We focus our work on the areas where we can have the largest impact.
Supporting underserved small business-owners
Due to systemic barriers, young people, women, refugees, and other minority groups are significantly underrepresented as small and medium business (SMB) owners. Google.org supports nonprofits and organizations that are working with the most vulnerable groups of SMB owners, who are also among the hardest hit by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.1
Youth Business International is providing critical support to small businesses
Youth Business International supports underserved entrepreneurs to start, grow and sustain their businesses - enabling them to create jobs, build communities and transform lives.
As part of our COVID-19 response, we provided a $5 million grant to Youth Business International to provide critical support to underserved small businesses in 31 countries across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.
Providing access to capital
GiveDirectly delivers financial assistance to the people who need it most
GiveDirectly empowers marginalized communities and those affected by disasters like COVID-19 through direct cash transfers, which give people the flexibility to provide for their true needs, in contrast to in-kind donations. Since 2012, Google.org has provided over $10 million to GiveDirectly to support people in need and research the impact of GiveDirectly’s innovative approach.
Decades of experimental evidence show that cash transfers have positive long-term impacts and that they can stimulate local economies.
Digital skills for tomorrow’s jobs
The nature of work is changing. Both workers and workforce development organizations need better access to digital skills and tools to help them adjust to the demands of our current economy and find new opportunities.
To support these efforts, Google.org has committed more than $50 million globally to fund research and development projects to better understand how work is changing and identify new solutions.
Grow with Google makes IT certification available online
The Google IT Support Professional Certificate is an online program designed to prepare people for roles in IT support. Beginning learners can become qualified for an entry-level IT support role in just eight to 12 months.
To support Grow with Google’s mission to remove barriers to digital skills, Google.org funds need-based scholarships through leading nonprofits focused on underrepresented communities, including Year Up, Merit America, Per Scholas, Goodwill, the United Service Organization, and Upwardly Global.
Economic empowerment
We support digital skills training for job seekers, equitable access to capital, and small and medium businesses— particularly in underrepresented communities.
Crisis response
At Google.org, we provide technology, funding, and volunteers to better prepare communities ahead of disasters, ensure effective relief and support long-term recovery. Since 2005, we have donated over $60 million to more than 50 humanitarian crises and an additional $100 million to the global COVID-19 response.
Flood forecasting
Floods are the most deadly of all natural disasters. Flood forecasting and early warning systems can help individuals and authorities better prepare for impending floods to keep people safe. Google’s Flood Forecasting Initiative uses AI and advanced mapping capabilities to better predict the path of a flood which generates detailed alerts in Google’s online SOS and Public Alerts products.
Alerts save lives and livelihoods. Unfortunately, many of the most vulnerable in India do not have access to devices or to internet connectivity to receive them. Google.org is supporting nonprofits, including SEEDS, to build local capacity for flood preparedness, early warning and response- to ensure the benefits of powerful and accurate alerts can reach well beyond smartphones.
Sustainability
We support organizations using data and technology to enable everyone to create and live in a more sustainable world.
As cities now account for more than 70% of global emissions, it is critical that they are supported in their efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Tools like Google’s Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE), which has expanded to more than 100 cities worldwide, makes it easier to measure, plan, and reduce carbon emissions.
Global Environmental Insights Explorer Action Fund
To help communities turn these insights into action, Google.org started a $4 million fund in collaboration with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. Grants from the fund will support nonprofits and academic institutions in Europe and Latin America that are leading data-driven climate action efforts. One example is Iniciativa Climática de México (ICM), a Mexico-based nonprofit that catalyzes international climate policy at the national and city levels to promote low-carbon growth in Mexico.
AI for social good
At Google, we believe that artificial intelligence (AI) can meaningfully improve people’s lives, and that the biggest impact will come when everyone can access it.
La Fondation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF or Doctors Without Borders) is empowering health workers
Helping health workers prescribe the right antibiotics for bacterial infections is critical for individuals and for global management of antibiotic resistance. Antibiograms help guide these decisions, but in low-resource areas, medical staff often lack the skills needed to interpret them.
Google AI Impact Challenge grantee, La Fondation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF or Doctors Without Borders) is an international association of doctors and health sector workers that provides relief to victims of disasters, like COVID-19 and Ebola. Their smartphone app uses image recognition to rapidly analyze images of antimicrobial samples, enabling health workers to provide appropriate patient treatment with limited resources. Google.org supported this work with $1.3 million in funding and a team of Google.org Fellows.
Technology and innovation
We support organizations using technology to address societal and environmental challenges. We also empower third-party advocates to share the value, responsibility, and accessibility of AI and emerging technology.
View reports
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Insights from the Google AI Impact Challenge
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Closing education gaps
Since 2005, we have committed more than $250 million to tackle global education gaps, while empowering Googlers to volunteer their technical expertise. Our goal is to help more people—especially those in underserved communities—benefit from the promise of technology, in the classroom and beyond.
Khan Academy is helping anyone access quality learning materials anywhere
Since 2010, Khan Academy has grown into a robust online library of thousands of videos, articles, and interactive exercises spanning many topics Over ten million people use the platform worldwide every year in dozens of languages.
As Khan Academy has grown, so has Google.org’s support, which to date includes $12 million in funding, in addition to volunteer hours and other resources. Google.org has helped Khan Academy invest in the development of its intelligent software, deep data analytics and intuitive user interfaces that make their educational resources even more useful to students and teachers around the world.
Using AI to increase access to quality learning materials
We know that reading is a critical life skill. Unfortunately, far too many children around the world don’t have access to engaging and affordable reading resources in their mother tongue, which can cause literacy development delays.
Expanding StoryWeaver, an open-source translation platform for children’s books
Pratham Book’s StoryWeaver is a free online platform that connects readers, authors, illustrators, and translators to create free stories for children around the world. Since 2013, Google.org has supported Pratham Books with more than $4 million in funding, thousands of Google volunteer hours, and access to technical tools like the Google Translate API, which has enabled Pratham Books to dramatically increase the number of quality stories available through StoryWeaver.
Media literacy
A 2019 study from the Stanford History Education Group, found that two-thirds of high school students surveyed in the United States couldn’t tell the difference between news stories and ads.
In collaboration with the Google News Initiative, Google.org has committed $10 million to support organizations working on global media literacy efforts to help people distinguish quality content online.
Supporting organizations providing media literacy training to young people
We’re supporting online safety and media literacy for young learners and training for educators to provide everyone equal access to these foundational skills. As part of our $10 million commitment, we have supported Newswise, a program from the Guardian Foundation which provides media literacy lesson plans and workshops for teachers in the UK with the goal of creating a generation of young people who are news literate.
Learning
We support organizations that are supporting equitable access to quality learning materials, computer science education, and digital responsibility resources.
Our Approach