Rockefeller and OpenAI foundations open $50 million in grants for AI projects in city services

The Rockefeller Foundation and the OpenAI Foundation on October 14 opened applications for Cities Deliver, a $50 million grant initiative for nonprofit and civil society organizations that work with city governments to use artificial intelligence in public services. Grants will range from $500,000 to $2 million, according to the Rockefeller Foundation's announcement.

Applications close November 29, 2026. The first stage, due at 11:59 p.m. Eastern that day, includes eligibility screening, a Round 1 proposal and a short video, according to the Cities Deliver application site, which asks for questions by October 31. Applicants who advance will be invited to a later selection stage. The program is managed by RF Catalytic Capital, an affiliate of the Rockefeller Foundation. The release describes the OpenAI Foundation as a separate nonprofit from OpenAI PBC.

What a project must include

Each project must be led by an eligible organization, include a committed city government partner, serve a charitable purpose and have a "meaningful frontier AI component," per the announcement. Applicants may choose any AI models or products, and the release says there is no requirement or preference for OpenAI technology. A city government partner is required, so a nonprofit cannot apply on its own.

The foundations list four focus areas: public health, including disability services and food access; economic mobility, including benefits enrollment and career navigation; environmental resilience, including emergency services; and civic engagement, including court services and permitting. Projects related to voting or elections are excluded.

The pilots behind the program

The initiative builds on a 2023 convening of more than 40 civic leaders from six continents and on earlier projects in Cali, Colombia; Cape Town, South Africa; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mayor Alejandro Eder of Cali credited a dengue tool with anticipating outbreaks up to three weeks ahead and benefiting more than 2.2 million residents, according to the release. Follow-on work is planned to take the tool to Cartagena, to widen Cape Town's resident-engagement platform and to extend Rio's WhatsApp flood alerts, which were developed with Columbia University.

"Cities Deliver takes what's working in Cali, Cape Town, Rio, and elsewhere and opens it up to institutions everywhere," said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, in the announcement. Anna Makanju, head of civil society and philanthropy at the OpenAI Foundation, said in the same release that "Cities are on the front lines of some of the biggest challenges facing communities." The foundations say the effort aims to reach up to 100 million city residents worldwide. That is a goal, not a measured result, and we have not seen outcome data for the earlier pilots beyond what the foundations and the mayor describe.

Not the same program as the People-First AI Fund

Cities Deliver is separate from the OpenAI Foundation's People-First AI Fund, which this month named 163 nonprofits to share $50 million in unrestricted grants. That fund made one-time grants to U.S. charities; Cities Deliver funds specific city projects, worldwide, with a government partner.

What nonprofits should weigh

In our view, the requirement for a committed city partner is the hard part for a small organization, and the window is about six weeks. Groups without an existing relationship with a city agency may be better placed as a partner on another applicant's bid. The release itself names uncertainty around data protection as a barrier cities face, a question a board should settle before taking on new work of this kind; see what a board is for.

The announcement does not say how the $50 million is split between the two foundations, how many grants will be made or when awards will be announced.