Rockefeller and OpenAI foundations open $50 million call for nonprofits that bring AI into city services
Cities Deliver, launched Oct. 14, will make grants of $500,000 to $2 million over 24 months to nonprofits and other organizations that work with a city government. Cities cannot apply themselves, and first proposals are due Nov. 29.
New York. The Rockefeller Foundation and the OpenAI Foundation on Oct. 14 opened a global call for proposals under Cities Deliver: AI Solutions for Public Services, a $50 million initiative that will pay organizations working alongside city governments to improve public services with artificial intelligence. Grants will range from $500,000 to $2 million, and first proposals are due Nov. 29.
The foundations said the funded projects together aim to reach up to 100 million city residents worldwide, and their answers to applicants say they expect to select up to 50 partners.
Who can apply
The lead applicant must be a nonprofit, including a university lab or a fiscally sponsored organization, or a public benefit corporation; a for-profit company qualifies only with a charitable project. City governments cannot apply directly, but every project needs a city partner, an office or agency that signs a letter of intent. A city here is a self-governing urban community of 50,000 people or more, in any region; groups based or operating in a country under comprehensive U.S. sanctions are excluded.
A nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status submits its IRS determination letter, and a fiscally sponsored project applies in its sponsor's name. An organization may send up to two applications, and indirect costs may not exceed 15 percent of a grant.
Proposals must address public health, economic mobility, environmental resilience or civic engagement. Projects related to elections, voter registration drives, lobbying and research studies are excluded. Each solution must include a meaningful frontier AI component, but applicants may use any AI provider, with no preference for OpenAI technology. Software and models built with the grant must be released under an open source license.
Two tracks and a long review
Seed grants, from $500,000 to less than $1 million, are for early concepts ready for a first city pilot. Scale grants, from $1 million to $2 million, are for solutions already piloted with early results. Every grant runs 24 months, with half paid at the start and half after a documented midterm milestone.
Questions are taken until Oct. 31, and revised answers are to be posted Nov. 4. The Nov. 29 round includes an eligibility screen and a short video. Applicants learn in December whether they advance to interviews in January; second round proposals are due March 1, 2027, and final decisions are expected in April 2027.
The call grows out of a 2023 meeting of more than 40 civic leaders organized by the Rockefeller Foundation and OpenAI. The Rockefeller Foundation then backed projects in Cali, Colombia; Cape Town, South Africa; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, among them a dengue outbreak forecast in Cali and a flood alert system in Rio.
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