Career club packets / AI preparedness
How to run an AI club
Members learn how AI works, how people use it at work, how to direct AI agents, and how to use it without losing anyone’s trust. No coding needed, and almost nothing to buy.
Built onOur free AI preparedness course (four modules with hands-on demos), plus free club activities from aiEDU, Day of AI, and the Hour of AI.
Part 1
Start the club
A teacher, a room with Wi-Fi, and a few people curious about AI.
Start the club
1Get signupsProof people want the club, and when they can meet.
Copy the Doorstop signup form, rename it, and send it to group chats and the classes closest to the field. Every signup is proof people want this, and the form asks when people can meet.
2Ask a teacher to adviseStart with a computer science, business, or library teacher, or whoever runs technology at your school.
Hi [Mr./Ms./Dr. last name],
I’m starting an AI club and have [number from the form] students signed up. We’d learn how AI tools actually work and how jobs are changing, using a free course with no coding. Would you be open to being our advisor?
We’d like to meet [times that worked on the form]. I’ll run the meetings and handle signups; we’d mostly need you there and your name on the club form.
With hope and gratitude,
[Your name]
Once they say yes, ask for your school’s form to make the club official. More on this step: How to start a club.
Split the work
Four jobs are enough for a new club. One person can hold two.
Part 2
Fund it
Most AI clubs cost close to nothing. The lessons and the badge below are free.
First: find out how your school takes money
- The student activity account
- The PTA, PTO, or booster club
- The district’s education foundation
Who to ask
The front office always knows. Ask the school secretary or office manager who handles club money: usually a bookkeeper or financial secretary. Or ask your advisor; they’ll know who did it for their last club.
Email to askOpen in email
Subject: How can someone donate to our AI club? Hi [name], I’m [your name], a [grade], and I’m starting a AI club with [advisor] as our advisor. We’re about to ask [local businesses, families, or a grant] for [what you need], and I want to make sure the money goes to the right place. Could you tell me: - Who a donation should be made out to, and what to write in the memo line? - Whether the club needs its own account in the student activity fund, and how to set one up? - Whether the PTA or booster club can take a donation earmarked for the club? Thank you so much! [Your name]
Or ask a friend
Someone who’s treasurer of student government, or an officer in a club that already raises money, has done this.
Text to a friend
Hey! Quick question: when your club gets money (a donation or a grant), where does it go? Who did you ask about setting that up?
Find grants, sponsors, and local funders for your club
Enter your school and we’ll search for PTAs, foundations, local businesses, and grants near you, write a one-page proposal, and find your state senator’s office.
Budget
1What it costs, and an email to your principalA typical budget, and the email that asks your school to cover it.
| What | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lessons and demos | Free | Our course, aiEDU, Day of AI, and Hour of AI are all free. |
| A screen and Wi-Fi | Free | A classroom projector. Members can follow along on school Chromebooks. |
| AI badge | Free | IBM SkillsBuild’s AI Fundamentals badge, for ages 13 to 18. |
| Competitions | Free | Technovation Girls and the Congressional App Challenge charge no entry fee. |
| Snacks for a showcase | $30–60 | An estimate. Worth it the week you invite parents and teachers. |
Hi [Mr./Ms./Dr. last name],
I’m starting an AI club with [number] students signed up and [advisor] as our advisor. Members are learning how AI works and how to use it responsibly, and at the end they’ll present projects to teachers and families.
To get started we need snacks and printing for an end-of-semester AI showcase, which would cost about [$50]. Is there room in the budget for that, or do you have advice on how we could get it funded?
With hope and gratitude,
[Your name]
Part 3
Ten meetings to run
One semester, about 45 minutes each. Every one uses something free you can open on a projector.
Each meeting has one thing to do, not a lecture. The demos are on our AI preparedness page; open them on the projector and let members take turns.
| # | Meeting | Use |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | What is AI, anyway? Draw a trendline and watch a model learn one. | Module 1, curve demo |
| 2 | Guess the next letter: how a language model writes. | Module 1, next-letter demo |
| 3 | Catch it making things up: fact-check three AI answers. | Activity below |
| 4 | AI at work: what companies use it for, and what’s left for people. | Module 2 |
| 5 | Hour of AI: pick an activity and do it together. | Hour of AI, December |
| 6 | Write a brief an AI agent can follow. | Module 3, activity below |
| 7 | Guest speaker: someone who uses AI in their job. | Part 4 |
| 8 | Should students use AI for homework? Draft your school’s rules. | Module 4, AI policy guide |
| 9 | Project work: a small team of agents researches a school problem. | Module 3 |
| 10 | Showcase: present projects and what you’d do differently. | Invite teachers and families |
Part 4
Speakers and mentors
Almost every field uses AI now, so your speakers don’t have to be engineers.
Find speakers near your school
Pick your school, and we’ll search for people working nearby whose jobs fit an AI club, ten at a time, or for alumni of your school. Each one comes with an invite already written. Your list is saved in this browser.
- People who use AI at work. A nurse who charts with an AI scribe, a marketer, a paralegal, a city IT staffer, a data analyst at a hospital. Ask them what changed in their job.
- People who build it. Software engineers, data scientists, and computer science professors. The nearest university’s CS department often has an outreach contact.
- Your own school’s families. Add a line to the signup form: “Does anyone in your family work in this field?” It’s the fastest source there is.
- Alumni. Search LinkedIn for your school’s name plus a job title. People say yes to their old school.
- Local colleges. Professors, program directors, and student clubs at the nearest community college or university often have outreach time to fill.
- People you read about. A news story or a company’s team page is a reason to write: “I read about your work on [thing].”
Hi [name],
I’m a student at [school] in [city], and I run our AI club. I came across [how you found them: a teacher, an article, their website], and I think our members would love to hear about [what they do in AI].
What it would involve:
- One club meeting, about [40] minutes, in person or on video.
- About fifteen minutes on what you do and how you got there, then questions. No slides needed.
- A student will meet you at the front office and introduce you.
Research that followed thousands of students for ten years found that hearing from people with real jobs in high school was linked to higher pay later on. A lot of us have never met anyone who does what you do.
Would you be up for it? We meet [day and time], and any [month] date works.
Thank you,
[Your name]
[Club name], [school]
Make the line about why you picked them specific; that’s what gets a yes. No answer in a week? Send one short follow-up.
Hi [name],
I’m a student at [school] in [city], and I run our AI club with [advisor], our advisor. I came across [how you found them], and I think you’d be a great mentor for a student who wants to work in technology or AI.
What it would involve:
- A video call or meeting with your student about once a month
- Any background check or sign-in rules the school has for volunteers
- Nothing to prepare: just being honest about your work and how you got there
Would you be up for it? Happy to answer any questions.
Thank you,
[Your name]
[Club name], [school]
Part 5
Badges and competitions
Something to show on a college or job application at the end of the year.
- IBM SkillsBuild AI Fundamentals. Free, self-paced, for ages 13 to 18, and ends in a digital badge members can list on applications. Good homework between meetings. skillsbuild.org
- Technovation Girls. Free, no coding experience needed, with an AI app track, for girls. technovationchallenge.org
- Congressional App Challenge. Free, run by members of Congress for their district each fall. Block coding is allowed, and so is AI if you disclose it.
- Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp. A free 20-hour bootcamp for high schoolers, hosted at a local company. Applications open each season; a club can ask a local company to host one. markcubanai.org