Google.org Commits $75 Million for Work-Force Development in A.I.
By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions
May 1, 2024 | Read Time: 3 minutes
Here are notable new grant awards compiled by the Chronicle:
Google.org
$75 million to create the A.I. Opportunity Fund, which will make grants to work-force development and education organizations to provide skills training in artificial intelligence to 1 million Americans.
Initial grantees include Goodwill and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the ELMA Foundation, and the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust
$36.5 million to Sightsavers for its Accelerate program, which aims to eliminate the blinding disease trachoma in 16 African countries by 2027.
The Helmsley Trust’s portion of the commitment will back its work in Zambia.
Cigna Group Foundation
$27 million over three years to organizations that bolster youth mental health, support military veterans through housing stability and access to mental-health services, and address barriers to health equity.
Mays Family Foundation
$25 million to Texas A&M University for a new graduate education building in the Mays Business Education Complex.
Lowry Mays, the founder and former CEO of Clear Channel Communications, was a 1957 graduate of the university and former chairman of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. He died in 2022.
Baltimore Ravens, Stephen and Renee Bisciotti Foundation, and M&T Charitable Foundation
$20 million to College Track to create a foundation and new center that will support students of Baltimore City Public School continue their education after high school and through the start of their careers.
The Bisciotti Foundation and the Ravens football team will jointly give $10 million, and the foundation for M&T Bank will donate $10 million.
Justice and Mobility Fund
$14.5 million to Jobs for the Future to create career pathways for people with conviction and arrest records through partnerships with employers, programs in skills development, and federal and state policies.
The Justice and Mobility Fund was established by the Ford Foundation and Blue Meridian Partners, with additional support from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies.
The Ford Foundation is a financial supporter of the Chronicle.
Overdeck Family Foundation
$14 million across 53 grants to meet the academic and socioemotional needs of children.
Among the grants was $4.5 million over three years to TalkingPoints for its communication software that uses artificial intelligence to provide translation support between educators and families in more than 150 languages.
Gilead Sciences
$4 million for community-backed projects to reduce the prevalence of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and hepatitis D around the world, with a particular focus on Asia.
Genesis Inspiration Foundation
$3 million to 50 organizations across the United States to strengthen arts education for young people.
Carter’s Charitable Foundation
$1 million to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for a program to expand access to childcare and programs in literacy and early-childhood development for families with children under age 5.
The grant will also support the charity’s summer program designed to prevent learning loss during school vacation for children ages 6 to 9.
Doris Duke Foundation
$1 million over three years to the Sundance Institute to establish the Building Bridges Fellowship and Completion Fund, which will give cash assistance and creative support to Muslim storytellers.
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
$1 million to Northwestern University to develop standards to govern the use of artificial intelligence at news organizations.
New Grant Opportunity
The Iovino Family Foundation is accepting applications for its 2024 Impact Prize, in partnership with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, to expand access to high-paying careers for people of all backgrounds. It will award a total of $1 million to up to three charities to advance work-force development, skills training, entrepreneurship, and learning technology. This year, priority will go to programs that use technology creatively, explore available government grants, use existing educational resources, emphasize diversity, and teach “soft skills” to program participants. Eligible nonprofit organizations must have an annual operating budget under $5 million for at least two of the past four fiscal years. Applications are due May 24.
Chronicle of Philanthropy subscribers also have full access to GrantStation’s searchable database of grant opportunities. For more information, visit our grants page.
