San Francisco, CA – Today Google.org — the company’s philanthropy — announced $2 million in funding to the San Francisco Foundation to provide AI training to local nonprofits through the company’s AI Opportunity Fund. Project Evident—another recipient of the Fund—is supporting community-based nonprofits in San Francisco, providing a range of capacity building support, including technical assistance and a program to help them adopt AI skills for improved efficiency and impact. Google.org’s AI Opportunity Fund aims to equip one million Americans with AI skills.
In a 2024 report on the use of generative AI among nonprofits, Google found that, of the nonprofits surveyed, more than 40% of respondents said that none of their staff were trained, educated, or fluent in AI. With support from Google, Project Evident will help the San Francisco Foundation provide AI training to nonprofits. The programming will include in-person working sessions, webinars, development of a tailored AI adoption roadmap, and peer learning opportunities. This work recently started with a “Discovery Day” launch event in San Francisco where local nonprofit organizations attended a day of programming and AI training.
“Nonprofits are addressing some of society’s most pressing challenges, and Google.org is committed to empowering them with AI skills to help them accelerate their impact,” said Maggie Johnson, VP and Global Head, Google.org. “We’re proud to support Project Evident and Tech:NYC as they provide nonprofits with technical assistance and AI training at no cost. This will help nonprofits improve efficiency, focus on their mission, and reach even more people
“Nonprofits and private sector partners have an important role to play in tackling our community’s most critical challenges,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie. “I commend Google.org for their support to empower these organizations to work more efficiently, expand their reach, and better serve our communities. I also thank Project Evident for their technical expertise and the San Francisco Foundation for their vital role in bringing this collaboration together.
Founded in 1948, the San Francisco Foundation is one of the nation’s largest community foundations — a grantmaking public charity dedicated to improving life within a specific local region.
Today’s announcement builds on the impact of Google.org’s $75 million AI Opportunity Fund, which will help over one million Americans learn essential AI skills by providing funding to best-in-class workforce development and education organizations across the country. To date, Google has trained more than 1.5 million Californians on digital skills through partnerships with organizations such as public libraries, chambers of commerce, community colleges, and more.
About Google in California
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Google Cloud, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google has proudly called California home for more than two decades with our global headquarters based in Mountain View and 11 other offices across the state.
About San Francisco Foundation
The San Francisco Foundation is committed to a Bay Area where everyone can get a good job, live in a safe and affordable home, and exercise their political voice. The foundation advances its work through grantmaking, partnerships with donors, policy advocacy, and impact investing.
About Project Evident
Project Evident harnesses the power of data, evidence, and technology to create greater impact. We are at the forefront of next-generation evidence practice in the social and education sectors. Project Evident enables practitioners (nonprofits, districts, and state education agencies) and their funders to make better use of these resources by advancing an inclusive R&D approach, and embracing scalable, ethical, and cost-effective technology, capacity building, and knowledge sharing to achieve meaningful and equitable outcomes.
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