Nonprofits get 10 million grant from Google to expand AI

Google.org, the tech giant's philanthropic arm, is investing millions of dollars into getting nonprofits up to speed on generative AI, part of a massive funding effort to empower organizations to adopt the tech, including Google's own AI offerings. Channeled through community foundations in Atlanta, Austin, Columbia, New York City, and San Francisco, more than 10 million in grants have been awarded to technical nonprofits that will then supply individualized AI support to organizations in their communities. In 2024, Google.org announced an initiative-wide investment in nonprofit AI integration, including a generative AI accelerator program and an AI Opportunity Fund, which would funnel nearly 100 million into training and integration programs for participating nonprofits. Over the last year, 20 organizations have benefitted from opportunity fund grants, earmarked specifically for investing and scaling their AI expertise, staffing, and capacity. "Organizations across the Fund spent the first year creating, vetting, and piloting new, tailored AI curricula to provide practical skills to the communities they serve," Maggie Johnson, vice president and global head of Google.org