The Upwork Foundation Partners With Nonprofits To Expand Human Potential
In a job market increasingly disrupted by technology, many workforce development nonprofits are doubling down on durable skills. By focusing on human-centric skills, these nonprofits are helping marginalized communities hone competencies that advanced AI cannot easily mimic and building a skillset that will be as valuable in fifty years as it is today.
For this reason, The Upwork Foundation is proud to announce its 2025 grantees, nine nonprofits that are expanding human potential across five continents by advancing skills in:
- Empathy
- Creativity
- Integrity
- Critical thinking
- Communication
- Leadership
The nine organizations will collectively receive a total of $800,000 to support their work over the course of the next 12 months. Upwork’s Director of Sustainability and Impact, Hannah Erickson, explains the idea behind Upwork’s grant strategy, “This year, we’re focusing on the fundamentals of professionalism and the building blocks of savvy teams. The six human-central skills we’re supporting will enable workforces to better shape, leverage, and oversee advanced AI tools, but also will help people build workplaces that support their needs, enabling deeper collaboration, advancement, and fulfillment.”
The Upwork Foundation’s 2025 grantees
Upwork’s nine grantees were recommended by The Upwork Foundation with support from its Giving Circle, a group of employees representing different departments across the company. Grants are approved and administered by the Tides Foundation, where Upwork holds a Donor Advised Fund.
The Alliance for Media Arts + Culture / Arts2Work
Based in: Brooklyn, New York
Focus: U.S.
Arts2Work helps artists build creative careers. Its National Apprenticeship Program in Media Arts and Creative Technologies provides on-the-job training for people from marginalized communities, enabling them to secure entry-level jobs as multimedia producers and digital video editors, while also helping employers build a pipeline of diverse, skilled, creative workers.
COOP Careers
Based in: New York, New York
Focus: New York City, NY; Los Angeles, CA; the Bay Area, CA; Chicago, IL; and Miami, FL
COOP bridges the social capital gap by equipping underemployed first-generation and low-income college graduates with digital skills and peer connections that unlock upward economic mobility. Many of these graduates are more likely to support families and have heavy student debts, and yet earn less than their degree-holding peers for a full decade on average. COOP helps these graduates build the relationships their peers already have, that can lead to referrals for jobs commensurate with their degrees.
Forward Inc.
Based in: Amsterdam, North-Holland
Focus: Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Turkey, Algeria, Sudan, Iraq, and Palestine
Forward Inc is an Amsterdam-based, internationally operating organization devoted to supporting people with refugee backgrounds in pursuing their entrepreneurial ambitions. Since opening in 2017, Forward has trained over 3000 people and supported the launch of over 200 businesses. Its programs are free of charge, and designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs through the full life-cycle of business growth, from conception to scaling.
Impact Justice
Based in: Oakland, California
Focus: California
Impact Justice works to advance safety, justice, and opportunity in the United States by shifting the status quo away from punitive systems and more toward investments in healing, human potential, and individual and collective accountability. Their work is evidenced-based, and through informed action they are shifting the narrative away from harmful legal systems to improved living conditions and life outcomes.
iLEAD Africa
Based in: Abuja, Nigeria
Focus: Nigeria
iLEAD AFRICA is a dynamic leadership and social innovation hub harnessing the power of digital technologies to empower young people and marginalized communities. Its goal is to have a positive impact on, and help shape a better future for, the people living on the African continent by providing platforms for learning, dialogue, and collaboration for the youth.
Latin American Leadership Academy (LALA)
Based in: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Focus: U.S., Caribbean, South America
LALA works to develop a new generation of entrepreneurial and ethical leaders who will serve the Latin American region. It works with purpose-driven 14-to-20-year-olds — many from historically marginalized communities — and helps them build skills in leadership, entrepreneurship, social innovation, social-emotional learning, and critical thinking.
Prelude
Based in: New York, New York
Focus: California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and North Carolina
Prelude partners with employers and schools to offer paid internships for high school students from lower-income communities. Its goal is to help students lead purpose-filled lives and achieve economic freedom by offering work-based learning experiences that empower students to identify and realize their most ambitious goals.
SheDev
Based in: Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan
Focus: Pakistan
SheDev is the first-ever women-led and women-owned tech company of Gilgit-Baltistan. It provides programs that teach in-demand digital skills that meet global standards to help empower women in Pakistan and drive social change.
Friends of Teach For India
Based in: Chicago, Illinois
Focus: South Asia
Founded in 2008, Teach For India believes that a nation is built in its classrooms, and so works to develop the next generation of educators and leaders for India. It works to help its graduates enter college, and its Fellows work in partnership with children to create safe, happy learning spaces.
The importance of workforce development in the modern job market
Today’s job market is being transformed by advances in technology, and in particular by AI. Large language models and similar tools are now able to perform tasks ranging from rote to highly computational, and people need to identify the skills that are uniquely ours and that enable our professional growth, economic mobility, and human connection.
The World Economic Forum’s Future Jobs Report 2025 predicts that 170 million new jobs will be created in the next decade. Those jobs will require a changing set of skills. While highly technical expertise related to AI and big data will be ever more critical, human-centric skills — including creative thinking, curiosity, resilience, agility, and leadership — will be in much higher demand.
Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT entered the mainstream in 2024, and demand for talent within certain job categories quickly seemed to falter. On Upwork, we saw a dip in demand for low-value jobs (those between $251-$500 per contract) in customer service, writing and translating, and data entry. Meanwhile, jobs for entry-level coding have been disrupted by AI tools’ ability to write basic code and vibe code entire websites and software applications.
There’s now mounting evidence, however, that AI systems aren’t delivering the right deliverables without key human input.
Upwork’s Monthly Hiring Report for September, 2025, revealed rising demand for skills that combat AI “workslop,” a term used for sub-par deliverables from AI tools. Project management among SMBs soared 102% as the majority of businesses recognized the need for human oversight and guidance to achieve their 2026 goals.
Our data also showed increased demand for quality assurance and project management skills, and demand for translation & localization grew 29% as businesses prioritized human oversight to course-correct AI output. At the same time, Upwork clients hired more digital marketing (up 9%) and video and animation experts (up 8%) to strengthen their generative engine optimization (GEO) and answer engine optimization (AEO) strategies.
So what does this mean for the schools and nonprofits that are preparing people for the future of work?
Workforce development organizations are used to keeping tabs on workforce and job trends. They read jobs reports and survey employers to constantly adapt their curriculum to meet the moment. And we believe that the contributions from The Upwork Foundation will help these future-focused non-profits achieve important goals.
Inspirational + human-centric
The Upwork Foundation works collaboratively with the Tides Foundation to process grants, ensuring grantmaking compliance. The Tides Foundation conducts due diligence on each organization before approving grants and issuing funds on Upwork’s behalf.
The 2025 grantees show what’s possible when technology and human-centric skills come together: stronger communities, greater opportunity, and deeper connection. Follow their journeys and the future of our grantmaking by staying connected with the Upwork Foundation on LinkedIn or X.
Since 2018, The Upwork Foundation has directed $6 million in grants to nonprofits focused on workforce development, entrepreneurship, job creation, and improved quality of life for traditionally marginalized communities. The Upwork Foundation grant program is by invitation only.
Learn more about The Upwork Foundation and previous grantees.
In a job market increasingly disrupted by technology, many workforce development nonprofits are doubling down on durable skills. By focusing on human-centric skills, these nonprofits are helping marginalized communities hone competencies that advanced AI cannot easily mimic and building a skillset that will be as valuable in fifty years as it is today.
For this reason, The Upwork Foundation is proud to announce its 2025 grantees, nine nonprofits that are expanding human potential across five continents by advancing skills in:
- Empathy
- Creativity
- Integrity
- Critical thinking
- Communication
- Leadership
The nine organizations will collectively receive a total of $800,000 to support their work over the course of the next 12 months. Upwork’s Director of Sustainability and Impact, Hannah Erickson, explains the idea behind Upwork’s grant strategy, “This year, we’re focusing on the fundamentals of professionalism and the building blocks of savvy teams. The six human-central skills we’re supporting will enable workforces to better shape, leverage, and oversee advanced AI tools, but also will help people build workplaces that support their needs, enabling deeper collaboration, advancement, and fulfillment.”
The Upwork Foundation’s 2025 grantees
Upwork’s nine grantees were recommended by The Upwork Foundation with support from its Giving Circle, a group of employees representing different departments across the company. Grants are approved and administered by the Tides Foundation, where Upwork holds a Donor Advised Fund.
The Alliance for Media Arts + Culture / Arts2Work
Based in: Brooklyn, New York
Focus: U.S.
Arts2Work helps artists build creative careers. Its National Apprenticeship Program in Media Arts and Creative Technologies provides on-the-job training for people from marginalized communities, enabling them to secure entry-level jobs as multimedia producers and digital video editors, while also helping employers build a pipeline of diverse, skilled, creative workers.
COOP Careers
Based in: New York, New York
Focus: New York City, NY; Los Angeles, CA; the Bay Area, CA; Chicago, IL; and Miami, FL
COOP bridges the social capital gap by equipping underemployed first-generation and low-income college graduates with digital skills and peer connections that unlock upward economic mobility. Many of these graduates are more likely to support families and have heavy student debts, and yet earn less than their degree-holding peers for a full decade on average. COOP helps these graduates build the relationships their peers already have, that can lead to referrals for jobs commensurate with their degrees.
Forward Inc.
Based in: Amsterdam, North-Holland
Focus: Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Turkey, Algeria, Sudan, Iraq, and Palestine
Forward Inc is an Amsterdam-based, internationally operating organization devoted to supporting people with refugee backgrounds in pursuing their entrepreneurial ambitions. Since opening in 2017, Forward has trained over 3000 people and supported the launch of over 200 businesses. Its programs are free of charge, and designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs through the full life-cycle of business growth, from conception to scaling.
Impact Justice
Based in: Oakland, California
Focus: California
Impact Justice works to advance safety, justice, and opportunity in the United States by shifting the status quo away from punitive systems and more toward investments in healing, human potential, and individual and collective accountability. Their work is evidenced-based, and through informed action they are shifting the narrative away from harmful legal systems to improved living conditions and life outcomes.
iLEAD Africa
Based in: Abuja, Nigeria
Focus: Nigeria
iLEAD AFRICA is a dynamic leadership and social innovation hub harnessing the power of digital technologies to empower young people and marginalized communities. Its goal is to have a positive impact on, and help shape a better future for, the people living on the African continent by providing platforms for learning, dialogue, and collaboration for the youth.
Latin American Leadership Academy (LALA)
Based in: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Focus: U.S., Caribbean, South America
LALA works to develop a new generation of entrepreneurial and ethical leaders who will serve the Latin American region. It works with purpose-driven 14-to-20-year-olds — many from historically marginalized communities — and helps them build skills in leadership, entrepreneurship, social innovation, social-emotional learning, and critical thinking.
Prelude
Based in: New York, New York
Focus: California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and North Carolina
Prelude partners with employers and schools to offer paid internships for high school students from lower-income communities. Its goal is to help students lead purpose-filled lives and achieve economic freedom by offering work-based learning experiences that empower students to identify and realize their most ambitious goals.
SheDev
Based in: Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan
Focus: Pakistan
SheDev is the first-ever women-led and women-owned tech company of Gilgit-Baltistan. It provides programs that teach in-demand digital skills that meet global standards to help empower women in Pakistan and drive social change.
Friends of Teach For India
Based in: Chicago, Illinois
Focus: South Asia
Founded in 2008, Teach For India believes that a nation is built in its classrooms, and so works to develop the next generation of educators and leaders for India. It works to help its graduates enter college, and its Fellows work in partnership with children to create safe, happy learning spaces.
The importance of workforce development in the modern job market
Today’s job market is being transformed by advances in technology, and in particular by AI. Large language models and similar tools are now able to perform tasks ranging from rote to highly computational, and people need to identify the skills that are uniquely ours and that enable our professional growth, economic mobility, and human connection.
The World Economic Forum’s Future Jobs Report 2025 predicts that 170 million new jobs will be created in the next decade. Those jobs will require a changing set of skills. While highly technical expertise related to AI and big data will be ever more critical, human-centric skills — including creative thinking, curiosity, resilience, agility, and leadership — will be in much higher demand.
Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT entered the mainstream in 2024, and demand for talent within certain job categories quickly seemed to falter. On Upwork, we saw a dip in demand for low-value jobs (those between $251-$500 per contract) in customer service, writing and translating, and data entry. Meanwhile, jobs for entry-level coding have been disrupted by AI tools’ ability to write basic code and vibe code entire websites and software applications.
There’s now mounting evidence, however, that AI systems aren’t delivering the right deliverables without key human input.
Upwork’s Monthly Hiring Report for September, 2025, revealed rising demand for skills that combat AI “workslop,” a term used for sub-par deliverables from AI tools. Project management among SMBs soared 102% as the majority of businesses recognized the need for human oversight and guidance to achieve their 2026 goals.
Our data also showed increased demand for quality assurance and project management skills, and demand for translation & localization grew 29% as businesses prioritized human oversight to course-correct AI output. At the same time, Upwork clients hired more digital marketing (up 9%) and video and animation experts (up 8%) to strengthen their generative engine optimization (GEO) and answer engine optimization (AEO) strategies.
So what does this mean for the schools and nonprofits that are preparing people for the future of work?
Workforce development organizations are used to keeping tabs on workforce and job trends. They read jobs reports and survey employers to constantly adapt their curriculum to meet the moment. And we believe that the contributions from The Upwork Foundation will help these future-focused non-profits achieve important goals.
Inspirational + human-centric
The Upwork Foundation works collaboratively with the Tides Foundation to process grants, ensuring grantmaking compliance. The Tides Foundation conducts due diligence on each organization before approving grants and issuing funds on Upwork’s behalf.
The 2025 grantees show what’s possible when technology and human-centric skills come together: stronger communities, greater opportunity, and deeper connection. Follow their journeys and the future of our grantmaking by staying connected with the Upwork Foundation on LinkedIn or X.
Since 2018, The Upwork Foundation has directed $6 million in grants to nonprofits focused on workforce development, entrepreneurship, job creation, and improved quality of life for traditionally marginalized communities. The Upwork Foundation grant program is by invitation only.
Learn more about The Upwork Foundation and previous grantees.
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