Artificial intelligence is moving faster than the systems meant to guide it. For philanthropy, that speed presents both risk and responsibility: decisions made now will shape who benefits from AI and who is left out. Fund.AI was created to meet this moment.
Hosted by the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation in partnership with Fast Forward, the initiative brings funders together to think long-term about how capital, shared values, and cross-collaboration can help steer AI’s benefits toward public purpose. PJMF recently hosted the second annual Fund.AI convening, creating space for funders to move beyond theory and engage directly with the opportunities that will define how AI is developed, funded, and governed in the years ahead.
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Participants explored how AI can strengthen the social sector and support a healthier, more equitable future. Speakers challenged the room to think big about this technology’s potential, shared practical lessons from the field, and offered clear guidance on how philanthropy can lead with integrity and imagination. Across the sessions, one theme stood out. Philanthropy's capital and networks are indispensable in unlocking AI’s full potential to address the world’s most pressing challenges.
Below is a summary of key themes, session highlights, and links to watch the conversations.
https://youtu.be/m9tjkujJKK0?si=XZCbW5L_kv2sO_5L
Below is a summary of key themes, session highlights, and links to watch the conversations.
Philanthropy has a responsibility to work together to shape the future of AI before others decide its course. Speakers called for philanthropy to actively steer AI toward equity and justice before commercial and extractive forces cement its trajectory. This means defining the future we want, supporting public-interest leadership, and ensuring communities have the power to shape how technology evolves.
Alysia Garmulewicz and Liz Corbin, Founders and Co-CEOs, Materiom
Jacqui Watts, Learning & Insights Lead, Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
AI’s real potential lies in expanding human capability and civic agency. Across sessions, examples showed that the most meaningful applications of AI go far beyond the chatbot-style products that continue to dominate headlines. Tools like AlphaFold, Climate TRACE, indigenous language models, and community sensemaking systems reveal how AI can enable discovery, strengthen civic participation, and support strategic decision-making and collective problem-solving.
Aras Jizan, Principal, AI, NextLadder Ventures
Kendall Arthur, Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships at Fast Forward
Human-centered, bottom-up innovation is essential. Speakers emphasized that communities must guide how AI is built and governed. Initiatives like Lakota Code Camp, Bowling Green’s civic AI tools, and distributed evaluation platforms (e.g., Weval) demonstrated the power of culturally grounded, locally driven approaches that reflect lived experience.
The social sector needs shared infrastructure, collaboration, and new talent models. Funders and practitioners highlighted persistent capacity gaps: staff time, technical expertise, and the absence of common tools and evaluation frameworks. Shared infrastructure, cross-sector collaboration, and stronger talent pipelines are essential for responsible, sustainable AI adoption in the social sector.
Responsible AI demands clear structures, guardrails, and a commitment to learning. Sessions highlighted that successful adoption of AI tools requires intentional governance, strong data practices, and a willingness to test, reflect, and iterate. By building disciplined processes and normalizing learning from pilots, the field can strengthen trust and align AI systems with community needs.
“What really stuck out to me in terms of community was having people from philanthropy, the nonprofit sector, and the private sector all come together. They all have their own special superpower. Having this community of people to ask questions and draw upon, along with practical tools I can take home and apply, is invaluable."
Amanda Reed, Program and Systems Officer, Michigan Health Endowment Fund
“For Samvid to focus on economic mobility in the United States, we must think about the potential of AI to transform our systems. Our goal is to find the ways in which AI can reduce inequality instead of generating inequality. At Fund.AI, I can learn from all the sessions to be more thoughtful about our AI-related grantmaking going forward.”