Today, Siegel Family Endowment, a foundation focused on shaping the impact of technology on society, announced nearly $17 million in grants to organizations pioneering innovative approaches to learning, work, and community-centered infrastructure design. This comprehensive funding cycle reflects the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to ensuring communities can actively shape and benefit from technological transformation, rather than simply adapt to it.
“What would it look like for communities to lead the design of both emerging technologies and the places where innovation takes root?” said Joshua Elder, Vice President and Head of Grantmaking at Siegel Family Endowment. “Across our portfolio—from rethinking high school through competency-based learning to advancing AI-responsive workforce pathways in rural regions—we see that lasting change begins with strong systems, trusted information, and real input from students, workers, and educators. When these voices shape the foundation, innovation becomes more equitable, relevant, and resilient.”
A number of the organizations receiving Siegel’s grants include:
- Aspen Digital, a program of the Aspen Institute
- Biodesign Challenge
- The Birmingham Promise
- Black River Innovation Campus
- Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
- Center on Rural Innovation
- Center for Labor and a Just Economy, Harvard Law School
- CitizensNYC
- Feedback Labs
- Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (The Stanford d.school)
- Jobs for the Future (JFF)
- The Obama Foundation
- National Council of Nonprofits
- SETDA
- Study Group
Redesigning Learning and Infrastructure Together
Siegel’s investments recognize that transforming education and advancing community-centered innovation are deeply interconnected challenges. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is leading efforts to build a new educational architecture for the American high school, helping catalyze and sustain high school transformation from time-based to competency-based models that better prepare students for success in civil society and the modern economy. At Stanford, the d.school is designing in and with a diverse range of communities to reimagine the relationship between technology and humanity. Supporting system-level change, SETDA will continue to produce its annual EdTech Trends Survey to help state leaders navigate the evolving digital learning landscape.
This intersection of learning and infrastructure extends throughout Siegel’s portfolio. In New York City, CitizensNYC is celebrating 50 years of championing neighborhood-led solutions to local challenges. Aspen Digital is convening cross-sector leaders to examine how emerging technologies influence the information ecosystem, while The Obama Foundation is engaging young leaders in shaping a more inclusive, civically engaged future. Additional grantees, including Biodesign Challenge, Black River Innovation Campus, and others are exploring new ways to connect innovation, community, and public good.
Preparing Workers for an AI Economy
As artificial intelligence reshapes how we work, Siegel is backing efforts that ensure workers are prepared and empowered. Jobs for the Future (JFF) is launching an Entrepreneur-In-Residence Accelerator Program to support entrepreneurs developing AI solutions that are inclusive, ethical, and informed by worker experiences. The Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School is conducting research into how AI impacts workers in business operations roles, providing insight into the risks and opportunities posed by automation.
The Center on Rural Innovation is partnering with rural communities to develop AI-integrated tech talent development ecosystems tailored to local needs and opportunities, with enhanced curricula and training. In Birmingham, Alabama, The Birmingham Promise is creating new on-ramps to the tech sector for local youth as part of a growing ecosystem of inclusive talent development in the region.
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