The Upwork Foundation
Envisioning a future of inclusive economic opportunity so people have better lives
Full List of Grantees.jpg)
Envisioning a future of inclusive economic opportunity so people have better lives.
The Upwork Foundation is a philanthropic initiative created in connection with Upwork’s initial public offering. Funded in 2018 by a charitable donation of 500,000 shares of Upwork common stock, all contributions are made through a donor-advised fund at the Tides Foundation.
Full List of Grantees
In an effort to close the global opportunity gap, The Upwork Foundation funds initiatives that connect marginalized communities with life-sustaining knowledge work, no matter their location. We primarily fund organizations serving the following communities:
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AI is reshaping the workforce and early-career professionals are feeling the impact most. As automation reduces employers’ need for entry-level roles, critical career on-ramps that have traditionally helped newcomers earn income and gain on-the-job experience are eroding quickly.
In 2026, The Upwork Foundation will support nonprofits around the world that are reimagining how early-career talent access, conduct, and move beyond entry-level jobs in today’s labor market. We will support innovative work-based learning models that offer participants’ paid work experience, on-going skill development, and tangible pathways to career advancement.
Organizations will be invited to apply for funding if they can demonstrate sustainable funding, key employer and/or client partnerships, and a clear approach to managing systems-level challenges. Priority will be given to organizations serving marginalized communities and those that integrate AI readiness into their model.
Eligible models may include:
Our application process is invitation-only and we are no longer accepting inquiries from interested nonprofits. Please stay tuned to learn more about our 2026 grantees and our 2027 grants strategy.
Organizations listed here represent those recommended by The Upwork Foundation. 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 each grant and issuing funds on Upwork’s behalf.
Arts2Work includes the first ever federally-registered National Apprenticeship Program in media arts and creative technologies, the Arts2Work Accelerator Fund, Arts2Work Creative Studios, and a national network of Pre-Apprenticeship programs for youth.
Arts2Work is a paradigm-shifting creative workforce initiative sponsored by The Alliance for Media Arts + Culture.
Through digital skills and peer connections, COOP bridges the gap between college and career, helping underemployed graduates achieve upward mobility and long-term success.
COOP's unique fellowship equips first-generation and low-income college graduates with the skills and connections they need for the careers they deserve.
Forward·Inc empowers newcomers with a refugee background worldwide to launch, grow, fund, and sustain their own businesses by providing free-of-charge entrepreneurship programs towards economic self-reliance and social integration.
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Forward·Inc - Where Newcomers become Entrepreneurs
Through innovative, cross-sector projects, Impact Justice works to build a more humane and equitable criminal justice system that supports safety, justice, and opportunity for all.
Impact Justice is a nonprofit dedicated to shifting the status quo of the criminal justice system by reducing the number of people in the system, improving conditions for incarcerated individuals, and expanding opportunities for formerly incarcerated people to heal and reach their full potential.
Through its focus on capacity building, policy influencing, and digital advocacy, iLEAD AFRICA equips youth with the skills and values needed to shape a more just and prosperous future for the African continent.
iLEAD AFRICA is a leading civic tech organization in Africa leveraging digital technologies to empower young people and marginalized communities.
Latin America’s best resource is its young leaders. LALA is unleashing their potential to shape the region's future, one leader and one problem at a time. LALA finds, develops, and connects promising teenagers to become the entrepreneurs, executives, public servants, and social innovators Latin America deserves.
Latin American Leadership Academy (LALA) aims to promote sustainable economic development and strengthen democratic governance in Latin America by finding, developing, and connecting a new generation of diverse, principled, and socially innovative leaders.
Through its flagship Learn and Earn program, Prelude partners with leading companies and innovative high schools to design and deliver year-long paid internships for students from lower-income communities.
Prelude is a nonprofit organization that prepares young people for purpose-filled lives and economic freedom through transformative work-based learning experiences.
Through its coding bootcamps, digital literacy programs, and community initiatives, SheDev is nurturing a generation of women leaders who are shaping the future of Pakistan’s tech industry.
SheDev empowers women and girls in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, to pursue careers in technology by providing access to digital skills training, mentorship, and resources.
The TFI Fellowship recruits and builds a pipeline of extraordinary talent committed to transforming education, while the Alumni movement nurtures a network of leaders who drive change across the system- both visibly and behind the scenes.
Teach For India is building a movement of leaders working together at all levels of the system to provide an excellent education to all of India’s children.
Coded by's vision is to be the springboard for the leaders of the world’s most impactful tech companies and believes that we can increase the number of underrepresented people in leadership roles in the tech and startup space by providing a combination of education programs, resources, and support.
Coded by: equips underrepresented youth with the tech skills necessary to transform their lives, guiding them from their first line of code all the way to their first startup.
DOT is a Canadian-based not-for-profit organization that equips youth across 12 countries with digital tools, knowledge, and networks, fostering socio-economic change through partnerships and a peer-led model.
Digital Opportunity Trust works to mobilize and inspire underserved and disadvantaged youth with digital literacy, 21st-century skills, and the confidence to thrive in an inclusive digital economy.
The vision of IEI Pakistan is to drive change at the intersection of education, gender equality, and climate action, equipping individuals to become leaders and problem-solvers within their communities.
Innovate, Educate, & Inspire Pakistan works to address global and local challenges with knowledge, skills, and tools rooted in innovation and empathy.
KindKart provides a transparent way for donors to support the causes they care about in India, emphasizing the impact to the recipients through a personalized feedback loop to encourage recurring donations.
KindKart provides a charitable marketplace based on transparency that connects donors with causes they care about.
Latin America’s best resource is its young leaders. LALA is unleashing their potential to shape the region's future, one leader and one problem at a time. LALA finds, develops, and connects promising teenagers to become the entrepreneurs, executives, public servants, and social innovators Latin America deserves.
Latin American Leadership Academy (LALA) aims to promote sustainable economic development and strengthen democratic governance in Latin America by finding, developing, and connecting a new generation of diverse, principled, and socially innovative leaders.
MAIA empowers young women from rural villages in Guatemala's highlands through their secondary school education and post-secondary school success programs, which provide rigorous academics, workplace skills development, career access coaching, formal workplace experience, and professional networking.
MAIA Impact School is a pioneering educational initiative in Central America dedicated to maximizing and amplifying the transformational power of women to create a society with equity and opportunity.
Pacific Links Foundation empowers disadvantaged women and youth to break the cycle of human trafficking and forced labor by expanding access to education and safe economic opportunities, leveraging technology and global partnerships to amplify impact.
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Pacific Links Foundation supports the sustainable development of Vietnamese communities and the enrichment of their cultural heritage.
PN’s mission is to unlock the potential of disadvantaged youths by giving them access to education, and the means to acquire key soft and hard skills in the digital sector through training in our centers in Southeast Asia and Madagascar, committed to gender parity – at least half of our students are girls.
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PN empowers underprivileged youths in multiple countries through innovative digital education, allowing them to escape poverty in a sustainable way and contribute to the social and economic development of their country.
RefuSHE’s programs are rights-based, trauma-informed, and girl-centered to ensure our participants receive the necessary mental health support, skills training, and economic opportunities to rebuild their lives and thrive in the modern world.
RefuSHE works to protect, educate, and empower refugee girls and young women to build healthier and more resilient futures for themselves and their children.
Uncommon builds solar-powered Innovation Hubs from recycled shipping containers to bring free technology education, entrepreneurship, and employment training to communities that lack access to tech infrastructure, resources and opportunities. Our goal is to make Zimbabwe the most tech literate country in Africa, and then replicate our model in developing communities around the world.
Uncommon provides free technology education, entrepreneurship, and employment training to youth and young adults from underserved communities around the world.
Urban Alliance connects high school students to equitable, inclusive careers through paid work experiences, pre-apprenticeships, mentorship, and professional development. We work with schools and employers to address systemic barriers to economic mobility for young adults of color and to bridge the gaps between education and workforce development for all young people.
Urban Alliance works to create opportunities for young people in underserved communities to help them live a life of economic independence and upward mobility through vital skills training, mentorship, and meaningful paid work experiences.
Defy’s vision is to cut recidivism (return-to-prison) rates in half by leveraging entrepreneurship to increase economic opportunity and transform lives.
Defy Ventures is a national nonprofit whose mission is to shift mindsets to give people with criminal histories their best shot at a second chance through entrepreneurship, career readiness, and personal development training programs delivered both in prison and in the community.
Generation is a global nonprofit network that supports people to achieve economic mobility and a better life.
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Generation transforms education to employment systems to prepare, place, and support people into life-changing careers that would otherwise be inaccessible.
Humans in the Loop Foundation works across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and to date has provided vital digital skills training and employment opportunities to over 1,000 people.
Humans in the Loop's mission is to provide conflict-affected and displaced people with access to career development support, upskilling, and digital remote work opportunities.
ManifestWorks is an immersive workforce development organization; we turn real-world experience into opportunities for those impacted by foster care, homelessness and incarceration.
ManifestWorks is an immersive workforce development organization; we turn real-world experience into opportunities for those impacted by foster care, homelessness and incarceration.
We achieve our mission through rigorous training, robust support, and strategic partnerships with industry leaders to secure job placements, challenge biases, and dismantle obstacles to fair chance hiring.
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Next Chapter's mission is to empower formerly incarcerated people to excel in tech careers, fostering positive industry change for a more inclusive work environment.
PA Women Work helps individuals find lasting employment that pays a family-sustaining wage by empowering them with job search and interview skills, opportunities to build their confidence, help setting and achieving personal and professional goals, and job placement assistance.
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The mission of Pennsylvania Women Work is to empower women to advance in their careers and achieve self-sufficiency through life-changing career development programs and mentorship.
We strive to promote upward economic mobility, especially for individuals in historically marginalized communities, and to help power economic development by building a more diverse, skilled, and thriving technological workforce.
Per Scholas’ mission is to advance economic equity through rigorous training for tech careers, and to connect skilled talent to leading businesses.
Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) is dedicated to delivering the nation’s best outcomes in the prison re-entry field by empowering men to reconstruct their identities from tax consumers to taxpayers, gang leaders to servant leaders, and felons to community role models.
Prison Entrepreneurship Program unites executives and inmates through entrepreneurial passion and servant leadership to transform lives, restore families and rebuild communities.
Rubicon serves the San Francisco East Bay communities providing job training programs and related wraparound services to help individuals navigate systemic injustice and improve their individual economic mobility. We achieve this by providing crucial resources such as integrated job training and placement, career advising, financial education and asset building, health and wellness support, legal services, and opportunities for community engagement.
Rubicon's mission is to transform East Bay communities by equipping people to break the cycle of poverty.
Since its launch in 2020, Tech-Moms has helped more than 430 women re-enter the workforce and launch successful careers in tech; our motto sums up our long-term commitment to our community of women: Once a Tech-Mom, always a Tech-Mom!
Tech-Moms is a workforce development program that helps women transition into the technology industry by providing technical training, career exploration, and a long-term community of support.
Through prison education, transitional support and workforce reentry, TLM is disrupting the system of mass incarceration across the United States.
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Turn 2 U Inc. dba The Last Mile (TLM) is an Oakland, CA based 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to provide opportunities for personal and professional growth for justice-impacted individuals through education and technology training.
By providing free career development services to community members and catalyzing trans-inclusive work environments–spanning workplace culture and worker benefits–Trans Can Work envisions a radical transformation of the conventional workforce development landscape that promotes the economic empowerment of the TGI (trans, gender diverse, & intersex) community and all marginalized communities.
Trans Can Work is a TGI (trans, gender diverse, & intersex) workforce advocacy and action nonprofit whose mission is to create a culture, nation-wide, where TGI people can thrive in the workplace.
VetsinTech supports veterans and military spouses and our community is over 70,000 strong in over 60 chapters, in 20 states.
VetsinTech supports our current and transitioning veterans with reintegration services by connecting them to the national technology ecosystem. ViT is committed to bringing together a tech-specific network, resources, and programs for veterans interested in Education, Employment, and Entrepreneurship - the 3 E's!
For most asylum seekers, rebuilding a life with dignity and purpose begins with finding a job. AsylumWorks offers job readiness training programs to help asylum seekers find and keep jobs that are safe, legal, and meaningful.
AsylumWorks empowers asylum seekers and other migrants seeking humanitarian-based legal protection to rebuild their lives safely and with dignity.
The Brave House supports young immigrant women and gender-expansive youth, ages 16-24, in New York City, with a focus on those who are survivors of gender-based violence. We welcome youth who identify as female as well as those who are gender-non-conforming, transgender, or non-binary. The Brave House provides free legal support, community space, and holistic services, including art class, meditation workshops, English lessons, self-defense class, dance, career advising, college visits, mentorship and much more. The Brave House is a part of the Urban Justice Center through their Social Justice Accelerator incubator program.
The Brave House is a community of support for young immigrant women and gender-expansive youth (ages 16-24) in New York City, with a focus on survivors of gender-based violence.
INCO training and incubator programs provide the knowledge, skills, and habits necessary to secure in-demand, high-opportunity jobs in the changing economy. INCO has a presence across five continents, working to build a new economy based on sustainability and inclusivity.
Active in 50 countries, INCO’s mission is to create an economy that is green, inclusive, and sustainable by investing in and supporting innovative companies while equipping individuals facing barriers to employment with future-proof skills.
InReach is for the entire diverse LGBTQ+ community – including asylum seekers and refugees, undocumented and other immigrants, young people experiencing homelessness, those facing family or community rejection due to their identity, and other transgender and non-binary people in need of safe resources.
InReach supports the entire diverse LGBTQ+ community including asylum seekers and refugees; undocumented and other immigrants; young people experiencing homelessness; those facing family or community rejection due to their identity; and other transgender and non-binary people in need of safe resources.
Kiva is an international nonprofit, founded in 2005 in San Francisco, with a mission to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive. Kiva provides crowdfunding loans and unlocking capital for the underserved, improving the quality and cost of financial services, and addressing the underlying barriers to financial access around the world. Through Kiva's work, students can pay for tuition, women can start businesses, farmers are able to invest in equipment and families can afford needed emergency care.
Kiva is on a mission to expand financial access to help underserved communities thrive. Through Kiva's work, students can pay for tuition, women can start businesses, farmers are able to invest in equipment and families can afford needed emergency care.
Multicultural Refugee Coalition (MRC) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization employing refugees, immigrants, and asylees in fair-wage, dignified work through two social enterprises: a textile manufacturing studio and an organic farm. MRC enterprises are built at the intersection of the traditional, respected skills of sewing and farming that refugees bring and a growing market for local textile & food production.
The Multicultural Refugee Coalition (MRC) creates livelihood opportunities for refugees. MRC believes in the potential of all refugees to thrive in their new communities through dignified, fair-wage work.
Oakland Bloom’s mission is to advance economic equity in the food industry. It aims to support poor and working-class refugee, immigrant, and BIPOC chefs to launch their own food businesses, and to reenvision and reshape what a healthy and just food service industry could look like. It pursues these aims through its Open Test Kitchen food incubator program, and its Detoxify the Industry program, developing people powered cooperative food business models that embody community principles and values.
Oakland Bloom’s mission is to advance economic equity in the food industry. It supports poor and working-class refugee, immigrant, and BIPOC chefs to launch their own food businesses and to re-envision and reshape what a healthy and just food service industry could look like.
Annually, RISE provides services for nearly 400 refugees and immigrant families from over 25 nations worldwide. In contrast to traditional refugee resettlement agencies’ services that are limited to the individual’s initial 90 days, RISE’s staff continues to provide support for refugees and immigrants beyond this initial period. This ensures that all New Americans -irrespective of origin- are able to lead productive lives, engage in their community, and continue to pursue successful integration.
The mission of Refugee and Immigrant Self-Empowerment (RISE) is to advocate and promote self-sufficiency through employment, education, social support, and economic independence for members of the refugee and immigrant communities.
RefugePoint advances lasting solutions for at-risk refugees and supports the humanitarian community to do the same. RefugePoint helps refugees to find lasting solutions through self-reliance (helping them to meet their own essential needs) and through resettlement and other pathways to safety such as relocation for employment, education, and family reunification.
RefugePoint advances lasting solutions for at-risk refugees including access to resettlement and other pathways to safety. With a global office in Nairobi, Kenya, RefugePoint is on the ground in Africa to strengthen response solutions that help refugees lead healthy, dignified lives and become contributing members of society again.
With more and more refugees displaced for longer periods of time, businesses have a critical role to help them integrate economically into their host communities. TENT Partnership for Refugees encourages companies to think beyond traditional philanthropy. TENT works with businesses to include refugees by engaging them as potential employees, entrepreneurs, and consumers. When companies take this approach, they are not only helping refugees, they also see considerable business benefits.
TENT mobilizes the business community to improve the lives and livelihoods of refugees forcibly displaced from their home countries. TENT has a network of over 300 major companies committed to integrating refugees into their host communities.
Upwardly Global is the premier national organization working to support immigrants and refugees with international credentials to restart their careers in the United States. Upwardly Global is committed to using knowledge and experience to build the field and shift systems to advance inclusion.
Upwardly Global’s mission is to eliminate employment barriers for immigrant and refugee professionals, and to advance the inclusion of their skills into the U.S. economy.
We Are All America has led the emergence of an effective national organizing infrastructure that can mobilize public support for people fleeing violence and persecution, counter nativist forces, and develop more welcoming policies and practices in this area at the federal and state levels.
We Are All America has led the emergence of an effective national organizing infrastructure that can mobilize public support for people fleeing violence and persecution, counter nativist forces, and develop more welcoming policies and practices in this area at the federal and state levels.
Since 2009, Give Directly has delivered $500M+ in cash directly into the hands of over 1 million families living in poverty. They have operations in Kenya, Rwanda, Liberia, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Togo, DRC, Uganda, and the United States. In 2020, Give Directly delivered cash to twice as many people as all other years combined and delivered $0.92 of every dollar donated.
GiveDirectly lets donors send money directly to the world’s poorest households. They believe people living in poverty deserve the dignity to choose for themselves how best to improve their lives and that cash enables that choice.
Gaza Sky Geeks (GSG) is an initiative of Mercy Corps. It was established in 2011 in collaboration with Google with the goal of nurturing and leveraging highly skilled Palestinian youth to stimulate the Palestinian economy through tech and innovation. Operating across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Gaza Sky Geeks provides budding freelancers, founders, and coders with the technical training and support they need to earn a meaningful income online.
Gaza Sky Geeks is propelling Palestine’s digital work economy through upskilling and job placement services, with a focus on helping women.
REACH is a Vietnamese non-profit organization specialized in providing vocational training, career advice and job placement for Vietnam's most disadvantaged youth and young adults (16-30 years old). Established in 2008, REACH has opened centers in Hanoi, Hai Duong, Hue, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City. To date, REACH has trained more than 19,000 youth through intensive trainings that cover life and job readiness skills. REACH supports students in finding jobs that provide stable income and more than 80% of REACH graduates secure a job after completing REACH's courses.
REACH specializes in providing vocational training, career advice, and job placement for Vietnam's most disadvantaged youth and young adults.
Per Scholas has been advancing economic mobility for 25 years. They partner with leading employers to build more diverse talent pools, directly connecting graduates to new career opportunities at businesses ranging from Fortune 500 companies to innovative startups. With campuses in 17 major metropolitan areas and growing, Per Scholas has trained more than 15,000 individuals.
Through rigorous tuition-free training, professional development, and robust employer connections, Per Scholas prepares individuals traditionally underrepresented in technology for high-growth careers in the industry.
Digital NEST connects members to the latest digital technology, powerful skill-based, STEM-inspired training programs, and a transformative community of mentors and advocates. Their technical & soft skills training includes Earn-As-You-Learn opportunities where members refine their skill sets, build a professional portfolio, and are empowered to prosper in the 21st Century workforce.
Digital NEST is a youth workforce development center that provides both technical and essential "soft" skills training to youth, ages 14 to 24, in under-resourced communities.
LaunchCode is creating economic opportunity through free and accessible tech training, apprenticeship, and job placement. LaunchCode's programs are designed for motivated individuals who are assessed for passion, drive, and aptitude rather than credentials. The average LaunchCoder more than doubles their previous salary in their new role.
LaunchCode recognizes that while talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. They aim to change that with free and accessible tech education.
Merit America serves low-wage workers and recently out-of-work individuals who are interested in making a near-term job transition and have a high school degree. Merit America identifies family-sustaining careers, trains learners for those careers, and helps graduates start their new careers through job placement support.
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Merit America envisions a world in which anyone can advance their life based on merit, not money.
Year Up believes every young adult deserves equal access to opportunity and racial and economic justice. By working strategically with employers to ensure training is linked to in-demand jobs, Year Up has prepared tens of thousands of young adults for living-wage jobs with career pathways.
Year Up’s mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by ensuring that young adults gain the skills, experiences, and support that will empower them to reach their potential.
Year Up is committed to ensuring equitable access to economic opportunity, education, and justice for all young adults—no matter their background, income, or zip code. Year Up serves young adults ages 18 to 26 who have earned a high school diploma or GED but are otherwise disconnected from the economic mainstream. Their California campuses reach the underserved communities of East Palo Alto, Hollister, Oakland, and Redwood City to open doors to life-changing opportunities for these students.
Year Up's mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by ensuring that young adults gain the skills, experiences, and support for career empowerment.
Urban Alliance is building a diverse next-generation workforce by providing job-skills training, mentoring, and paid internships to young people of color in Washington DC, Northern Virginia, Baltimore, Chicago, and Detroit. In partnership with over 200 employers, they level the playing field for under-resourced youth, empowering high school students to connect to upwardly mobile careers and access the tools needed to overcome the systemic barriers preventing them from equitably accessing economic opportunity.
Urban Alliance aims to build a diverse next-generation workforce in their community through job-skills training and paid internships during high school.
re:work’s mission is to make our workplaces look more like our neighborhoods by making meaningful employment equally accessible to all residents, regardless of zip code or skin color. They seek to transform workplaces into diverse and inclusive spaces that reflect the diversity of Chicago’s neighborhoods and improve employment outcomes for untapped communities in the South and West sides, combating the lack of diversity in tech’s workforce in the process.
re:work training is improving outcomes for Chicago’s untapped communities and diversifying tech through educational and career opportunities.
Opportunity Junction helps motivated job seekers gain the skills and confidence to launch careers leading to financial security. They provide skills training and focus on job placement in careers that do not typically require college degrees, yet still promote upward mobility. Located in East Contra Costa County, California, Opportunity Junction is a resource for families displaced by gentrification within one of the epicenters of the emerging phenomenon known as suburban poverty.
Opportunity Junction helps motivated Contra Costa job seekers gain the skills and confidence to launch careers that lead to financial security.
The Mann Deshi Foundation operates an ecosystem designed to educate, train, and empower women of all ages in rural India to become entrepreneurs with support and access to financial institutions that these women may not otherwise have. Their vision is to empower women to make their own choices and to be celebrated as equal and valuable members of their families and communities. Mann Deshi provides access to knowledge, business skills, capital, markets, financial literacy, and supportive networks to help unlock the true potential of entrepreneurs. Mann Deshi serves Rural India including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and more.
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Mann Deshi Foundation empowers women entrepreneurs and their communities in rural India.
LaunchCode is a national nonprofit creating economic opportunity by adding new talent to tech ecosystems across the nation. While careers in technology have traditionally been reserved to those who can afford a four-year degree, LaunchCode's programs are free and accessible to motivated individuals who are assessed for passion, drive and aptitude rather than traditional career credentials. On average, LaunchCoders placed into paid apprenticeships and jobs more than double their previous salary.
LaunchCode recognizes that while talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. They aim to change that with free and accessible tech education.
Kepler provides a different kind of education – one that combines in-person, online and on-the-job learning in service of a singular goal: decent jobs for marginalized and economically disadvantaged young Africans. Kepler, through a partnership with Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), has enrolled more than 1,000 students across campuses in Kigali and the Kiziba refugee camp in Western Rwanda.
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Kepler provides African youth with new pathways to education and employment.
i.c.stars provides talented, low-income, young adults in Chicago and Milwaukee with the technical skills and business network needed to secure high paying careers in technology and to become leaders in their communities. I.c.stars was established to address the lack of opportunity and systematic oppression in our communities to activate a technology community of change agents to power social and economic freedom.
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i.c.stars provides a rigorous, technology-based workforce development and leadership training program for underserved adults.
Genesys Works believes that all young people, regardless of race, ethnicity, or socio-economic status, deserve an equal opportunity to reach their full potential. The organization provides earning and learning pathways to career success for young adults in underserved communities through skills training, meaningful work experiences, and impactful relationships. Genesys Works is a national nonprofit with virtual internships and program locations in the Bay Area, Chicago, Houston, New York City, the Twin Cities, and Washington D.C.
Genesys Works equips high school students with the knowledge and skills to achieve career success.
Gaza Sky Geeks (GSG) is an initiative of global humanitarian agency, Mercy Corps. Their mission is to build an internationally admired and competitive tech sector in Palestine that creates high-salary jobs and future leaders. GSG has been in operation since 2011, born with a seed grant from Google. They have been propelling Palestine’s digital work economy through upskilling and job placement services, with a focus on helping women.
Gaza Sky Geeks is propelling Palestine’s digital economy and future technology leaders to transcend borders through cutting-edge, peer-led education..
Friends of Ngong Road (FoNR) provides education and support to impoverished children in Nairobi, Kenya whose families have been affected by HIV/AIDS. FoNR takes an innovative approach by providing support in three essential areas: education, safety and well-being, and providing a supportive community.
Friends of Ngong Road provides education and support for children in Nairobi, Kenya whose families have been affected by HIV/AIDS.
The East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) was founded in 1988 by UC Berkeley’s law students who recognized the opportunity to channel the school's top talent toward solving the enormity of legal inequity in the Bay Area. EBCL operates eight nationally recognized clinics providing free services to over 7,000 Alameda and Contra Costa households and a clinical program boasting 150+ Berkeley Law students annually. As East Bay’s largest provider of legal services to Black and Brown families, undocumented individuals, and low-income people, EBCLC’s priority is to ensure that all clients and their communities realize healthy, dignified, thriving lives.
East Bay Community Law Center addresses racial and economic injustice and poverty through legal services, policy advocacy, and law training
EarthEnable trains and employs Rwandans and Ugandans as masons to create and install custom-developed earthen floors in local homes. Their program provides affordable and sustainable materials to address a pressing need for sanitary flooring, an obstacle to healthier lives for 75% of households in the region. EarthEnable is targeting the significant health challenges posed by dirt flooring, as well as creating long-term solutions for jobs in Rwanda.
EarthEnable is improving health outcomes through simple and affordable solutions in Rwanda and Uganda.
Digital NEST is a high-tech career development center for young people connecting youth with members of their community that train in tech and business skills. Their community center serves predominantly Latinx youth in the neglected agricultural and rural communities of Watsonville and Salinas, California, where youth have free access to computers, software, and a safe space to network and learn what they otherwise would not have.
Digital NEST connects youth to a skill-building community that transforms them into successful professionals who create innovative solutions and prosperous communities.
The vision of Centro Community Partner is to create a world where anyone, anywhere can get access to entrepreneurship education and capital to help them start a small business, become financially self-sufficient, and build financial security for their families. Their programming provides business planning, financial literacy support, and access to loans for women and minorities in Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Guatemala, and South Africa.
Centro Community Partners is building thriving communities by providing underserved, low-income entrepreneurs with business education, mentorship, and access to capital.
Pivotal supports foster youth in California’s Silicon Valley in obtaining vital education and career support for high school and college students, and prepares and places foster youth into paid summer internships. They stick by these youth throughout high school, college and into their careers, and help them get the life they want for themselves. Pivotal’s college graduation rate is 10-times the national rate for foster youth.
Pivotal helps young people in foster care reach their academic and employment goals to create the life they want for themselves.
Code Nation equips students in under-resourced high schools across New York City, Chicago, and the San Francisco Bay Area with the skills, experiences, and connections to access careers in technology. Their coding and work-based learning programs provide students with career-readiness skills, competencies and resources to set them up for success. Code Nation alumni will have the power to reduce wealth disparity, increase diversity in the industry, and develop technology that better serves our world.
Code Nation effectively propels students into tech careers and breaks deep-seated social and economic inequities in the tech industry.
African Entrepreneur Collective (AEC) envisions an Africa with low unemployment, where young people and refugees are engaged, where communities have access to relevant innovations for self-determination, and where African solutions are unleashed to solve African problems. They provide training focused on business development and debt financing for refugee entrepreneurs in Rwanda and East Africa to drive economic growth within their communities.
African Entrepreneur Collective works with local entrepreneurs in East Africa so that they can grow their businesses and create jobs.
Read updates on The Upwork Foundation's initiatives, impact, and partnerships to get insight into our purpose and vision.
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Pledge 1% is a global movement that inspires, educates, and empowers every entrepreneur, company, and employee to be a force for good. Over 10,000 members in 100 countries have used Pledge 1%’s flexible framework to ignite half a billion dollars in new philanthropy.
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If invited, prior Upwork Foundation grant recipients must submit a separate application to be considered for additional grant opportunities.
We strive to provide feedback to every organization that is invited by The Upwork Foundation to apply for a grant; however, due to an overwhelming number of applicants, we may be unable to provide individualized feedback. We are continually working towards improving our processes to better serve applying organizations.
Please contact us to learn more.
We fund a relatively small cohort (6-15) of organizations each year. To increase the likelihood that nonprofits who invest time in our full application have a higher likelihood of success (we aim to support one in three applicants), we proactively identify and invite only the organizations whose work very closely aligns with our annual funding focus.
The Upwork Foundation supports organizations globally with a focus on initiatives that expand access to economic opportunity in developing countries as well as low-income and marginalized communities.
We encourage you to follow The Upwork Foundation’s website and blog to get updates about future funding priorities. We typically announce our annual grant-making focus area in April, open applications in May or June, and make funding decisions between September and December.
Not at this time. The Upwork Foundation’s grantmaking is focused on expanding economic opportunity through initiatives that help marginalized communities obtain income and build careers. This includes initiatives that support access to employment, freelance work, and entrepreneurship in a wide variety of knowledge-work sectors.
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