Supporting Communities: Meet the 2026 People-First AI Fund Grantees

Today the OpenAI Foundation is announcing the selection of 163 organizations⁠ to receive $50 million in total through the 2026 People-First AI Fund. The organizations are based in 35 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and serve rural and urban communities across the country. This second cohort builds on the initial $50 million People-First AI Fund⁠ the Foundation launched in 2025.

Through unrestricted grants, we’re giving these trusted institutions the resources and flexibility to explore how AI can strengthen their work—and how the people and communities they serve can engage with and shape its use. The Fund supports nonprofits at every stage of AI learning and experimentation, from those just beginning to ask what the technology could make possible to those piloting tools they co-created with communities. Our goal is to support their leadership as they work to understand this technology, its impacts, and the use cases that best serve their missions.

Local nonprofits are often where people turn first: to find help with housing or disability benefits, to experience artistic joy, or to understand a decision that affects their neighborhood. Building on lessons from the 2025 Fund and feedback from communities, this year’s Fund focuses on three priorities: community support services, community arts and cultural organizations, and community journalism and media.

By design, the Fund is product-agnostic: grantees have full autonomy to choose—or not—any tool or platform that they believe best serves their work and communities. Applicants described a range of AI products they are already using or are interested in learning more about, as well as the open questions they still have and want to explore about use of AI in their communities.

Most of this year’s grantees are new partners to the Fund, alongside a small number of returning grantees. We highlight some of the grantees below, and the full list can be found in alphabetical order here⁠.

Community Support Services

Community-based nonprofits are trusted navigators, helping people access legal aid, housing, food, disability services, and other essential benefits. They help people understand their options and work through systems that can be difficult to navigate alone, especially where language barriers, complicated processes, or limited local services make getting help harder.

Across the portfolio, many organizations are exploring AI to improve administration and operations, with the goal of giving staff more time with the people they serve. Community-based nonprofits also see opportunities to translate and synthesize information, understand and explain complicated benefits policies, and simplify applications so people can get clear, relevant guidance when they need it.

Community Arts and Cultural Organizations

Arts and cultural organizations are a front door to creative experiences, offering places to hear music, make art, explore local history, and connect with neighbors. They give people opportunities to participate in cultural life and help communities preserve and share their stories.

Many applicants expressed interest in exploring or using AI to strengthen and sustain participation in their work—such as supporting donor outreach, understanding their audiences, or helping with back-office administration, with the hope of giving small teams more time to support artists and community programming. Others are exploring how AI can support creative work through new forms of performance, storytelling, and participation, with artists and communities shaping how the tools are used.

Community Journalism and Media

Local newsrooms are exploring and using AI to support new business models, strengthen reporting, and make reliable information easier to find and use. A common theme across applicants and selected grantees was exploring these tools to increase civic participation and engagement, including by translating reporting to make it accessible to more audiences, opening up public records, and helping residents understand decisions affecting their lives.

The Fund has chosen to support that work with direct grants to a wide range of local newsrooms and media organizations, as well as grants that help expand the Fund’s support to an even broader set of outlets. This includes organizations like the American Journalism Project⁠, which is strengthening the nonprofit local news field by investing capital and strategic support in a network of community-rooted newsrooms, and the Colorado News Collaborative⁠, which connects 200 local news organizations and is coordinating an AI learning network across the state.

Our Process

The Fund’s open call received 1,669 applications from across the country. Daniel Zingale, who convened the OpenAI Nonprofit Commission⁠, worked with a set of external advisors to develop and implement the 2026 review process. Every application received was reviewed by an experienced external grantmaker, with selection emphasizing community trust, demonstrated impact, and a thoughtful approach to exploring AI.

Given the significant demand, we will be distributing the full $50 million to organizations who applied through the open call. We aim to disburse every grant in full before the end of 2026, putting resources immediately into organizations’ hands so they can move their urgent work forward.

2026 People-First AI Fund Grantees

18th Street Arts Center (CA)

accesSOS (CA)

Alaska Legal Services Corporation (AK)

Amarillo Symphony, Inc (TX)

American Journalism Project (DC)

Amigos For Kids (FL)

Art Division (CA)

Aspen Public Radio (CO)

Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, Inc (NY)

August Wilson African American Cultural Center (PA)

Bienvenidos a Gallatin Valley (MT)

Black Girls Smile Inc. (GA)

Borderless (IL)

Bridges from School to Work Inc. (MD)

Bright Star Community Outreach (IL)

Brooklyn Ballet Inc (NY)

Brotherhood Crusade (CA)

Building Healthy Communities Monterey County (BHCMC) (CA)

California Black Media (CA)

California Immigration Project (CA)

Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) (MA)

Capital B News Inc (GA)

Center for Civic Innovation (GA)

Center for Common Ground (VA)

Central American Resource Center-CARECEN (DC)

Change Today, Change Tomorrow (CTCT) (KY)

Chinese Historical Society of America (CA)

CIERTO (CA)

City Bureau (IL)

Civilla (MI)

CO_LAB Theater Group (NY)

Colorado News Collaborative (CO)

Community Connections, Inc. (CO)

Community Matters (OH)

Courage to Caregivers (OH)

CreatiVets (TN)

Creser Capital Fund (CA)

CRLA Foundation (CA)

Dar-us-Sakina (TX)

Deaf Community Advocacy Network, Inc. (MI)

Deep South Today (MS)

Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement Inc. (DE)

Dell'Arte International (CA)

Despierta (NC)

Destiny Arts Center (CA)

Documented (NY)

Downtown Community Television Center, Inc. (NY)

Dream Machine (CA)

Economic Justice Institute (WI)

El Rescate (CA)

Enlace Latino NC (NC)

F Y Eye Inc. (NY)

Ferndale Senior Resource Agency (CA)

Florida PTA (FL)

Foot Soldiers Park Inc. (AL)

Franklin Township Food Bank (NJ)

Free Press Indiana (IN)

Friends of Fieldworkers, Inc (CA)

Gender Health Center (CA)

Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice (GA)

Glide Memorial Church (CA)

Golden State Opportunity (CA)

Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance, Inc. (CA)

GRO Fund (GA)

Her Justice (NY)

Highlands Little Theatre Inc (FL)

Hispanas Organized for Political Equality - California (CA)

Hispanic Center of Western Michigan (MI)

Hollywood 4WRD (CA)

Homeboy Art Academy (CA)

Honolulu Civil Beat (HI)

Houston Freedmen's Town Conservancy Inc (TX)

Indigenous Journalists Association (OK)

Ink People Center for Arts and Culture (CA)

Integrated Community (CO)

International Examiner (WA)

Invisible Institute (IL)

Just Harvest (PA)

JustFix, Inc. (NY)

Justice at Work PA (PA)

Kern Community Foundation (CA)

Keshet Dance Company and Center for the Arts (NM)

Key to Change (WA)

Ladder to the Moon Network (ME)

Lafayette Urban Ministry (IN)

Latino Media Collaborative (CA)

Latino Media Consortium (TX)

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (CA)

Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County (CA)

Legal Assistance for Seniors (CA)

Legal Assistance to the Elderly (CA)

Lemontree Foods (NY)

Levine Museum of the New South (NC)

Library Foundation of Los Angeles (CA)

Local Media Association (MI)

Lone Star Justice Alliance (TX)

LOOKOUT (AZ)

Los Angeles Community Garden Council (CA)

Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants (LA)

Louisville Public Media (KY)

Madison 365 (WI)

McKinleyville Family Resource Center (CA)

Merrick Community Services (MN)

Model Neighborhood Program (CA)

Moms First (NY)

Muralism (CA)

NAESM (GA)

NALEO Educational Fund (CA)

Nashville Jazz Workshop (TN)

Nation Outside (MI)

National Association for Media Literacy Education (NY)

National Council of Negro Women Inc. (DC)

New_ Public (CA)

NEWSWELL (AZ)

Nigerian Center Inc. (DC)

NowKalamazoo (MI)

One Generation Away (TN)

One Roof (AL)

Openhouse (CA)

Opera Lafayette (DC)

Opera Parallèle (CA)

Orchestra of St. Luke's (NY)

Parsons Dance (NY)

PICO California (CA)

Public Policy Lab (NY)

RADIO BILINGUE INC (CA)

REACH Riverside Development Corporation (DE)

Red Hook Art Project, Inc. (NY)

RiverWise Inc (PA)

Rural Opportunity Institute (NC)

Sacramento Ballet Association (CA)

Sahan Journal (MN)

Santa Fe Community Housing Trust (NM)

Scale Justice (NY)

Sierra Health Foundation (CA)

Somali Family Service of San Diego (CA)

Southern Vermont Arts Center (VT)

Spotlight PA (PA)

St. Croix Festival Theatre (WI)

Tech Council of Delaware (DE)

Televerde Foundation Inc (AZ)

Texas Advocacy Project Inc. (TX)

Texas Supremacy of Music & Arts Conservatory (TSMAC) (TX)

The Arc of Northern Virginia (VA)

The California Museum (CA)

The Hidden Genius Project (CA)

The LA Local (CA)

The Mockingbird Society (WA)

The People's Theatre (NY)

The Rural Behavioral Health Institute (MT)

Todec Legal Center Perris (CA)

TRADESWOMAN INCORPORATED (CA)

Travelers Aid of Greater Birmingham (AL)

Trusting News (FL)

UFW Foundation (CA)

United Way of Tulare County (CA)

UniteWI (WI)

Unity Gospel Choir International (UT)

Urban League of Greater San Francisco Bay Area (CA)

Veterans for All Voters (MO)

Wisconsin Watch (WI)

Yolo Food Bank (CA)

Youth Forward (CA)