Activate AI: Economic Opportunity Challenge

The Activate AI: Economic Opportunity Challenge is a global grant initiative launched collaboratively by data.org and Zoom. The challenge seeks to harness the power of artificial intelligence to unlock economic opportunity and build a resilient future. Hosted by data.org, an independent 501(c)(3) organization, and launched by Zoom, the challenge reflects both organizations’ commitment to leveraging data and AI for social good. Through this effort, they aim to support innovative, mission-aligned projects that drive workforce development, expand organizational capacity, and promote climate resilience through data and AI. This challenge focuses on three primary goals: advancing AI-driven workforce development, creating future-friendly jobs, and fostering climate-resilient communities. Projects should demonstrate a clear use of artificial intelligence that aligns with these goals and offers scalable, socially impactful solutions. The emphasis on responsible AI use and localism underscores the partners’ intention to ensure technologies are not only effective but also ethical and contextually relevant. Awardees selected through the challenge will receive a combination of grant funding and in-kind support. Each of the at least five final winners will receive $115,000 USD in grant funding, along with resources such as data science talent, training, consulting, infrastructure licenses, and media support. These resources are designed to help organizations deepen their capacity and accelerate their impact. Awards will be governed by a grant agreement executed between data.org and each Awardee, ensuring alignment on project scope and deliverables. The challenge is open to a diverse range of applicants globally, including nonprofit organizations, for-profit entities, and government agencies. However, all submitted entries must serve a charitable purpose as defined under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Applications that do not meet these standards, or originate from sanctioned or embargoed countries such as North Korea, Iran, Russia, or others listed in the official rules, will not be considered. Organizations are allowed to submit only one application unless they are a university or fiscal sponsor submitting distinct and separate proposals. Applications must be submitted in English, and all participants must register for the challenge before submitting their entries. The initial application phase involves a basic compliance screening followed by a review based on six criteria: impact, localism, responsible use of AI, originality, feasibility, and scalability. Finalists, approximately 20–25 in number, will then proceed to a second round involving interviews and additional documentation. At least five winners will be selected from this group. The application deadline for the Activate AI: Economic Opportunity Challenge is January 8, 2026. Applicants should ensure their proposals are submitted by this date and comply with all stated rules and guidelines. Questions can be directed to [email protected]. All projects must avoid prohibited activities such as lobbying or political advocacy and must meet specific intellectual property expectations where relevant. This initiative presents a compelling opportunity for organizations worldwide to deploy AI solutions with meaningful economic and environmental impact.

Applicants should focus on responsible AI use, originality, feasibility, scalability, and clear impact on economic opportunity.