Humanity AI $10 Million Open Call

Humanity AI $10 Million Open Call is sponsored by Humanity AI (a collaborative initiative of 10 philanthropies, including MacArthur Foundation). This open call for grant funding will direct $10 million to community-led projects that shape how AI is used in education, labor, and arts and culture.

Press Release: Open Call for Grants - Humanity AI Humanity AI Announces $10 Million Open Call for Grants Supporting Community-Led Projects A first-of-its-kind call for work where communities are setting the agenda on how AI is built, governed, and used Sept.

10, 2026 — Humanity AI today announced a $10 million open call for grants, inviting U.S.-based nonprofit organizations to apply for funding that supports communities’ collective power to shape how AI is built, governed and used. This open call is focused on supporting efforts that are community-led and is actively inviting applicants who have not typically seen themselves as having a role in shaping AI.

Proposals should be aligned with core issue areas for Humanity AI — education, labor and economy, and the humanities, arts, and culture. As the scale of AI’s impact on people’s lives, jobs, and communities continues to grow, people are demanding more agency and voice in how the technology is used and governed.

Humanity AI is responding to this call by supporting bold efforts where communities — from workers to artists to students and educators — are defining the goals, shaping the approach, and driving the design. The open call will support community-led efforts to shape how AI is governed, build AI on community terms, and challenge AI that doesn’t serve communities.

“AI is being built for individuals and enterprises, but technology in the public-interest gets designed collectively – in the schools, workplaces, and cultural institutions where people actually use it. We’re eager to support collaborations that can show us what a better future looks like, with AI or without it,” said Beth Goldberg, executive director of Humanity AI.

“This open call is an invitation to the communities living with AI’s consequences to set the agenda instead. ” Community-led projects centered on the following issue areas are eligible for grant funding: Education: Shaping AI around the best interests of students, educators, and communities to expand knowledge, strengthen how people learn and safeguard against risks.

Labor and economy: Ensuring AI is used to enhance, rather than replace, how people work to create an economy that enables all of us to thrive. Humanities, arts, and culture: Enhancing human creativity and understanding of the human experience while protecting the work of artists and creators.

Where AI models are part of the proposed work’s core methodology or deliverables, priority will be given to work that integrates open-weight and/or open-source models over closed-weight models. See our FAQ for more information. Humanity AI is a $500 million five-year collaborative grantmaking initiative dedicated to ensuring artificial intelligence serves the public good.

It is supporting U.S.-based efforts that prioritize an economy that values people and enables us to thrive, security for people and our communities, and greater creativity for all people. Founding partners include the Doris Duke Foundation , Ford Foundation , Lumina Foundation , Kapor Foundation , John D. and Catherine T.

MacArthur Foundation , Mellon Foundation , Mozilla Foundation , Omidyar Network , David and Lucile Packard Foundation , and Siegel Family Endowment . Humanity AI is a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.