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Nonprofit AI: Funding Questions and Back to School
· 19 min · S7 E67
Episode Nonprofit AI: Funding Questions and Back to School
Carolyn Woodard covers three threads in nonprofit AI news this week: new funding questions, a look at how AI is showing up for kids heading back to school, and a new advocacy group taking on AI regulation.
Coefficient Giving, formerly Open Philanthropy, just announced it's raising its global health commitment from 175 million to 1 billion, betting that AI wealth will flow into philanthropy as OpenAI and Anthropic move toward going public. Their first grant is funding bed nets in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Last week Carolyn mentioned the Bridgespan and NTEN report and one state on her mind: 69% of nonprofits surveyed reported zero AI funding of any kind, even as nearly all of them are experimenting with the tools.
In other news, Meta will pay 17 to 18 billion across the states to curb youth social media addiction, bringing new limits like daily time caps and night mode. In addition to teen social media use, data from Common Sense Media's Youth AI Safety Census shows 86% of kids 9 to 17 have used AI, 72% of teens have used an AI companion, and nearly half of surveyed kids have never talked with a parent about AI safety. With over 100 state bills in play and most AI rules still left up to individual teachers, she discusses what this patchwork will mean for nonprofits working in education, youth development, and mental health.
Finally, Carolyn covers a new advocacy group, Irreplaceable, born out of the climate organizing world, that launched this week to apply decades of environmental organizing lessons to AI regulation specifically. In recent polling 75% of Americans oppose local data centers, and 70% think AI is moving too fast.
Resources:
Increasing Our 2026 Allocation to GiveWell's Recommendations to $1 Billion – Coefficient Giving – https://coefficientgiving.org/research/increasing-our-2026-allocation-to-givewells-recommendations-to-1-billion/
Coefficient Giving Boosts Pledge to $1 Billion, Banking on an AI Windfall – Chronicle of Philanthropy (paywalled/metered) – https://www.philanthropy.com/news/coefficient-giving-boosts-pledge-to-1-billion-banking-on-an-ai-windfall/
Choosing Your AI Path: A Framework for Nonprofit Leaders to Make Strategic Choices – Bridgespan/NTEN – https://www.bridgespan.org/insights/choosing-your-ai-path-a-framework-for-nonprofit-leaders-to-make-strategic-choices
Where Does Your Foundation Stand on AI? The AI Journey Map for Philanthropy – Project Evident – https://projectevident.org/news/where-does-your-foundation-stand-on-ai-introducing-the-ai-journey-map-for-philanthropy/
Meta, States Agree to $17 Billion Settlement in Child Safety Trial – NPR – https://www.npr.org/2026/08/26/nx-s1-5944781/meta-settlement-child-safety-lawsuit
Adults Have Struggled to Set Rules for AI in School. These Teens Figured It Out – NPR (Cory Turner) – https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/npr/2026/07/30/nx-s1-5853571/adults-have-struggled-to-set-rules-for-ai-in-school-these-teens-figured-it-out/
The Common Sense Media Census: AI Use by Tweens and Teens (2026) – Common Sense Media – https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/a-comprehensive-report-on-teens-tweens-and-ai
In the US, Caution Rules on AI Ahead of K-12 School Year – Tech Policy Press – https://www.techpolicy.press/in-the-us-caution-rules-on-ai-ahead-of-k12-school-year/
How AI Is Changing Education – Here & Now (WBUR/NPR, Matt Barnum, Chalkbeat) – https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2026/06/15/ai-education
Could Artificial Intelligence Improve Special Education? – Consider This from NPR – https://www.npr.org/2026/05/20/nx-s1-5828907/could-artificial-intelligence-improve-special-education
From AI Policies to AI Literacy in Education – Forbes (Heather Wishart-Smith) – https://www.forbes.com/sites/heatherwishartsmith/2026/05/20/from-ai-policies-to-ai-literacy-in-education/
AI Is Eliminating Entry-Level Jobs. Education Needs to Fill the Gap – Fast Company –…
Links in the notes 20
- https://coefficientgiving.org/research/increasing-our-2026-allocation-to-givewells-recommendations-to-1-billion/
- https://www.philanthropy.com/news/coefficient-giving-boosts-pledge-to-1-billion-banking-on-an-ai-windfall/
- https://www.bridgespan.org/insights/choosing-your-ai-path-a-framework-for-nonprofit-leaders-to-make-strategic-choices
- https://projectevident.org/news/where-does-your-foundation-stand-on-ai-introducing-the-ai-journey-map-for-philanthropy/
- https://www.npr.org/2026/08/26/nx-s1-5944781/meta-settlement-child-safety-lawsuit
- https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/npr/2026/07/30/nx-s1-5853571/adults-have-struggled-to-set-rules-for-ai-in-school-these-teens-figured-it-out/
- https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/a-comprehensive-report-on-teens-tweens-and-ai
- https://www.techpolicy.press/in-the-us-caution-rules-on-ai-ahead-of-k12-school-year/
- https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2026/06/15/ai-education
- https://www.npr.org/2026/05/20/nx-s1-5828907/could-artificial-intelligence-improve-special-education
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/heatherwishartsmith/2026/05/20/from-ai-policies-to-ai-literacy-in-education/
- https://www.fastcompany.com/91552415/ai-is-eliminating-entry-level-jobs-education-needs-to-fill-the-gap
- https://news.gallup.com/poll/704090/routine-college-students-despite-campus-limits.aspx
- https://www.techpolicy.press/make-ai-companies-criminally-liable-for-preventable-harm/
- https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/08/irreplaceable-climate-activists-ai-backlash/688404/
- https://irreplaceable.org
- https://communityit.com/webinars/
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/community-it-innovators/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/NonprofitITManagement/
- https://communityit.com
Transcript
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