Social Impact Incubator · Spring 2026
A practical workshop for DePaul student entrepreneurs — no coding required. Walk away with real tools, a clear framework, and the confidence to start today.
What We'll Cover
This isn't a lecture about what AI is. It's a hands-on look at what AI can do for you — right now, with zero budget and no engineering background.
A clear-eyed look at which tools matter, which are hype, and how to pick the right one for each job — from Claude and ChatGPT to Perplexity and Gemini.
Concrete examples of how lean, mission-driven startups are using AI to punch above their weight — from grant writing to community outreach to investor pitches.
The GCSE+V prompt-writing method — Goal, Context, Source, Examples, plus Verification. A simple, repeatable process that turns mediocre outputs into great ones.
Watch AI build a production-ready website — this one — live during the session. The best way to understand what's possible is to see it happen in real time.
How to verify outputs, protect user data, avoid bias, and keep humans in the loop — the guardrails every founder should understand before deploying AI externally.
A practical first-step plan: what to try this week, what to automate in month one, and how to build an AI-fluent habit across your whole team.
Where AI Creates Value
The biggest competitive advantage for a lean startup isn't budget — it's speed. AI compounds the advantage of a focused, mission-driven team.
AI can help you draft compelling narratives, tailor language to specific funders, synthesize your impact data into clear talking points, and pressure-test your logic before you hit send.
Use AI to rapidly synthesize news, reports, and academic sources into clear summaries — getting you to an informed position in hours instead of days.
Contracts, SOPs, partner agreements, onboarding guides, meeting recaps — AI drafts the first version so your time goes toward decisions, not typing.
Generate a month of social content in an afternoon, adapt your core message for different audiences, and maintain consistent voice — even with a one-person marketing "team."
AI can help you build impact frameworks, analyze program data, structure annual reports, and communicate outcomes to stakeholders in plain language.
Build FAQ assistants, draft community update emails, personalize outreach at scale, and free up your team's bandwidth for the human moments that matter most.
Getting Started
Two things determine whether AI helps or frustrates you: choosing the right tool and writing a clear prompt. Here's a practical guide to both.
Better prompts aren't about clever phrasing — they're about being explicit. This five-part structure consistently produces outputs worth using.
Recommended Tools
You don't need all of these. Start with one and go deep before branching out.
Exceptional for long documents, nuanced writing, and tasks requiring careful reasoning. Strong on safety and avoiding hallucinations.
The most familiar entry point. Excellent general-purpose assistant with a large plugin ecosystem and broad user community for learning.
AI-powered search that cites its sources. Use it to replace initial Google searches when you need fast, synthesized research with references.
Integrates directly with Google Workspace (Docs, Gmail, Sheets). Best choice if your team lives in Google's tools.
AI that can read your files, browse the web, write code, and build deliverables autonomously. What built this microsite — demonstrated live today.
Generate custom visuals for pitch decks, social posts, and prototypes in seconds. Great for rapid concept visualization without a designer.
After Today
The workshop ends; the learning doesn't have to. Here's how to keep building momentum.
Free Learning Resources
Free MOOC from the University of Helsinki. 950,000+ learners. The best non-technical introduction to AI concepts available.
elementsofai.com →The sequel to Elements of AI — goes deeper into practical methods and machine learning without requiring a CS background.
buildingai.elementsofai.com →A free University of Helsinki course on ethical AI development — critical for founders building products that affect real communities.
ethics-of-ai.mooc.fi →The official documentation for writing effective prompts for Claude. Practical, example-driven, and updated regularly.
docs.anthropic.com →