Robin Hood launched the AI Poverty Challenge in February 2024 with the purpose to scale what works and encourage more uses of AI that expand opportunity and support more people to achieve greater economic security throughout the United States. The AI Poverty Challenge aims to elevate voices of those on the ground and showcase a range of new and existing solutions that leverage the power and capabilities of AI technology for good.
The AI Poverty Challenge welcomes applications from nonprofit and for-profit entities located within the United States and U.S. territories. Individuals, government agencies, and non-U.S.-based organizations may serve as partners on a submission by an eligible Lead Organization. An organization can also serve as a partner on a team for multiple applications provided that each application proposes a separate, distinct solution.
Teams that are operating as fiscally-sponsored projects of a 501(c)(3) organization under formal fiscal sponsorship arrangements may each submit separate applications naming the 501(c)(3) organization as the Lead Organization on their applications. Regional or location-specific branches of larger organizations, as well as departments, schools, and programs within or based in a college/university, may each submit separate applications naming their parent organization as the Lead Organization on their applications. In all circumstances described above, the proposed solutions must be separate and distinct. There should be no overlap in team members. The intent of the policy is to ensure that any team is concentrating their best effort into a single application. We encourage teams to select a single project that best represents your organization's ability to deliver a solution that meets the scoring criteria.
Review the rules for more information.
New and existing solutions are eligible to apply. Strong solutions for the AI Poverty Challenge can fall into any of our solution categories (Education, Financial Empowerment, and Workforce) and will meet the four criteria outlined in the scoring rubric.
Solutions in early development without a well-defined approach are not likely to be competitive, but new ideas, startups, or new programs of existing organizations with a compelling case for their impact potential and feasibility are encouraged to submit a proposal.
Existing organizations can propose their existing AI-related work. The proposal does not need to reflect a new project created for this challenge. One purpose of the challenge is to surface work already underway. The proposed budget must still cover actual expenses for the proposed work.
You must first assess your fit and eligibility for the AI Poverty Challenge, then register no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Registration is required and is a simple two-step process. First, create a username and password then check your inbox to confirm your registration. Next, complete the online registration form. Once you are registered, submit your application online no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Time on Tuesday, July 16, 2024.
Once the submission deadline passes, the AI Poverty Challenge team will perform an administrative review to confirm each submission meets the rules and application requirements before advancing to the Evaluation Panel. The Evaluation Panel will use the scoring rubric to provide scores and valuable feedback on their assigned submissions, and all scores will be statistically normalized to ensure fairness. Each application will be reviewed by five Evaluation Panel judges.
Robin Hood will review the top-scoring submissions to select up to nine Finalists based on considerations that may include, but are not limited to, Evaluation Panel resulting rank order, organizational capacity, geographic diversity, and demonstrated potential. The Finalists will be announced in early fall, 2024. The Finalists will undergo additional due diligence, which may include interviews and more detailed program or product reviews. A small Selection Committee will recommend up to three awardees from among the nine Finalists to receive $1 million each. Final decisions and selection of awards will be made by Robin Hood and announced in early 2025.
Award funds must be used for the project for which they are intended and may be dispersed to partners for project-related purposes. Award funds may not be used:
- For non-charitable purposes;
- To influence the outcome of any specific public election or to carry on, directly or indirectly, any voter registration drive (within the meaning of United States Internal Revenue Code ("Code") section 4945(d)(2));
- To carry on propaganda or otherwise to attempt to influence legislation within the meaning of Code Section 4945(d)(1);
- To distribute funds to any organization not related to the proposal;
- For the creation of any endowment or for the aggregation of philanthropic capital by organizations that regrant to nonprofit organizations;
- For the creation of a venture capital fund, or pooled funds to invest in or distribute to for-profit organizations.
Proposed solutions must be used consistent with the Competition Sponsor’s charitable purposes and may not result in impermissible private benefit, as defined under IRC Section 501(c)(3), to other people, organizations, or entities, other than incidental private benefit that is a necessary byproduct of the accomplishment of the charitable purpose. Non-charitable (for-profit) Applicants are encouraged to consult with qualified legal counsel. The Competition Sponsor will evaluate this on a case-by-case basis.
Yes, government entities are eligible and encouraged to participate, but cannot apply as a Lead Organization. Government entities must apply as a partner on a proposal submitted by an eligible Lead Organization. Please review the Rules for more information and email us if you have questions.
We understand many solutions could fall under more than one category. Please select the one category that most closely aligns with your proposed solution. If your project fits across more than one category, you can describe the breadth of your work in other areas of the application such as Problem Statement, Solution Description, Outcomes, and Other Considerations.
The competition sponsor is Robin Hood Foundation. Funds will be disbursed by Robin Hood and awardees of the AI Poverty Challenge will enter into a direct and separate award agreement with Robin Hood. Please see Section 8 under the Rules for more information.
Guidance around charitable purpose can be found in our Rules. Proposed solutions will need to be consistent with Robin Hood’s charitable purposes and may not result in impermissible private benefit, as defined under IRC Section 501(c)(3), to other people, organizations, or entities, other than incidental private benefit that is a necessary byproduct of the accomplishment of the charitable purpose. For-profit applicants are encouraged to consult with qualified legal counsel as necessary.
When describing your solution, please be sure to clearly articulate your project’s charitable purpose, including who will benefit from the project, how that benefit will be accomplished through your work, and how funds awarded by Robin Hood will be spent.
All proposed projects must be U.S.-based and the problem being addressed should be relevant to issues facing residents of New York City (NYC). The specific proposed solution does not need to serve New Yorkers. This national eligibility, with solutions that are “relevant” to NYC, reflects two purposes of the challenge. First, we hope to surface powerful, breakthrough uses of AI from across the country and expect proposals to describe solutions at various scales, from locally oriented to universally available. Robin Hood wants to fund the best tools, use cases, and program models wherever they operate. The national challenge also allows us to surface activity across the country and helps the broader “AI for Good” field to better understand the range of current activity targeting poverty-related challenges in the United States. Second, as a foundation with a primary focus on New York City, Robin Hood is interested in solutions that can either directly impact New Yorkers or be sources of inspiration, examples, and models for similar kinds of solutions. So, the proposed solution does not need to impact New Yorkers now or in the future, but the solution should be relevant to the challenges that New Yorkers face.
We expect most solutions in our target areas of education, workforce and financial empowerment will meet this requirement. For example: A solution to boost the incomes of rural farmers by increasing crop yields would not be a fit for AI Poverty Challenge, but a tool to match Chicago residents to jobs in Chicago would fit because it would be relevant to workforce challenges in NYC.
In short, a proposed solution does not need to be implemented in NYC but the proposal should articulate how it is relevant to challenges faced by residents in NYC experiencing poverty. In the application under Location Description, you will have opportunity to describe how your proposed solution is relevant to the challenges of people experiencing poverty in New York City.
No, there is no preference for projects that involve NYC-based community partners for the purpose of the Challenge. As mentioned under the geographic preferences FAQ above, we do require that the solution be relevant to people in New York City, but not that it actually has a New York connection. In the application under Location Description, you will have opportunity to describe how your proposed solution is relevant to the challenges of people experiencing poverty in New York City.
An organization may only serve as a lead organization on one application. An organization may be a partner on more than one application if each one proposes a separate and distinct solution. And each application must be submitted by a different, eligible lead organization.
Teams that are operating as fiscally-sponsored projects of a 501(c)(3) organization under formal fiscal sponsorship arrangements may each submit separate applications naming the 501(c)(3) organization as the Lead Organization on their applications. We recommend including your organization name with the fiscal sponsor name in that Lead Organization field to help further identify your application.
Please note: Regional or location-specific branches of larger organizations, as well as departments, schools, and programs within or based in a college/university, may each submit separate applications naming their parent organization as the Lead Organization on their applications. Similarly, you may include your specific branch or department along with the parent organization in that field where you list Lead Organization on the registration form.
In all these circumstances, the proposed solutions must be separate and distinct. There should be no overlap in personnel/team members. Our intent here is to ensure that teams are concentrating their best effort into one application. We encourage teams to select a single project that best represents your organization's ability to deliver a solution that meets the scoring criteria.
Each valid submission will receive scores and feedback from five of our Evaluation Panel judges. You can learn about some of our Evaluation Panel judges now and we are continuing to add profiles to the challenge website. Based on results of the Evaluation Panel and other factors that may include, but are not limited to, solution category, geographic diversity, and demonstrated promise or track record, up to nine finalists will be selected and notified by the end of September 2024 and receive $100,000 each.
Finalists will then have up to a three-month period from September to January 2025 to further refine and strengthen their solution. This period serves two purposes: 1) It allows Robin Hood to conduct additional vetting and due diligence on the finalists; and 2) It is an opportunity to connect all of the finalists with in-kind resources to help advance their work.
Robin Hood will want to dive deeper with each of the finalists to understand their solution and organization, and may request additional information through written responses, conversations, product demonstrations and other similar activities. Robin Hood also aspires to add value to support the work of the finalists by connecting them with resources such as subject matter experts, other potential funders, or relevant in-kind resources. Throughout the application period, we are gathering information about the types of resources that applicants would find most useful and encourage you to share your thoughts in the application (see Acceleration Support).
There will be two programmatic obligations for the finalists:
- Participation in a feedback workshop with members of Robin Hood’s Design Insight Group (DIG), comprised of people who have personal experience living in poverty. We expect the group will offer valuable perspective on the work of the applicant.
- Participation in a virtual “demo day” to share more about their solution.
The grant of $100,000 for each finalist recognizes the time commitment required to respond to additional requests for information and to take part in these programmatic obligations.
After the acceleration period, the Selection Committee will review the finalists and make a recommendation to Robin Hood to select up to three, $1 million AI Poverty Challenge awards.
Partnerships are not required though we welcome applications which reflect cross-sector partnerships, especially as they relate to including a diverse range of technical skills, subject matter expertise, team members with lived experience, etc. We recommend you complete the readiness quiz and review the scoring criteria to learn more about what is a strong fit for this challenge.
The AI Poverty Challenge is interested in ways that machine learning and evolving AI techniques can be harnessed to address poverty. We are open to a wide range of proposed solutions, and we do not have a preference for AI tools over other solutions that deepen the impact that AI can have on poverty. AI-related human capital work certainly falls in our interest area. Demonstrating actual and/or high potential for impact is the most important factor – conveying how the solution will translate into achieving actual, measurable results. You can refer to the scoring rubric to learn more about how we define a strong solution.
One of the four assessment criteria for the AI Poverty Challenge is Responsible: Are perspectives of intended beneficiaries reflected in the solution’s design, with safeguards to ensure ethical use of data, technology, and engagement with relevant communities? Will the solution reduce disparities rather than exacerbate them? On the application, applicants have the opportunity to articulate how they will responsibly deliver human-centered and equitable results. Teams can also share how they allocate time and resources, including, if necessary, in the budget narrative section of the proposal.
Applicants should indicate their approach to IP in the response to the Intellectual Property question on the application. You are not required to use open-source tools.
Robin Hood will not own any of the IP of the solutions supported as part of this challenge. As we state in the rules, proposed solutions must be used consistent with Robin Hood’s charitable purposes and may not result in impermissible private benefit, as defined under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, to other people, organizations, or entities, other than incidental private benefit that is a necessary byproduct of the accomplishment of the charitable purpose. While we cannot provide guidance that is specific to a proposed approach or solution, in some cases we may require an award recipient to take steps related to IP usage, such as making their work product widely available through a non-commercial license appropriate for the circumstances, if doing so would assure that a charitable purpose is achieved through the award of funds. Any such arrangements will be discussed with award recipients when they are selected and will be developed on a case-by-case basis. For-profit applicants are encouraged to consult with qualified legal counsel as necessary.
We expect proposals to identify the metrics that they will use to assess effectiveness. Strong metrics will be rooted in research and link short-term metrics to longer term upward mobility. On the application, applicants have opportunity to share proposed impact and evaluation methods under Section G. Impact.
No, updates and other additional information will not be accepted during the finalist selection period unless Robin Hood requests it. We understand projects may change or evolve—the nine finalists will have the opportunity to provide updates and share more information prior to the selection of the three winners.
There is no strict definition to each of these categories so those with strong solutions that are connected to one or more of the categories and meet the requirements and scoring criteria are encouraged to register and apply. Solutions should have some connection to one of these categories.
The two-minute video is an opportunity to share your vision and approach in a way that is different from the written proposal format. You may introduce your team, briefly discuss impact and how your solution is unique. You may include screenshots, walk-throughs, or other visuals of your solution if you wish. This DOES NOT need to be a professionally produced video – a video shot on a smartphone is acceptable.
To complete this requirement, upload a short video using YouTube. Video submissions should follow these guidelines or else it will render the application ineligible:
- Two (2) minutes in length maximum.
- Must be in English, or if in another language, subtitled in English.
- Must be captioned. See instructions on how to caption YouTube videos here.
- Excludes images of identifiable children (under age 18) without express parental consent.
- Excludes copyrighted material (including, but not limited to, music) for which you do not have a license.
- Set the Privacy Settings on your video to Public or Unlisted – do not set them to Private.
- When setting as Unlisted, only those with the YouTube URL will be able to access and view the video.
- When copying and pasting the URL, you may need to use the full YouTube URL from your browser address bar.
The visual representation documents are an opportunity to share your vision and demonstrate your proposed solution in a way that is different from the written proposal format. You may include screen shots, walk-throughs, or other visuals of your solution if you wish.
The User Experience PDF can be focused more on a visual representation of use cases or user stories, and how a user might learn about then use or participate in your proposed solution.
We are open to a wide range of visual representations in your Project Visual PDF within the four-page limit to help further illustrate your solution to our Evaluation Panel, helping our judges to better understand your team and approach.
Please note that these PDF uploads should not contain additional text explanations or be used to circumvent word counts in the online application. Some brief labels and/or basic text descriptions are fine. Any pages beyond the page limits – as well as unrelated content to this specific question - will render the application ineligible.
Under Section H. Implementation Plan & Budget on the application, applicants have opportunity to share your plans and total costs for up to a two-year project period.
The budget included in the application will total $1 million and does not need to account for the $100,000 finalist award. Funds identified in the Budget table on the application should reflect and clarify your general explanations provided in Budget Narrative and include more detailed cost categories that support your plans and intended outcomes.
Finalists will be selected in Fall 2024 and the three awardees will be selected in February 2025. Finalists and awardees will enter into a direct and separate award agreement with Robin Hood and will mutually agree upon timeline, budget, project plan, milestones and reporting at the time of award. Each agreement governing the use of the award may vary, depending on the nature of the project and the organization receiving the award.
Expenses identified in the Budget table on the application should reflect and clarify your general explanations provided in Budget Narrative and include more detailed cost categories that support your plans and intended outcomes. We leave it up to each participant to decide the budget categories that work best for your proposed solution. The budget can be as detailed as you prefer and may be considered as we evaluate for feasibility and scalability.
Per our rules, the budget may include a reasonable allocation for indirect expenses associated with the overall operations of the organization that are shared across the organization’s activities. We reserve the right to review and adjust the amounts allocated for indirect expenses. Applications from university-based teams should not have an indirect rate exceeding 15%.
Applications will be matched with judges by solution category of Education, Financial Empowerment and Workforce. Additionally, each application will be reviewed by at least one of our Robin Hood Blue Ridge Labs Design Insight Group members. If judges do not have a specific category expertise (e.g., education) they will be randomly assigned to applications from any of the categories.
Lead applicants must be US-based and proposed solutions must address a poverty challenge faced by those living in the US. The proposed solution can be relevant globally, but the AI Poverty Challenge will focus on its relevance to those experiencing poverty in the US. While the Lead Organization must be US-based, key team members are not required to be US citizens, permanent residents or live in the US.
Yes, current or former funding recipients of Robin Hood may apply with projects that represent significantly different concepts from those already funded. Please review sections 1 and 2 under the rules for more information on the types of participants who are eligible to apply.
Applications will be shared with the AI Poverty Challenge Team, Robin Hood and the Evaluation Panel. Portions of the application, such as the video and Solution Statement may be posted on the website and shared as we announce finalists and awardees. Please keep this in mind and avoid sharing sensitive, confidential information in your responses to the application.
The challenge is intended to surface solutions using various types of machine learning. That said, we have not articulated a strong distinction between algorithms and machine learning, so those may qualify as well.
Typically, Robin Hood directs funding for services and policies intended to advance the prospects of people whose resources fall below 200% of the Supplemental Poverty Measure. As documented by Robin Hood’s Poverty Tracker and other sources, this group typically experiences hardships at higher rates than people who have greater economic resources. The challenge similarly seeks solutions that will benefit economically insecure Americans, but we are not applying a strict governmental definition to assess applications.
