Tools for AI Grantmaking
AI is reshaping the social sector. Philanthropy will play a critical role in defining how. Below you’ll find resources from Fast Forward and trusted ecosystem partners designed to help grantmakers fund AI-powered nonprofits with clarity and confidence. Whether you are exploring AI for the first time or already investing in AI grantees, these resources are meant to help you move from inspiration to action.
AI Philanthropy Workshops
Fast Forward offers AI Philanthropy Workshops for grantmakers interested in going deeper on AI and impact. These sessions explore how AI is being used across the social sector, how to evaluate AI-powered nonprofits, and how AI tools can strengthen operations within philanthropic organizations.
Interested in bringing an AI Philanthropy Workshop to your team or talking through how to fund AI responsibly?
Fast Forward and Google.org
The Philanthropic Reset: How Philanthropy Can Lead in the Age of AI
Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
Grant Guardian is an AI Tool for Grantmakers to Streamline the Grantee Financial Review Process
Project Evident and TAG
The Responsible AI Adoption in Philanthropy Guide Helps Grantmakers Consider AI Adoption in Their Own Organizations
Bridgespan
A New Funding Approach to Unlock Greater Efficiency, Scale, and Mission Success for Grantees
Fortune
Philanthropy Can Help Nonprofits Solve 21st Century Problems With 21st Century Tech
Fast Forward
Key AI Diligence Questions to Ask Potential Nonprofit Grantees
Fast Forward
Build an AI Policy for Your Foundation or Nonprofit
Fast Forward
AI for Humanity Report, Including Takeaways for Funders on AI Grantmaking
AI for Humanity Substack
How Funders Can Steer AI Toward Good, with NextLadder, Siegel Family Endowment, and more
Center for Effective Philanthropy
Philanthropy Report Maps How Foundations Understand, Feel, and Engage with AI
Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
The AI for Good Diligence Guide Synthesizes Themes From Hundreds of AI, ML, and Data-Focused Grant Proposals
Directory of AI-Powered Nonprofits
A Repository of Case Studies and Examples of AI-Powered Impact
Center for Effective Philanthropy
How Funders Can Vet AI in the Social Sector
Project Evident
Funding the Future: Grantmakers Strategies in AI Investment
Center for Effective Philanthropy
Jared Chung on Why Funders Freeze on AI — and How to Break the Paralysis
Fast Forward
Five Big Ideas from Fund.AI — and What They Mean for the Future of AI for Humanity
Stanford Social Innovation Review
Key Ways for Funders to Think About Investing in Data and AI
“AI is now table-stakes infrastructure in most industries, yet the nonprofits charged with protecting society’s most vulnerable are years, sometimes decades, behind. That gap isn’t about imagination or innovation. It’s about the norms funders created – and can reshape. Closing this digital divide is one of the highest-leverage moves a philanthropist can make this decade.”The Philanthropic Reset: How Philanthropy Can Lead in the Age of AI, Authored by Maggie Johnson (Google.org), Stuart McLaughlin (Google.org), Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink (Google), Shannon Farley (Fast Forward), and Kevin Barenblat (Fast Forward)
Getting Started with AI Philanthropy
Why does funding tech and AI-powered nonprofits matter?
Funding tech and AI-powered nonprofits is critical to scaling their impact. Our 2025 AI for Humanity Report shows 84% of AI-powered nonprofits said additional funding is what they need most to continue developing and scaling their work. Nearly half (48%) reported that adopting AI has increased their expenses, and for many, the cost of implementation remains their biggest barrier.
Yet the payoff is clear: at small budgets, APNs reach thousands of people; at $1M budgets, median reach jumps to half a million people; and at $5M+, APNs are serving millions, with a median impact of 7M lives.
What should funders look for when evaluating AI-powered nonprofits?
Evaluating an AI-powered nonprofit starts with the same first principles as any nonprofit investment: impact, strategic alignment, talent capacity, and a sustainable funding model. Technology adds an additional layer, but the fundamentals remain the same. Funders may want to look for organizations that treat technology as a core program cost, invest in AI fluency across the team, and actively improve their solutions based on community feedback.
Beyond the fundamentals, there are a few AI-specific signals worth examining:
- Community engagement and feedback loops. Research from Fast Forward's 2025 AI for Humanity Report, produced with support from Google.org, found that 70% of AI-powered nonprofits regularly incorporate community feedback into system updates, ensuring their solutions reflect the needs of the people they serve.
- Responsible AI practices. AI is changing how nonprofits deliver on their missions, but without clear policies, it’s risky business. It’s a good sign if a nonprofit already has frameworks in place for how they use and build AI with intention.
- Collaboration and openness. Are the nonprofits collaborative and an established player in their space? 53% of AI-powered nonprofits open-source or share their tools with peers, compounding the return on every philanthropic dollar.
For a step-by-step checklist of what to look for, see our Philanthropist's Guide to Nonprofit AI Investments and curated Tools for AI Grantmaking.
How do I know if an AI-powered nonprofit is ready for funding?
Funding any nonprofit boils down to two questions: will funding help this organization increase meaningful impact, and does this organization have the right ingredients to pull this off? AI-powered nonprofits are no different. While these organizations must keep marginal costs low, AI tools for nonprofits are more plentiful and powerful than ever, removing many of the barriers that once slowed them down.
With this in mind, funders need to assess whether these organizations have the leadership and strategy, in addition to a quality tech solution, in order to succeed. Funding AI-powered nonprofits only works if their solutions are impactful, sustainable, and scalable.
Explore Fast Forward's portfolio of 100+ tech nonprofits to see what AI-powered impact looks like across healthcare, education, climate, and more.
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