Google.org’s new focus areas

Google’s founders outlined a vision for Google.org to “ambitiously apply innovation and significant resources to the largest of the world’s problems.” Since that time, Google.org has provided more than $18 billion in donated products; deep research support; and cutting-edge educational programs to thousands of nonprofits, universities and educators around the world. In the last 10 years alone, Google.org and Googlers have provided nearly $6 billion in cash funding.

The work of organizations Google.org supports has reached more than 300 million people: setting up more than 3 million people with skills for well-paying jobs; equipping more than 10 million students and teachers with essential skills to more safely navigate the digital world; delivering relief and recovery resources to more than 100 million people in crisis; and helping many millions more in other ways. And Google.org Fellows and volunteers have spent more than 4 million pro bono and volunteer hours working on high-impact projects.

Today, at our first ever Google.org Impact Summit in Sunnyvale, California, the Google.org team will share plans to invest more deeply to support critical work across Knowledge, Skills and Learning; Scientific Advancement; and Resilient Communities. These focus areas are central to Google’s identity, and have been a defining focus of Google.org’s social impact work since its inception. Much of the work Google.org funds and supports will cut across two or even all three of these areas, as the challenges that face us all become more complex and interconnected.

Knowledge, Skills, and Learning

Google’s mission is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Access to information lets people thrive: It helps them gain knowledge, find opportunities and discover pathways to a more secure future. More than 90 million learners globally have participated in Google.org’s education programs and platforms, and this focus area going forward will help ensure everyone, especially people in marginalized communities, can access the digital, technical and AI skills to pursue opportunities in the digital economy.

The power of AI in educational settings is evident. A great example of this is the AI-based program John Jay College and DataKind developed to identify students at risk of dropping out, so advisors could provide them with proactive support. The program helped boost senior graduation rates by an unprecedented 32%. Today Google.org is committing an additional $8 million of support and a Google.org Fellowship to help DataKind bring this solution to 100 additional colleges across the U.S.

Google.org will also contribute a further $12 million through the end of 2024 to organizations transforming education equitably and responsibly through AI. This work will include scaling AI training for educators and offering digital skills and computing education pathways to students worldwide.

Scientific Advancement

Google has always been at the forefront of advancements in research and science, pioneering many of the breakthroughs behind new technology. Over the past five years, Google.org has provided more than $200 million to assist organizations using advanced applications of AI to support the Sustainable Development Goals and other pressing social challenges.

To more quickly realize AI’s potential to make headway against complex, interconnected, global issues, today Google.org is announcing a new funding approach. “AI Collaboratives” will bring together organizations across sectors to learn from each other’s successes, unearth common roadblocks and collaborate on new AI-powered solutions.

Each AI Collaborative will focus on a specific field where AI has the potential to create broad positive impact. Google.org will work together with expert partners to define the AI Collaborative’s goals. Then, through funding, engagement with Google Research, in-person workshops and new studies, we’ll encourage others to join in and take action to reach these goals.

Being bold with new technology also means supporting the fundamental research that fuels innovation, especially organizations and collaborations that focus on responsibility and inclusivity. Over the next year, Google.org is committing a further $40 million to the academic research community for foundational research that develops AI responsibly. For much of this work, Google researchers will collaborate alongside awardees to help funding recipients crack difficult problems and open up new ways of thinking.

Resilient Communities

Google is committed to improving the lives of as many people as possible both online and in the communities where Google employees live and work. Google.org will continue to support organizations and programs that address challenges at a community level — like hunger, housing and access to public benefits — and advance digital wellbeing and safety, especially for young people.

Helping young people to be confident and savvy users of technology is critical to protect them from online harms. Over the past two years, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has partnered with Google DeepMind and local experts on the Experience AI program, which equips teachers with resources to educate and inspire 11- to 14-year-olds about AI. Since its launch in April 2023, this program has been accessed by educators across 130 countries, with a structured learning journey that emphasizes ethics though real-world examples, and culturally relevant content for diverse students.

Now, with $10 million from Google.org, Raspberry Pi Foundation aims to bring the Experience AI program to more than 2 million young people across Europe, Middle East and Africa, so they can become forward-thinking, responsible and safe users of AI. You can learn more about this new work here.

Supporting resilient communities is also about supporting the nonprofits that underpin them. A recent Google.org survey of thousands of nonprofits found that four in five of them said generative AI may be applicable to their work — but nearly half said their organization is not currently using the technology. To address that, today Google.org is also announcing new AI resources for nonprofits, whether they’re just getting started with AI or are ready to introduce an AI-based social impact project to the world. You can read more here.

Over the last 20 years Google.org has worked with incredible committed partners to bring opportunity to more people around the world, and AI provides us with a profound opportunity to have even greater impact over the next 20 years.