Citi Foundation Global Innovation Challenge
Citi Foundation
Launched 9 September 2026, the Citi Foundation’s fourth Global Innovation Challenge commits $25 million to 50 organizations preparing low-income youth, primarily ages 15 to 24, for an economy increasingly shaped by AI. It builds on the Foundation’s decade-long Pathways to Progress initiative and the 2025 Challenge on youth employment.
Three focus areas: cultivating AI skills alongside human-centric skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking; expanding digital access through community hubs with shared devices, open-source AI, and low-connectivity or offline tools; and building NGO capacity and cross-sector networks by integrating AI into existing youth employability programs.
Worth noting: this is one of the few AI-for-good funds of this size with genuinely global reach, covering roughly 70 countries across Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America. Your organization does not need to be headquartered in a target geography, but the proposed program must impact one.
Process: Round 1 is a letter of inquiry, closing 6 October 2026 at 12:00pm New York time. The online form cannot be saved, so download the editable PDF, draft offline, then paste in. Invitations to Round 2 go out by end of November 2026, with full applications due in early December and final decisions no later than end of May 2027. Grants start no sooner than 1 June 2027.
- Deadline: Oct 6, 2026, 12:00pm ET (letter of inquiry)
- Amount / value: $500,000 per grant, up to 50 grants, $25M total
- Duration: 24 months, disbursed as $250K in 2027 and $250K in 2028
- Geography: Roughly 70 countries where Citi has a presence. US eligibility is county-level in 12 states plus DC and Puerto Rico, not nationwide
- Focus: Youth AI and employability skills · Digital access · NGO capacity and networks
- Eligibility: Nonprofit entities registered under local law, with a mission focused on serving low-income individuals. Organizations invited to Round 2 must supply externally audited financials covering 2024 or later
- Not eligible: Organizations requiring a fiscal sponsor, individuals, sole proprietorships, private foundations. One LOI per organization, in English only
- Non-US applicants: Can apply directly. Grants are routed through CAF America, which makes the final approval decision and holds oversight
- Eligible costs: Salaries, technology, materials, training, events, research, communications, evaluation, convenings, and overhead. Regranting permitted with rationale. No lobbying or political activity
- Last verified: Sep 11, 2026
Always confirm details and deadlines at the official source before applying. Hand-verified by ImpactOpen.