Samwise Nonprofits and Charities Newsletter
Friday, July 17, 2026
Hewlett Foundation Commits $100 Million to Emerging Technology and Security Initiative
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation unveiled a $100 million Emerging Technology and Security Initiative, committing major philanthropic resources to funding policy and advocacy work at the intersection of advanced technology and societal risk. The initiative focuses on AI governance, biotechnology, and quantum computing — fast-moving domains where policy frameworks have lagged behind technical development. Hewlett’s grantmaking will target researchers, technologists, and public-interest advocates working to ensure that emerging technologies serve the public good rather than concentrate power or expand harm. The initiative reflects a growing recognition among major funders that technology governance is a critical civil society priority.
Sources: Hewlett Foundation Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Global South Community Funding Models Offer Roadmap for US Nonprofits Facing Federal Cuts
When more than 5,000 USAID projects were terminated and the Trump administration clawed back billions from humanitarian organizations, the US nonprofit sector discovered the limits of its funding architecture. In Nonprofit Quarterly, Farkhanda Zahoor argues that the solution already exists — in models long pioneered across the Global South. Zahoor examines how Kenya’s harambee tradition of community pooling, India’s Internet Freedom Foundation, and Pakistan’s Edhi Foundation have built resilient organizations funded by small recurring community contributions rather than institutional grants. These models, Zahoor argues, are not exotic local adaptations but structural responses to constraint — and the constraints are now global.
Sources: Nonprofit Quarterly Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Nonprofits Document Human Rights Failures at FIFA World Cup and Press for Protections
As the 2026 FIFA World Cup raised human rights concerns across the United States, nonprofit organizations documented troubling incidents and pushed for protections. The deportation of Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan — recognized as Africa’s Men’s Referee of the Year and traveling with valid documentation — drew condemnation from CAIR, the ACLU, and civil society groups who called the action discriminatory. Nonprofit Quarterly’s María Constanza Costa reports that organizations including Workers Defense Action Fund and the Sport & Rights Alliance pressed FIFA to enforce human rights commitments it had held since 2016, while the ACLU distributed know-your-rights materials at stadiums to immigrant communities fearful of ICE enforcement.
Sources: Nonprofit Quarterly Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Pace Center for Girls Names Yessica Cancel as Permanent Chief Executive Officer
Pace Center for Girls, a Florida-based nonprofit providing school-based education and counseling to at-risk girls, has named Yessica Cancel as its permanent Chief Executive Officer. Cancel, who had been serving in the role on an interim basis, brings deep experience in youth services and nonprofit leadership to the position. Pace operates programs across Florida and Georgia, serving thousands of girls facing academic challenges, trauma, and other obstacles to success. The organization, founded in 1985, uses a holistic model that combines individualized academics, counseling, and family support to keep girls on track toward graduation and economic independence. Cancel’s appointment marks a new chapter in Pace’s leadership.
Sources: GlobeNewswire Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Blackbaud-Convened AI Coalition Launches Free Certification Program for Nonprofit Professionals
The AI Coalition for Social Impact, convened by Blackbaud, has launched the AI for Social Impact Certification Program, offering free training to nonprofit and social sector professionals. The initiative’s first course, AI Fundamentals for Social Impact, is product-agnostic and led by instructors including Ari Kaplan of Databricks. According to Blackbaud Institute research, 85 percent of nonprofit professionals already use AI at work but many lack structured training in responsible deployment. The free certification is designed to close that gap, ensuring AI literacy reaches mission-driven organizations that lack resources for comparable commercial programs. Enrollment is open to nonprofits of all sizes and missions.
Sources: The NonProfit Times Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Protect Democracy Reports Four Months of Accelerating Strategy to Interfere in 2026 Midterms
Nonpartisan nonprofit Protect Democracy released an updated report, Deceive, Disrupt, Deny in Full Effect, documenting the Trump administration’s accelerating strategy to interfere in the 2026 midterm elections. The report updates their March analysis and finds four months of mounting evidence — including an FBI raid on Ohio’s leading voter-registration group, a Postal Service rule to control mail voting, and acting DNI Bill Pulte purging experienced intelligence staff. The administration is 0–15 in federal court on voter-roll data requests but uses those losses to cast doubt on election integrity, Protect Democracy warns. The report urges voters, poll workers, and communities to prepare to defend certification.
Sources: GlobeNewswire / Protect Democracy Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Wells Fargo Commits $2 Million to Expand CodePath Tech Education at Two Charlotte Universities
National nonprofit CodePath has announced a two million dollar philanthropic investment from Wells Fargo and the Wells Fargo Foundation to expand tech education in Charlotte, North Carolina. The investment will embed CodePath’s industry-aligned courses in computing programs at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Johnson C. Smith University, a historically Black college, with an initial cohort of 300 students and a goal of serving 2,000 students annually by 2028. Charlotte’s tech sector has grown nearly 20 percent in five years. CodePath’s model centers on first-generation and low-income students, building pipelines to careers in AI, software engineering, cybersecurity, and mobile development.
Sources: PR Newswire Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Curated by JD · samwise.agency