[Free] AI for Hawaiʻi Nonprofits: Build Your First AI Agent in 2 Hours

​Nonprofit budgets are getting cut while need goes up. This workshop is a concrete way to hold your impact steady with the team you already have.

​In two hours, you'll build your own AI agent, customized to your organization. We are not showing demos or just having you take notes - you will leave with an actual, functioning AI agent.

​.org, .edu, and .gov are all welcome!

​What you'll build

​Grant & Funding Research Agent (everyone) — scans funding sources, matches them against your mission, and delivers a summary of relevant opportunities. Replaces hours of manual searching every week.

​Program Data Reporter (if time allows) — takes your raw program data and drafts the narrative report your funders ask for each quarter.

​Who this is for

​Staff and leaders at Hawaiʻi nonprofits. No coding, no prior AI experience. We'll have roughly one tech volunteer for every ten attendees, so nobody gets left behind.

​Before you come (15 minutes — this must be done beforehand)

1. ​Install the Claude desktop app on the laptop you're bringing (Mac or Windows): https://claude.com/download. The browser chat will not work here.

2. ​Sign up for the Claude $20/month plan (you can always cancel later).

3. ​Bring: a 1–2 paragraph description of your mission and programs; a list of 3–5 places you currently look for funding. Optional: An example of a past grant application; a recent funder report and a spreadsheet of program metrics

​On privacy: please strip client Social Security numbers, medical records, and other sensitive personal information. On a paid plan, the AI companies commit not to train their models on your data — similar to the trust most organizations already extend to Google for email and documents.

​Your hosts

​Richard Matsui — Founder/CEO of 2 tech companies in the energy industry. Co-founder of Movers & Shakas and ThriveHI. Raised in Kapahulu.

​Brent Akamine — Co-founder of Vinovest, acquired in 2026. Previously led design at TikTok and other major tech companies. Raised in Manoa.

​Miki Hardisty — CEO and co-founder of Olelo Intelligence. Previously COO of ProService Hawaiʻi, CTO at Jack in the Box, and an engineer at NASA. Raised in Kailua.

​Matt Lamon — Geotechnical engineer and early adopter. Uses Claude Code to build custom productivity tools for his own business.

​Alex Han — AI implementation handyman. Previously a16z backed startup founder, venture investor, and growth leader.

​Landon Opunui - Medical Director at Nā Puʻuwai, first naturopathic physician to be appointed medical director of a federally funded Native Hawaiian Health Care System. Prior "AI for Nonprofits" workshop attendee.

​Jocelyn Leavitt — Former startup founder and CEO. Built, scaled, and sold Hopscotch, a programming language and coding community for kids. Raised in Honolulu.

​Tim Anderson — A nonprofit CFO who uses AI every day. Runs finance at Lanakila Pacific after a decade of corporate finance and auditing across Hawaiʻi.

​Hosted at HTDC's Entrepreneur Sandbox.

​Promoted in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations (HANO) the Hawaii Leadership Forum (Omidyar Fellows), and ThriveHI.