Open Call for Proposals: Communities Leading on AI

$10M Investment in U.S.-Based Community-Led AI Initiatives

Humanity AI, an initiative spearheaded by 10 leading philanthropies, is investing $10 million in innovative U.S.-based work that supports communities’ collective power to shape how AI is built, governed, and used.

The application window is now closed. All applicants can expect to receive an update on their application status by January 2027.

Overview

This first-of-its-kind Open Call is particularly important at this moment.

There is widespread concern about AI’s impact on people’s lives, jobs, and communities. This public anxiety is rooted in the question of who gets a say in how AI is built, governed, and used to ensure that it works for the common good.

We are looking for efforts where communities — from workers to artists to students and educators — are setting the agenda, not just informing it. Through this call, we are open to, and actively seeking, applicants who have not typically seen themselves as playing a role in shaping the impact of AI, whether for themselves or others.

Eligible Issue Areas

This call is focused on community-led efforts in three issue areas central to Humanity AI’s work. By community-led, we mean those most affected by the technological changes are defining the goals, shaping the approach, and driving the work. Issue areas include:

Education

Shaping AI around the best interests of students, educators, and communities to develop and expand knowledge, strengthen how people learn, and safeguard against risks to humans.

We are particularly interested in work led by students, educators, and the organizations who represent them.

Labor and economy

Ensuring AI is used to enhance, rather than replace, workers and to help create an economy that enables all of us to have what we need to thrive.

We are particularly interested in work led by workers and worker-focused organizations.

Humanities, arts, and culture

Enhancing human creativity and understanding of the human experience while protecting the work of artists and creators.

We are particularly interested in work led by artists, writers, scholars, cultural heritage workers, and others working in culture and humanities, including organizations that represent them.

Eligible Approaches

Within the three issue areas above, we’re funding community-led work to shape AI that adopts one of the three approaches below. We provide examples for each approach to spark ideas, but are eager to learn from other ways to advance these approaches:

Shaping how AI is governed and used

Efforts by advocates and communities to strengthen guardrails around AI use and define the rules that govern AI deployment at local, regional, and/or national levels. This might look like a coalition of educators convening a deliberative assembly to establish AI guidelines for schools, or workers organizing around enforceable standards for AI use in the workplace to ensure responsible and ethical use.

Building AI on community terms

Technical efforts that focus on one or more of the three issue areas and center and advance community needs over profits motivating tech development. We seek to fund work beyond closed, proprietary models owned by for-profit companies, and instead advance development of AI and infrastructure that communities shape and control. Examples include but are not limited to:

Evaluations that center overlooked communities
Audit approaches that ensure AI systems work as intended
Datasets that ensure broad, consensual participation in AI development
Artistic and creative approaches to community-led AI infrastructure, including those that reimagine, audit, or challenge AI systems

Within this approach, we prioritize technical proposals focused on AI infrastructure. Proposals focused on AI products that employ novel approaches and fill a gap in communities may also be considered. Eligible products must be co-designed with the communities they serve.

Challenging AI that doesn’t serve communities

Efforts by communities to push back on AI deployments that feel imposed or misaligned with their values and needs, instead elevating approaches that center human agency in decision-making about AI. This might look like artists and cultural organizations using creative interventions to confront dominant narratives about AI and encourage collective action, or a worker coalition challenging the use of AI surveillance in the workplace.

Priority Consideration: Open-Weight & Open-Source AI

Efforts are eligible whether or not they incorporate AI. Where AI models are part of the proposed work’s core methodology or deliverables, priority will be given to open-weight and/or open-source models over closed models. See our FAQ for more information.

Areas Out of Scope

AI Literacy: Efforts that are primarily about providing the knowledge and skills to use AI tools
AI Adoption: Efforts that are primarily about promoting the spread of specific AI tools and systems
Research-only: Efforts that are primarily about research without advancing community leadership and action

Eligibility and Funding Tiers

Eligibility

We welcome applications from U.S.-based organizations, collaborations, and individuals with proposals focused on U.S.-based communities. Lead organizations must have 501(c)(3) status. Individuals are eligible to apply with a fiscal sponsor or other 501(c)(3) intermediary.

Funding

Grants range from $75,000 to $1,000,000, and applicants may apply under one of the following funding tiers. Tiers are intended to provide guidance to help applicants identify the right fit for their work, and we encourage applicants to apply at the funding level their proposal requires:

tier one

$75,000 – $150,000

This tier may be a good fit for a fiscally sponsored project involving an individual practitioner with a focused proposal, a two-partner collaboration doing exploratory work, an emerging organization launching an early initiative, or an established organization running a contained pilot.

tier two

$150,000–$500,000

This tier may be a good fit for a fiscally sponsored project involving an individual practitioner whose work requires sustained time or production resources, a collaboration with meaningful coordination or development costs, an emerging organization with a full-time team working on a defined initiative, or an established organization dedicating staff capacity to a new area of work.

tier three

$500,000–$1,000,000

This tier may be a good fit for a coalition of organizations requiring substantial coordination and dedicated staffing, a multi-year initiative with significant technical development or infrastructure costs, an emerging organization building a full-time team around a major initiative, or an established organization launching an ambitious, resource-intensive pilot.

We are not pre-allocating funding across tiers. The final mix of awards across tiers will be shaped by the strength and range of the applications we receive. We would prefer to have the funding support the best opportunities, so we encourage you to apply at the tier your proposal requires.

Grant Duration

Applicants may propose a grant duration of up to three years. Where feasible, grants will be disbursed at the beginning of the grant period to support early resourcing.

The application window is now closed.

For reference, applicants can review the organizational readiness tool to help assess eligibility as well as access the full list of application questions below.

Assess Eligibility

Download Questions

Application Process

The application process has two phases:

Phase 1: Initial Application

Application deadline has passed. Eligible applicants submitted applications by 4:59 p.m. PT / 7:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.

Reviewers at Lever for Change, who are supporting this Open Call, will complete an initial screen to ensure that submitted applications meet the requirements and rules of the Open Call. Reviewers will then evaluate eligible applications using the five evaluation criteria outlined below.

Phase 2: Finalist Round

Top-rated applicants will be invited to submit additional application materials, which may include a budget and measurement plan. Select applicants may also be invited to participate in an interview with Humanity AI staff and funders.

Schedule

Timeline

Please note that all dates below are estimates to help with applicant planning. Timelines may shift, and Humanity AI will communicate any updates as early as possible.

September 10, 2026
9:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. ET

Launch

Initial applications launched

September 14, 2026
10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET

Applicant Webinar

Informational webinar for prospective applicants.
Watch the recording here.

October 21, 2026
4:59 p.m. PT / 7:59 p.m. ET

Initial Applications Due

December 2026

Finalists Notified

Finalists contacted and invited to submit additional materials

Early Spring 2027

Announcement of Grantee Awards

Evaluation

Evaluation Criteria

Decisions about which applicants advance to the finalist stage and final awards will be made by reviewers at Humanity AI and participating philanthropies with specialized knowledge and experience related to the Open Call. Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Does the proposal present a clear and compelling vision for shaping how AI is governed, built, or challenged in the proposed issue area(s), going beyond existing approaches?

0 = Does not Meet: The proposal lacks a clear vision for shaping how AI is governed, built, or challenged in the proposed issue area(s).

1 = Partially Meets: The proposal shows some vision for shaping AI in the proposed issue area(s), but it is vague or does not go beyond existing approaches.

2 = Meets: The proposal presents some vision for shaping AI in the proposed issue area(s), going beyond existing approaches.

3 = Exceeds: The proposal presents a clear, compelling, and ambitious vision for shaping AI in the proposed issue area(s) and could meaningfully shift how the community, and even the broader field, relates to AI going forward.

Does the applicant clearly identify the community the proposal seeks to serve and present a compelling vision for how those most affected will define the goals and shape the approach?

0 = Does not Meet: The proposal does not clearly identify the community it seeks to serve and/or does not describe a meaningful role for community members in defining the goals or shaping the approach.

1 = Partially Meets: The proposal identifies the community it seeks to serve, but the vision for how those most affected will define the goals and shape the approach is vague or limited.

2 = Meets: The proposal clearly identifies the community it seeks to serve and presents a compelling vision for how those most affected will define the goals and shape the approach.

3 = Exceeds: The proposal clearly identifies the community it seeks to serve and presents a compelling and ambitious vision for how those most affected will hold decision-making power over the goals and approach of the work.

Is the proposal specific and realistic given the applicant’s proposed duration of work and funding request, and appropriate to the tier requested?

0 = Does not Meet: The proposal lacks specificity, presents an unrealistic plan, and/or is poorly matched to the funding tier requested.

1 = Partially Meets: The proposal shows some specificity but raises questions about feasibility, scope, or fit with the requested funding tier.

2 = Meets: The proposal presents a specific and realistic plan with goals and proposed duration appropriate to the funding tier requested.

3 = Exceeds: The proposal presents a specific, well-developed plan with realistic goals and proposed duration well-matched to the funding tier requested.

What is the potential of this work to meaningfully advance communities’ collective power to shape how AI is governed, built, or effectively challenged, either through concrete results or meaningful field learning?

0 = Does not Meet: The work is unlikely to advance communities’ collective power to shape how AI is governed, built, or challenged, or to generate meaningful field learning.

1 = Partially Meets: The work could advance communities’ collective power to shape AI or generate meaningful field learning, but the likelihood, scale, or approach is unclear or underdeveloped.

2 = Meets: The work is likely to advance communities’ collective power to shape AI and/or generate meaningful field learning at a credible scale.

3 = Exceeds: The work is likely to substantially advance communities’ collective power to shape AI and/or generate field learning with transformative potential, including the possibility of serving as a model for other communities or fields.

Does the applicant team demonstrate existing relationships, relevant experience, and credibility to carry out the work within the given community?

0 = Does not Meet: The applicant team shows little relevant experience or relationship with the community it proposes to work with.

1 = Partially Meets: The applicant team shows some relevant experience and/or community relationships, but they fall short of what the proposed scope of work requires.

2 = Meets: The applicant team has a demonstrated record in comparable work and clear evidence of trust and standing in the community.

3 = Exceeds: The applicant team demonstrates strong experience and deep, established relationships and trust with the community, positioning it especially well to carry out the proposal and remain accountable to the community it serves.

Additional Information

Humanity AI may reach out to applicants at any point in the process to request additional information.

If you have questions not answered by the FAQ, please contact:

humanityaiopencall@submittable.com

FAQs

Watch the recording of the webinar for prospective applicants:

Eligibility

The following types of applicants are eligible to apply:

Single organizations: A single U.S.-based 501(c)(3) organization may apply on its own.
Collaborations: A group of individuals and/or entities may apply, with one U.S.-based 501(c)(3) organization serving as lead applicant on behalf of all collaborators. A fiscal sponsor may also serve as lead applicant on behalf of a collaboration. Lead applicants must list all collaborators in the initial application.
Individuals and informal groups: Individuals and informal groups (such as artists, students, workers, scholars, or technologists) must apply through one of two pathways:
- Fiscal sponsorship: A U.S.-based 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor applies as lead applicant on your project’s behalf. The fiscal sponsor must be responsible for overseeing and administering the grant.
- Collaboration: Your group joins a collaboration in which a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) or fiscal sponsor is the lead applicant.

We welcome applications from Tribal governments treated as States pursuant to IRC Section 7871 and public state universities. These applicants may apply on their own as a single organization or as part of a collaboration in which a 501(c)(3) organization is the lead applicant.

For-profit organizations may participate in collaborations but may not serve as lead applicants.

Collaborations and applicants applying through a fiscal sponsor that proceed to the finalist stage may be asked to submit additional documentation of the collaboration or fiscal sponsorship.

The Sustainable Economies Law Center offers one overview of fiscal sponsorship. This resource is for informational purposes only and is not intended as an endorsement.

Humanity AI is a U.S.-focused effort. For this Open Call, individuals and organizations based outside the U.S. or U.S. territories may participate as part of collaborations but may not serve as lead applicants. Additionally, all eligible proposals must focus on U.S.-based communities.

Absolutely. Grantmaking through individual foundations is independent of Humanity AI grants and will not affect your eligibility for this Open Call.

Organizations that received a direct Humanity AI grant in 2026 are not eligible to apply as sole applicants but are welcome to apply as part of a collaboration. Priority will be given to collaborations with lead applicants that are not 2026 grantees.

In order to score highly for this Open Call, you will need to demonstrate that the main purpose of your proposed work is to support community-led efforts to shape AI. Eligible applicants, including collaborations, whose work includes regranting or subgranting to other organizations as part of this work are welcome to apply. Funding cannot, however, be sought for the sole purpose of regranting. Please note that the grants made in this Open Call are for charitable purposes only. Organizations seeking seed funding, or seeking to pool funds to invest in or distribute to for-profit organizations, will not be considered.

Proposals must address one or more of the listed issue areas (education; labor and economy; and humanities, arts, and culture) and one or more of the eligible approaches defined in the call. If your proposal falls outside these parameters, we encourage you to sign up for updates on future Humanity AI grantmaking opportunities.

Application Process and Support

To ensure we can closely review all applications, applicants are limited to one individual application and one application as part of a collaboration.

Yes. Centers, departments, and programs housed within the same parent organization, including schools, departments, and centers within a college or university, may submit separate applications as long as the proposals are distinct.

A total of $10,000,000 in grants will be disbursed to awardees. Grants will range from $75,000 to $1,000,000, and applicants may apply under one of the three funding tiers outlined in the Open Call:

$75,000–$150,000
$150,000–$500,000
$500,000–$1,000,000

We are not preallocating funding across tiers. The number of awards will be shaped by the strength and range of the applications we receive. We would prefer to have the funding support the best opportunities, so we encourage you to apply at the tier your proposal requires.

There is no preset cap on indirect rates. We do ask, however, that applicants exercise reasonable judgment in determining which of their budgeted indirect costs can be allocated to their proposed work.

Due to the anticipated volume of applications, we are not able to provide feedback on individual applications prior to submission.

Applicants that advance to the finalist stage may be asked to submit additional materials, such as a proposed budget and/or measurement plan. Finalists may also be asked to participate in an interview with the Humanity AI team.

Selected awardees may be asked to submit annual reporting updates, followed by a brief report at the conclusion of the grant term. Humanity AI may also request that grantees engage in periodic, light-touch efforts to learn from your work.

Key Definitions and Criteria

We define a community as a distinct group with common interests, characteristics, and/or histories. We are interested in receiving proposals from communities most affected by AI in the relevant issue area(s). This includes, but is not limited to, students, educators, workers, artists, and writers, as well as communities defined by shared identity or lived experience. We will consider communities at local, regional, and national scales.

We define community-led as efforts in which members of the given community are demonstrably defining the goals, shaping the approach, and driving the work of the proposal.

As a reminder, individuals must apply through a fiscal sponsor or as part of a collaboration.

Efforts proposed by individuals will be considered community-led if the lead individual is a member of an eligible community and can describe how they are well-positioned to work on behalf of or in concert with the larger community. Efforts may also be considered community-led if an individual works in collaboration with an eligible community and can demonstrate how this community will play a meaningful role in shaping the goals and direction of the work.

Everyday use of AI tools for drafting, editing, research support, or similar tasks in proposed work is permitted and will not affect how your proposal is reviewed.

If AI models are part of your proposed work’s core methodology or deliverables, reviewers will prioritize open-weight and/or open-source models over closed models. This is one factor among several in review and not an eligibility requirement.

Open-weight and open-source models are, to varying degrees, publicly available for inspection and adaptation, unlike closed models, which remain under the control of the developer. Humanity AI is committed to a future where ownership and control over AI systems are broadly shared. For more detail, PBS NewsHour offers a short explainer on closed, open-source, and open-weight models.

Additional Information

All proposals may be reviewed by funders participating in Humanity AI for consideration of separate funding outside of this Open Call. Humanity AI will explore opportunities to support applicants for their time and effort beyond funding as well. Benefits offered to applicants may include, but are not limited to, visibility within our network of philanthropic partners and other funders, access to learning opportunities, insights into aggregated trends across the applicant pool, and invitations to events.

Submitted applications will be collected, used, and transferred by Humanity AI staff, consultants, and participating philanthropies, as well as Submittable, the website hosting this application. Following submission, application data will be stored in a secure database managed by Lever for Change, which is providing support for this Open Call. At any point, you may request to review, rectify, or delete any personal data held by Lever for Change, Humanity AI, or Submittable by contacting Lever for Change at info@leverforchange.org. Lever for Change’s privacy policy can be reviewed here. Submittable’s privacy policy can be reviewed here.

This Open Call is an opportunity to more comprehensively understand the ecosystem of work supporting communities to shape AI. Accordingly, and where appropriate, we hope to share learnings and insights gleaned from this Open Call to further field knowledge. In those cases, any data cited will be shared in an anonymized and aggregated way.

We will also explore opportunities to connect submitted ideas with additional potential funding. To this end, where applicant permission is given, excerpts of the submitted application may be shared with interested funders. The applicant owns all intellectual property rights in and to the application and any related materials.

For additional questions about the Open Call, or for technical assistance or questions about the application platform, please contact humanityaiopencall@submittable.com.