Fast Forward’s 2026 AI for Humanity Report offers one of the clearest looks yet at how nonprofits are using artificial intelligence in real-world service delivery. Created with support from Google.org and research led by Third Plateau, the report is grounded in survey data from 119 AI-powered nonprofits across 20 countries, plus in-depth interviews and case studies.

Many organizations are already seeing gains in efficiency, personalization, and program quality. But the report also identifies a major constraint: the funding needed to scale and sustain these tools is not keeping pace.

The headline finding is stark:

That 66-point gap captures the core challenge facing the sector. The question is no longer simply whether nonprofits can build useful AI tools. It is whether they can afford to maintain, improve, govern, and scale them.

Humanity AI has launched a $10 million open call for U.S. based community led projects focused on shaping how artificial intelligence is built, governed, and used.

In this episode of Intelligence for GOOD, we break down what the new funding opportunity means, who is eligible, and why it represents a broader shift in how philanthropy is approaching artificial intelligence.

Rather than focusing primarily on AI adoption or literacy, Humanity AI is looking for projects where communities have meaningful influence over the technology affecting their schools, workplaces, creative industries, and institutions.

The open call focuses on three areas:

• Education
• Labor and the economy
• Humanities, arts, and culture

Projects can focus on shaping how AI is governed, building AI on community terms, or challenging AI systems that do not serve communities.

Individual grants range from $75,000 to $1 million, with projects potentially supported for up to three years.

Humanity AI is a $500 million, five year philanthropic initiative backed by organizations including the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Kapor Foundation, Lumina Foundation, Omidyar Network, Packard Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation, and Siegel Family Endowment.

In this episode:

• Why community leadership is central to the grant program
• What types of projects Humanity AI wants to fund
• Why open source and open weight AI models receive priority
• What nonprofits and community organizations should consider before applying
• How public interest AI is emerging as a new category for philanthropy
• Why the bigger question around AI may become who gets to make the decisions

Applications are due October 21, 2026.

Learn more and apply at Humanity AI:
https://humanityai.ai/open-call/

Intelligence for GOOD is a Causeartist podcast covering the people, capital, organizations, and ideas shaping technology for positive impact.

In this episode of Intelligence for GOOD, Grant speaks with Aaron Ament, cofounder and president of Student Defense, about how artificial intelligence is changing higher education.

Student Defense is a nonprofit organization that uses litigation, advocacy, and policy development to protect students and ensure college remains a pathway to economic mobility.

Aaron discusses the organization’s Shape AI initiative, which stands for Safeguarding Higher Education Through AI Practices and Ethics. The initiative brings together students, faculty members, college administrators, policy experts, and AI leaders to create practical guidance for responsible AI adoption.

The conversation explores how colleges are already using AI in admissions, recruitment, grading, academic advising, student support, and workforce preparation. Aaron explains why university governance policies have not kept pace with adoption and why institutions need stronger standards for transparency, data protection, human oversight, and accountability.

Grant and Aaron also examine the positive potential of AI, including personalized learning, expanded tutoring, earlier identification of students who need support, and better access to benefits and campus resources.

They discuss the risk of creating a new affordability divide between students who can access premium AI tools and those who cannot, as well as the responsibility universities have to prepare graduates for a rapidly changing job market.

Topics discussed

• Why Student Defense was founded
• The risks students faced from predatory for profit colleges
• Why Student Defense launched the Shape AI initiative
• How AI is being used across the college experience
• The lack of formal AI governance policies at many universities
• Human accountability in admissions and other major decisions
• Transparency and disclosure when AI affects students
• Protecting student data from third party technology vendors
• Personalized learning and AI powered tutoring
• Using data to identify students who need transportation, food, childcare, or financial support
• Georgia State University’s approach to tracking student risk factors
• The potential gap between students using free and premium AI models
• Why colleges may need to provide institution wide AI access
• Teaching AI literacy across every academic discipline
• Preparing students for a changing workforce
• Why universities should begin with use cases rather than technology
• The importance of preserving human relationships and campus communities
• The future of Student Defense and its work protecting students

About Aaron Ament

Aaron Ament is the cofounder and president of Student Defense, a nonprofit organization focused on protecting students from fraud, deception, and harmful practices within higher education.

Before founding Student Defense, Aaron worked on education policy and student protection issues at the state and federal levels, including serving in the United States Department of Education during the Obama administration.

Through Student Defense and its Shape AI initiative, Aaron is helping colleges and universities develop policies for adopting artificial intelligence in ways that improve student success while protecting privacy, access, fairness, and human accountability.

About Student Defense

Student Defense is a nonprofit organization that uses litigation and advocacy to protect students and promote economic mobility through higher education.

Its work includes student lending, consumer protection, public service loan forgiveness, for profit college accountability, and the responsible use of artificial intelligence across higher education.

Key takeaway

AI can help colleges personalize learning, identify students who need support, and prepare graduates for a changing economy. Those benefits will depend on whether institutions adopt clear governance policies, protect student data, provide equitable access, disclose how AI is being used, and keep people accountable for decisions affecting students.