Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Accelerate Charitable Giving - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Project Scope and Eligibility

Who is eligible for grants? 
Applicants must be able to conduct all project activities and reporting in English and be willing and able to participate in up to three virtual and/or in-person learning convenings with peer grantees over the one-year grant period. Eligible entities for this initiative include:

• Nonprofit and Civil Society Organizations, including registered nonprofits and charities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and community-based organizations
• Mission-Driven For-Profit Organizations. For-profit entities that have a clear public-benefit mission aligned with the goals of the RFP are eligible. Funding cannot be used for core commercial product development or general business operations. Proposed activities must advance equitable, responsible, or safe uses of AI in ways that benefit society.
• Consortia, Partnerships, & Collaborative Proposals. Proposals may be submitted through partnerships and other collaborative arrangements. In such cases, one lead organization must serve as the primary applicant and submit the proposal, with partner organizations included as sub-grantees.

For this initiative, the following entities are not eligible:

• Individuals and organizations classified as individuals for U.S. tax purposes
• Government agencies or departments
• Academic institutions applying independently (unless part of a consortium led by an eligible organization)

Upon registration, applicants must provide information about the tax status of their organization as different terms and conditions may apply. You should confirm your organization’s tax status with the appropriate advisor or entity within your organization, such as your grants or contracts department, finance, or office of sponsored research. The foundation may request additional information regarding your tax status. For information about tax statuses, you may check with your own advisors and review information provided on the Internal Revenue Service web site at: www.irs.gov.

Can my organization submit a join application with another organization? 
Collaborative proposals and cross-sector partnerships are encouraged. One organization must be designated as the lead applicant and will be responsible for award management, contracting, and reporting.

Is it possible to submit project ideas for co-funding (co-funded by a UN agency)?
Yes. We welcome proposals that include co-funding, including with multilateral organizations.

Can ongoing or pilot-stage projects be funded?
Yes, as long as they can demonstrate how funding will be used and generate learning on donor behavior.

What level of maturity is expected for proposals?
A wide range is acceptable (prototype to market-ready), but projects must demonstrate a pathway to real-world impact on donor behavior and clearly articulate how AI is used to enable that impact.

Do projects need to focus exclusively on global health and development?
No, but proposals should demonstrate a clear pathway or relevance to global health and development applications.

Are tools that help nonprofits attract or manage donors eligible?
Yes, provided they are scalable and replicable beyond a single organization or focus area.

Application Process

What must my application include?
Please refer to the Application Instructions document.

Am I able to edit my proposal once submitted?
Yes, you may edit your proposal up until the specified deadline.

What amount of indirect cost is available? 
Details of the foundation indirect cost policy guidelines can be found here: Gates Foundation's indirect cost policy.

What happens after submitting an application?
Applicants are notified of decisions in July. Selected applicants become finalists and are invited to submit a full proposal, followed by due diligence before final funding decisions. Please review the Rules and Guidelines document for more information.

Does selection as a finalist guarantee funding?
No. Final funding is contingent on the full proposal review and approval process.

Can travel costs be included in the budget?
Yes, except for travel requested by the Gates Foundation, which will be covered separately if funded.

Are there required tools or platforms applicants must use?
No. Applicants are free to propose or build any relevant tools.

Are National Grand Challenges partners involved in this call?
No. Applications should be submitted directly to the Gates Foundation.

Does the $150,000 budget include indirect cost?
Yes. Indirect costs are allowable and should be included within the total requested funding.

You provided the budget ceiling as USD $150,000 per project, please clarify if there is any minimum threshold in the budget. For instance, is it possible for an organization to apply for a USD $5,000 budget?
There is no minimum threshold. Budgets should align with the scale and complexity of work.

Please clarify if there are specific budget percentage allocation guidelines with respect to personnel, administration and program costs.
There are no allocation guidelines. Budgets should reflect the scope of work required for the project.

Can salaries or staff time be included in the budget?
Yes. The portion of staff salaries dedicated to the project can be included.

Will funding be disbursed as a lump sum or milestone-based?
This will be determined case-by-case during the due diligence process.

Review Process

How does the review process work?
Please refer to the Rules and Guidelines document.

Can I get a list of potential reviewers who might be assigned to my application? 
No. We do not make public the roster of reviewers.

Can I request that my application not be reviewed by a specific individual? 
No. However, we will ask reviewers to self-identify conflicts of interest and will not assign reviewers with conflicts.

Will I receive specific feedback on my application if it is not selected?
Due to the rapid proposal and review timelines applicable to this RFP, applicants with proposals that are not selected for award may receive a notification of decline without specific feedback.

Intellectual Property and Confidentiality

How can applicants protect their ideas and ensure confidentiality when sharing concepts in proposals? 
When submitting materials to the Foundation please keep in mind that because we have a focus on achieving charitable outcomes, we view information that we obtain through our grantmaking as a public good. Subject to the Gates Foundation's Privacy & Cookies Notice, the Foundation may also share information you provide to us (either orally or in writing) with third parties, including external reviewers, consultants, contingent workers, key partners and co-funders. You should assume that nothing will be kept confidential and should not include any information in the proposal, budget, supplemental materials, or reports that you consider proprietary.

Who owns Intellectual Property in funded projects?
Grantees retain ownership of intellectual property (IP) developed through foundation-funded grants. The foundation does, however, require that grant outputs be made widely available to the intended beneficiaries. You can read more here: Gates Foundation Global Access and IP Policy

Award Information

Are grant awards made directly to individuals? 
No. All awards are made to the organization where the individual holds their primary appointment. Institutions must agree to the terms and conditions governing each grant award prior to award activation.

How much money will each grant provide? 
We will consider applications requesting awards up to $150,000 USD per project, with a grant duration of up to 1 year. Budgets should align with the scale and complexity of the proposed work. Indirect costs are allowable and should be included within the total requested funding. (subject to the Gates Foundation's indirect cost policy).

Technical Support

I forgot my password. How do I reset my password? 
You can request to update your password within the application site. If you continue to have issues, please reach out to [email protected].

How will I know if my application has been submitted? 
Once an application is submitted, an email confirmation will be sent.

I'm having trouble uploading my application file. What should I do? 
If you are having issues submitting your application, we would encourage you to submit from a different browser. If the issue persists, please email the specifics of your problem to [email protected].

How often do you intend to update the Frequently Asked Questions, and do you plan to provide answers to all questions submitted? 
We will periodically post answers to questions as they are submitted, but do not have a specific schedule. We will provide answers on this page that are of relevance and of general interest to potential applicants. For answers to specific questions that are not covered here, please email [email protected]

Research and Donor Behavior

"Many donors want to give but struggle to navigate a crowded and complex landscape of causes…" Has Gates or its partners conducted research on these barriers and decision drivers?
Yes. We have supported a body of research on donor behavior, including behavioral science work. A key partner is ideas42, which explores the psychology of giving. More information is available at: https://www.ideas42.org/giving/

What types of learning or evidence are most valuable to consider when applying to this RFP?
Behavioral insights, user engagement data, and evidence of measurable changes in donor behavior (e.g., increased giving, faster decisions) are especially valuable. Additionally, we value technical validation of the AI approach such as clear plans for real-world testing and pathways to scalability across contexts.

Objectives

What is the core goal of this challenge?
To help donors give more and give sooner, including increasing donation amounts, accelerating decision-making, and bringing in new donors through AI enabled tools and applications.

How are "donors" defined?
Broadly - this includes individual donors (from everyday givers to ultra-high-net-worth individuals), institutional donors, corporate donors, and donor-advised funds. Donors may give monetary donations through a variety of channels including digital platforms, workplace giving programs, or direct contributions.

Are you focused on attracting new donors or increasing giving from existing donors?
Both are in scope, along with improving the speed and efficiency of giving.

AI and Technical Expectations

Are applicants expected to develop new AI models (e.g., LLMs)?
No. Most successful proposals are expected to apply existing AI tools rather than build new models.

Is technical or AI support provided by the foundation?
No. Applicants must include any required technical expertise in their own budgets.

Partnerships

Are formal partnership agreements or letter of intent required at the application stage?
No. A description of partnerships is sufficient initially; more detail may be required later.

Does having additional funding or co-investment make a proposal more competitive?
It can demonstrate potential for scalability and sustainability but is not required and is only one factor in a holistic evaluation.