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The Rockefeller Foundation and OpenAI Foundation opened Cities Deliver: AI Solutions for Public Services on October 14, 2026. The 24-month program will award a total of $50 million to eligible nonprofit and civil-society organizations working with city governments to apply recent AI models to public services, with priority for underserved communities. Individual grants range from $500,000 to $2 million, and the initiative aims to benefit up to 100 million city residents worldwide.
What Cities Deliver funds
Cities Deliver is an organizational grant program, not an individual fellowship. An applicant must be an eligible nonprofit or civil-society organization with a committed city-government partner. The proposed work must have a charitable purpose, address a practical public-service problem and use recent AI models for complex tasks.
Applicants may select their own models and products. The published guidance does not require or state a preference for OpenAI technology. Civic-engagement proposals are eligible only for non-election work; voting and election projects are excluded.
Two grant tracks and award sizes
| Track | Grant amount | Who it fits | Permitted use during the 24-month term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | $500,000 to under $1 million | Early concepts ready for a first city pilot | Refining the idea with city partners, building and testing a prototype, and running the pilot |
| Scale | $1 million to $2 million | Solutions already piloted in a city with early results | Expanding within the original city or extending the solution to another city |
For both tracks, 50% of the award is disbursed at the start and the remaining 50% after a documented mid-term milestone. The grants do not guarantee follow-on funding, so applicants need a credible plan for sustaining the service after the award ends.
#1 Best Overall
Which city services qualify?
Proposals must improve access to, quality of or trust in services for underserved communities. The program identifies four focus areas:
Public health
Examples include helping residents find health care and benefits, improving information access and supporting public-health operations.
Rank #2
Economic mobility
Projects can target economic opportunity, benefits navigation, workforce access or other services that help residents improve their financial security.
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Eligible work may help cities prepare for extreme weather, communicate risks or improve responses to floods and other climate-related events.
Civic engagement
Resident information, court services, permitting, regulatory processes, digital access and connectivity can fit this area. Voting and election projects do not.
Key dates for applicants
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| October 14, 2026 | Call for proposals opened |
| October 31, 2026, 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time | Deadline to submit questions to citiesdeliver@rockfound.org |
| November 4, 2026 | Revised frequently asked questions expected on the program page |
| November 29, 2026, 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time | Round 1 eligibility screen and proposal, including a short video, due |
| December 2026 | Applicants notified about advancing to interviews |
| January 2027 | Interviews |
| February 2027 | Applicants notified about advancing to Round 2 |
| March 1, 2027, 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time | Round 2 proposals due |
| April 2027 | Applicants notified whether they were selected |
How to decide whether your organization is ready
- Confirm organizational eligibility. Apply through a qualifying nonprofit or civil-society organization, rather than as an individual.
- Secure the city partner. Document which city department will work with you, what it will contribute and how residents will access the resulting service.
- Choose the track that matches evidence. Use Seed for a concept moving toward its first city pilot; use Scale only when you can show a completed city pilot and early results.
- Define a measurable service outcome. Explain how the project will improve access, quality or trust, and how you will measure that change for underserved residents.
- Design for a 24-month delivery window. Include model development, testing, deployment, safeguards, city integration and the mid-term milestone tied to the second payment.
- Prepare the Round 1 materials. The first submission includes an eligibility screen, proposal and short video. Keep the evidence specific enough for reviewers to assess feasibility and likely reach.
- Plan beyond the grant. Because follow-on funding is not promised, identify likely operating owners, funding sources and maintenance responsibilities after month 24.
What the program is intended to support
The foundations describe Cities Deliver as an extension of work discussed at a 2023 convening attended by more than 40 civic leaders from six continents. Earlier supported efforts included projects in Cali, Colombia; Cape Town, South Africa; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Rio de Janeiro’s AI-enabled flood-alert system is intended to reach more residents and cover additional extreme-weather events.
- Dengue.AI is planned to expand outbreak forecasting from Cali to Cartagena.
- Cape Town’s resident-engagement platform is planned to grow its reach within the city and beyond.
These examples indicate the program favors operational services with a clear government owner and a path from demonstration to broader public use, rather than experiments without an implementation partner.
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Beyond the grant payment, selected organizations will have access to Rockefeller Foundation and OpenAI Foundation networks that include city leaders, funders and technical partners. Grantees will join a peer cohort and be invited to a global or regional convening to exchange lessons and showcase their work. Those connections are additional support, not a commitment to future financing.
Quick Recap
Best Value
What reviewers will need to see
- A strong, active city-government partnership rather than a letter of general interest.
- Evidence appropriate to the track: a pilot-ready concept for Seed or documented early results for Scale.
- A realistic delivery plan, budget and risk controls that fit 24 months.
- A specific explanation of how underserved communities benefit and how their experience will shape the service.
- Clear measures for service improvement, adoption, reliability and trust.
- A sustainability plan that does not assume another grant from the foundations.
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