Empathy
Known for combining strategic focus with energy and genuine empathy, Despina understands the pressures of running a business with both your heart and your hands full.
Recognised and Qualified
She holds a Master’s in Digital Marketing, is an ICF-accredited coach and NLP practitioner, and has been recognised nationally with the ATEC Len Taylor Award for Excellence and the VTIC Lynette Bergin Fellowship, as well as the 2022 Victorian Tourism Award Winner for Outstanding Contribution.
Training Designed for Real-World Application
Built around your grants, not generic examples
Each workshop is tailored to the community groups, grant programs, and funding priorities in the room. Participants work on real grant applications using their own guidelines, documents, and current funding opportunities, not hypothetical case studies.
Hands-on practice, not passive learning
AI tools are demonstrated and tested during the session with live guidance. Community group staff leave having successfully used AI for grant writing under supervision, with completed examples and safety protocols in place, rather than a list of ideas to try later.
Designed for time-poor community groups
The training is focused, practical, and jargon-free. Every exercise is designed to make grant writing safer and faster, without adding unnecessary complexity or technical overhead.
Follow-through built in
Post-workshop support includes a 30-day implementation window with weekly check-ins, safety checklists, and AI prompt templates to help ensure what’s learned is put into practice immediately.
Participants Will Practice (Not Just Discuss)
Three working sessions designed to build safe AI habits for grant writing, completed during the workshop with real documents.
Watch, then do.
- You watch AI being used safely, then you use it
- Practice the same workflow with own documents
- Participants work at their own pace with live support available.
Real time support.
- Ask immediately while you work.
- Participants don't get left wondering if they're doing it right
- Continuous feedback throughout the session
Practice during session.
- Use AI for grant writing under supervision
- No homework. No "try this later alone."
- Participant walk out with confident
In-Person Training at Your Organisation
Choose the format that works for your community group, same training, different delivery method.
In-Person Training at Your Organisation
Delivered at your community centre, chamber offices, sporting club, or preferred venue. Accommodate 10-35 participants per session, depending on room capacity and internet connectivity. Requires: reliable WiFi for all participants, laptops or tablets for hands-on practice, projector for demonstration. Includes printed safety checklists and workflow guides.
Virtual Training via Online Platform
Delivered via Zoom with screen sharing for AI demonstration. Accommodate 30-50 participants per session. Requires: stable internet connection, laptop or desktop (tablets limited for full participation), current grant guidelines in PDF format. Digital materials provided in advance.
Community Network or Cluster Training
Delivered to your community network, not-for-profit organisation, or regional cluster. Accommodate 10-35 participants depending on format. Can be delivered as member benefit or regional development offering. Available in-person or virtual.
★★★★★ Rated 5 out of 5
Informative & High Energy
Very informative and a high energy session about how to manage challenging customers! Thanks Despina!
Nicole O'Sullivan
★★★★★ Rated 5 out of 5
Fantastic Course
Fantastic course! Great examples, useful tips and advice that we can take back to our team. Thank you!
Deaane Gilham
★★★★★ Rated 5 out of 5
Amazing
Amazing AI course learnt so much.
Cath Trott
★★★★★ Rated 5 out of 5
We Learnt So Much
Love Despi and her presentation – we learnt so much from the 3 hour hands on workshop that we can’t recommend her and the workshop enough 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Michael Kewish
★★★★★ Rated 5 out of 5
I’m Inspired
I’m inspired. So many notes and ideas, with real, simple to use tools to get me started. Thanks so much Despina. Amazing.
Lauren Daly
★★★★★ Rated 5 out of 5
Engaging, Simple & Easy to Understand
As a new small business owner of Hayden’s House Food and Produce, who is still learning about technology, Despina made the training so engaging, simple and easy to understand the practical and very effective ways so that I can incorporate SEO’s and manage my online presence and reputation for my business.
Arlene Tribo
★★★★★ Rated 5 out of 5
Insightful & Informative
Very insightful and informative sessions. Thank you Despina for your time and sharing your knowledge
Sarah D'Orria
★★★★★ Rated 5 out of 5
Highly professional and helpful
Highly professional and helpful. Program tailored to meet all levels and includes great support and information. Motivational and educational.
Sharon Radon
Ethical AI for Community Grants Writing Agenda
Lesson 1: Diagnose Your AI
Learn what's safe to upload and what will destroy your funding eligibility in one wrong click.
- Identify current dangerous AI usage patterns
- Learn the 4-question safety checklist
- Practice applying the checklist to real documents
Lesson 2: Learn the Safe AI Workflow
Which tasks to give AI and which tasks destroy your application if you delegate them.
- Watch the complete AI grant workflow demonstrated live
- See exactly which tasks to delegate to AI
- Learn where AI usage destroys applications
Lesson 3: Write Sections with AI
Complete one grant section that sounds like your community wrote it, not ChatGPT.
- Practice drafting grant sections using AI safely
- Learn to add human evidence to an AI structure
- Verify AI claims before using them
Ethical AI for Community Grant Writing - Live Training
Write Better Grants Faster With AI Tools, Safety Protocols & Hands-On Practice
In-person, virtual, or community network delivery with hands-on AI practice during the session
- Fully Facilitated Workshop (In-Person, Virtual or Hybrid)
- Three practical exercises using real grant documents
- Hands-on practice with AI during the session
- Safety protocols demonstrated and practised
- Immediate feedback on AI usage decisions
- Digital workflow guides and safety checklists
- AI prompt templates for common grant tasks
- Implementation guide for next grant application
- Optional: Reduced-rate access to online course version for reference
Investment Details: Contact us for pricing based on your selected format, delivery method, and number of participants. Custom quotes provided within twenty-four hours.
Common community group questions.
Do community group staff need prior AI experience to attend this training?
No. This training teaches AI usage from scratch, specifically for grant writing. If your team has never used ChatGPT or any AI tool, they’ll learn during the session with a live demonstration and practice. If they’re already using AI, they’ll learn the safety protocols and task boundaries they’re currently missing. Both groups practice with real grant documents during the session.
What's the difference between the live workshop and the online course version?
Live workshop provides hands-on practice with immediate feedback. Participants bring their laptops and practice using AI with real grant guidelines during the session. Questions answered in real time while they’re working. An online course provides the same AI workflow and safety protocols, but in the form of self-paced video lessons. Live works when community groups need supervised practice. Online works when they need reference material. Both teach the same safe AI usage.
What technology do participants need?
In-person requires: a laptop or tablet, a reliable WiFi connection, and current grant guidelines in PDF format. Virtual requires: laptop or desktop (not phone or tablet), stable internet, webcam and microphone, and grant guidelines in PDF. We use free AI tools accessible through web browsers, no software installation required. Technical setup instructions are provided when you book.
Can this be delivered to staff who speak different languages?
Yes. The training specifically includes AI translation workflows for multilingual teams. Participants learn to upload grant guidelines in English, use AI to translate them into their language for discussion, draft responses together, and then translate them back into English. This workflow is practised during the session. Works for any language combination where participants have basic computer literacy.
Will participants complete actual grant sections during the two-hour session?
Yes. Exercise 3 involves participants using AI to draft one grant section with real guidelines. They practice the complete workflow: upload guidelines, generate AI structure, add community evidence, verify claims, and personalise voice. They leave with one completed section demonstrating safe AI usage. This proves they can do it again independently.
What if our staff are sceptical about using AI at all?
The training addresses this directly. We don’t position AI as magic or mandatory. We show exactly which tasks AI accelerates (reading guidelines, extracting criteria, translation) versus which tasks it ruins (writing evidence, creating authentic voice). Sceptical participants often become the best adopters because they’re naturally cautious about safety, which is exactly the mindset we’re teaching. The practice during the session with measurable time savings converts scepticism.
Who is this NOT for?
This isn’t for community groups who don’t have active grant applications to work on. The training requires bringing real grant guidelines for practice. This isn’t for organisations seeking general AI literacy training; we teach AI specifically for grant-writing tasks. And this isn’t for participants who can’t bring a laptop and participate in hands-on practice. Learning occurs through supervised AI use during the session.
How many people can attend a single session?
Sessions accommodate 10-35 participants depending on format and venue. This range ensures everyone receives individual feedback during AI practice while creating productive peer learning. Smaller groups get more individual attention. Larger groups benefit from diverse examples of AI use. Groups of more than 35 can run multiple sessions.
What happens after participants complete the training?
They immediately apply what they learned to their next grant application using the safety checklist and workflow guides provided. Digital materials include AI prompt templates for common tasks. Optional follow-up: participants can access the online course version at a reduced rate for reference when they forget specific steps. No ongoing support is included, but practice during the session ensures they can work independently.
How do we know our team won't misuse AI after the training?
The 4-question safety checklist becomes the decision filter before every upload. Participants practice applying it to multiple documents during the session until it becomes automatic. The training explicitly shows what happens when you bypass the checklist (privacy breaches, disqualification). We can’t prevent misuse, but we make the safe pathway clearer and easier than the dangerous shortcut. Behaviour change research shows supervised practice with immediate consequences creates lasting habits.
Can we adapt this training to focus on specific grant programs?
The core AI safety protocols and task boundaries remain consistent regardless of grant type. During delivery, we use your specific grant program as the practice example. Participants bring guidelines from their priority grants and practice with those documents during exercises. The workflow adapts naturally because it’s designed for any grant structure. The safety rules never change.
How do we measure whether this training worked?
Track four metrics over thirty days. First: percentage of staff using the 4-question checklist before AI uploads (should approach 100%). Second: average grant writing time before and after training (target: 12 hours saved per application). Third: number of privacy incidents reported (target: zero). Fourth: grant sections completed with documented AI assistance. Success looks like measurable behaviour change, not just attendance satisfaction.
Ready to Bring Ethical AI for Grants Writing to Your Community?
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