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.

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
• Labor and economy
• Humanities, arts, and culture

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.

01 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.

02 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.

03 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
• Tier two: $150,000–$500,000
• Tier three: $500,000–$1,000,000

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.

How to Apply

Prospective applicants can begin by reviewing the organizational readiness tool to help assess eligibility. Applicants may also review the full list of application questions.

• Start Application
• Assess Eligibility
• Download Questions

Application Process

The application process has two phases.

Phase 1: Initial Application

Eligible applicants may submit an application 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.

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. Please sign up 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 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:

• Vision for the Proposal
• Vision for Community Leadership
• Clarity and Feasibility
• Potential for Impact
• Credibility and Experience (Each criterion scored 0–3 as described in the FAQ.)

Additional Information

Humanity AI may reach out to applicants at any point in the process to request additional information. Contact: humanityaiopencall@submittable.com