The OpenAI Foundation funds research, fellowships, and programmatic partnerships that advance safe, beneficial, and widely accessible AI — with particular emphasis on AI safety/superalignment, AI’s societal impacts, and applied uses (journalism, mental health, cybersecurity, and community-focused AI). They fund a mix of individual researchers (residencies/fellowships), nonprofits and news organizations through multi‑partner initiatives, and resource/access programs (API credits) to broaden research capacity globally. Funding is delivered through both open calls and strategic partnerships, with grants ranging from small API credits to multi‑million programmatic commitments.
Hybrid model: program- and fellowship-driven giving that combines open rolling competitions (e.g., mental health grants), multi‑partner program grants (invite/partnership-based, e.g., Lenfest/Microsoft collaboration), fellowships/residencies with fixed awards, and in‑kind support (API credits). Grant sizes vary widely (small credits and $5k–$100k research grants up to $150k fellowships and multi‑million program commitments); some waves are time‑limited while others accept rolling applications.
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Review program webpages for specific eligibility and deadlines — AI & Mental Health is open through Dec 19, 2025 (rolling review); People‑First ran wave-based rounds (first wave closed Oct 8, 2025). Apply to the specific program that matches your work (research credits, fellowships, or program partnerships), expect varied award sizes, and highlight safety, societal impact, and concrete plans for using compute/API resources.
Current and upcoming funding from OpenAI Foundation that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Applicants must be primary or core maintainers of active open-source projects with meaningful usage, broad adoption, or clear ecosystem importance. Applications may be made for oneself or by nomination of another maintainer.
Deadline: Ongoing review; no fixed deadline stated.
Who can apply: Projects must focus on AI and security, be intended for public benefit/sharing, and avoid offensive-security use cases. Applicants should clearly define goals, methodology, team, timeline, dissemination plan, and budget. OpenAI states it receives thousands of applications and may follow up with promising teams even if immediate funding is not possible.
Deadline: Rolling review; no fixed deadline stated.
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Create a free accountDeadlines and eligibility are summarized from public sources and may change — always confirm the details on the funder's official application page before applying.