Ford Foundation-backed Humanity AI commits $18 million to public interest AI

The pooled philanthropic fund has named 12 inaugural grantees, including Student Defense, with a further $10 million open call planned for this summer.

Humanity AI, a Ford Foundation-backed philanthropic fund, has announced more than $18 million in grants to support public interest work across AI governance, education, journalism, labor rights, and civil liberties.

Humanity AI, a pooled philanthropic fund supported by the Ford Foundation, has announced more than $18 million in new grants for organizations working on AI governance, education, journalism, labor rights, civil liberties, and community voice.

The collaborative initiative has awarded $8 million to 12 inaugural grantee organizations, with a further $10 million open call planned for this summer. The first grant round includes support for Student Defense to develop practical guidance for higher education institutions navigating AI adoption.

The announcement gives the Ford Foundation-backed initiative a clearer role in the public interest AI funding landscape, as schools, universities, employers, policymakers, and civil society groups continue to assess how AI systems are being deployed, governed, and challenged.

Student Defense grant targets higher education AI adoption

Student Defense has received $500,000 for SHAPE AI, Safeguarding Higher Ed through AI Practices and Ethics. The project will bring together leaders and practitioners to develop guidance for institutions adopting AI, with a focus on under-resourced schools.

Student Defense’s grant puts higher education AI adoption inside the first Humanity AI funding round. The project will focus on practical guidance for colleges and universities already weighing AI use across teaching, assessment, student support, administration, and research.

Other grantees include AI Now Institute, Center for Democracy and Technology, Center on Resilience & Digital Justice, Council on Foreign Relations LEAD AI, Distributed AI Research Institute, Kinfolk Tech, Partnership on AI, Pulitzer Center, and TechEquity. Each will receive $500,000.

The grants span policy research, civil rights and civil liberties, journalism, public discussion, community research, technology accountability, and AI’s impact on labor, climate, and government.

AI Civics receives $3 million

Humanity AI is also awarding $3 million to support the creation of AI Civics, led by Data & Society. The initiative will examine how communities can have a voice in directing the creation, deployment, and use of AI.

The first phase will bring communities together in libraries across the United States through a partnership with the Digital Public Library of America. That design puts public institutions at the center of the early work, rather than limiting AI governance conversations to companies, regulators, universities, or technical experts.

Lori McGlinchey, Director of the Technology and Society program at the Ford Foundation, says: “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 impacts our lives.”

She adds: “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 points to Pew Research findings from 2025 showing public concern around AI. According to the release, half of US adults said the increased use of AI in daily life made them feel more concerned than excited, while 55 percent said they wanted more control over how AI is used in their lives.

Open call planned for summer

The Ford Foundation-backed fund says it will launch a $10 million open call this summer to identify more organizations working at the intersection of AI and the public interest.

Details on focus areas, application timelines, and criteria will be shared in the coming months. Humanity AI says the open call will prioritize organizations and leaders closest to AI’s impact, including those working on community agency, accountability, and public interest uses of the technology.

The first grants show how philanthropic funding is moving into AI governance alongside education, journalism, labor, and civil society work.