Humanity AI Announces More Than $18 Million in New Grants to Shape AI for the Public Good

Pooled philanthropic fund awards $8 million to 12 inaugural grantee organizations, with an additional $10 million committed to a forthcoming open call.

New York - Humanity AI, a collaborative philanthropic initiative dedicated to ensuring artificial intelligence (AI) serves the public good, today announced more than $18 million in new pooled grants. This includes grants to 12 organizations whose work spans the most urgent frontiers of AI's impact on society, including safeguarding democratic institutions, protecting workers' rights, strengthening journalism, and advancing education.

Even as the adoption of and investment in AI continues to accelerate, a growing number of Americans are expressing concern about the technology and its role in our society, and who is guiding its governance. A June 2025 survey by Pew Research found that half of U.S. adults say the increased use of AI in daily life makes them feel more concerned than excited. Additional research by Pew found that more than half of U.S. adults (55%) say they want more control over how it is used in their lives.

"As people's tolerance for unchecked technologies gives way to a demand for greater agency, we must embed fundamental rights into the design, deployment, and governance of technology that impact our lives," said Lori McGlinchey, director of the Technology and Society program at the Ford Foundation. "This is a generational moment for philanthropy to pool resources and empower talented people working to align technology with our democratic values. By investing in these inaugural grantees, Humanity AI is shaping a future where technology serves the public good and honors the inherent dignity of every individual and family."

Humanity AI grantees represent an interconnected and diverse portfolio of organizations, all working to ensure AI is built and governed in ways that puts people first. Each grant recipient has already established the deep ability to shape the conversation on AI and is poised to have even greater impact:

• AI Now Institute - $500,000 to accelerate policy research and strategies to address accountability for AI's impacts on labor, climate and government.
• Center for Democracy and Technology - $500,000 to advance civil rights and civil liberties in the digital age through advocacy, legislative, and regulatory engagement.
• Center on Resilience & Digital Justice - $500,000 to focus on deep and lasting public impact that foregrounds accountability and repair from extant and emerging digital and AI harms.
• Council on Foreign Relations LEAD AI - $500,000 to generate policy-relevant ideas and analysis and promote informed public discussion of consequential AI issues facing the U.S. and the world.
• Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute - $500,000 to connect community-driven researchers to build grassroots knowledge and power to shape the future of AI.
• Kinfolk Tech - $500,000 to reimagine how people remember through art, technology and collective power.
• Partnership on AI - $500,000 to provide a meeting ground for academics, civil society, industry and media to undertake collaborative research and create solutions so that AI advances positive outcomes for people and society.
• Pulitzer Center - $500,000 to connect and equip journalists around the world to report on AI with skill, nuance, and impact.
• Student Defense - $500,000 to SHAPE AI (Safeguarding Higher Ed through AI Practices and Ethics), which brings together leaders and practitioners to develop practical guidance for institutions navigating AI adoption, with a focus on under-resourced schools.
• TechEquity - $500,000 to hold the technology industry accountable for building widespread economic prosperity - and for the consequences it generates.
• In addition to the organizational grants, Humanity AI is awarding $3 million to support the creation of AI Civics, which Data & Society is leading, to address the fundamental question: How can communities have a voice in directing the creation, deployment, and use of AI? The initiative's first phase will bring communities together in libraries across the country through a partnership with the Digital Public Library of America.

The work of these grantees is mutually reinforcing: policy research strengthens accountability; giving voice to communities shapes the standards for how AI is developed; investigative journalism holds powerful actors to account; practical guidance helps institutions adopt AI responsibly; and grassroots knowledge-sharing ensures the people whom AI impacts the most have agency to shape its trajectory.

Together, these investments support the creation and promotion of spaces for the public to imagine what AI can and should be, open new areas of exploration through signature projects, and fund the research and storytelling that make the case for an AI industry that works for people - not just profit.

For more information about Humanity AI and the inaugural grantees, visit humanityai.ai.

Forthcoming Open Call

This summer, Humanity AI will launch a $10 million open call to identify and support more organizations working at the frontiers of AI and the public interest. Because the communities closest to AI's impact often hold the clearest vision for what a more equitable future requires, Humanity AI is committed to ensuring that the bold leaders and organizations best positioned to meet this moment have the support they need. Humanity AI will share details about the open call, including areas of focus, application timeline, and criteria in the coming months.

About Humanity AI

The Humanity AI founding partners are 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.