AI for Good Fund is supported by Google.org and the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht
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Pictured: Deirdre Mortell, Rethink Ireland; Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht Jerry Buttimer; and Karen Stolberg, Google
Rethink Ireland has launched a €1.75 million national initiative to help close the growing AI literacy and adoption gap in Ireland’s nonprofit sector, supporting organisations to build practical skills to apply artificial intelligence in their day-to-day work.
Funded by Google.org with match funding by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, the AI for Good Fund will empower nonprofits, social enterprises and community organisations to strengthen their impact through data-driven decision-making and digital innovation.
As part of the initiative, a series of Discovery Day workshops will take place nationwide in June and September 2026. These in-person workshops will provide hands-on training and guidance at no cost, helping organisations understand how AI can be applied in real-world settings to achieve better outcomes, with capacity building support from US-based nonprofit, Project Evident.
The Discovery Days are part of a wider programme that will support 30 organisations through a 12-month-long AI Opportunity Accelerator, including access to sub-grants, technical support and mentoring to embed responsible AI use into their operations, governance, and strategic planning.
Announcing the new initiative, Deirdre Mortell, CEO, Rethink Ireland, said: “The AI gap is the new literacy gap. The nonprofit sector, with its focus on people and communities cannot afford to be left behind. It presents an enormous opportunity for organisations to deepen their impact, operate more effectively, and reach more people. This fund will support organisations across Ireland to build the skills, confidence, and ethical frameworks they need to keep pace with technological advances and to continue delivering tangible impacts with and for their communities.”
Also welcoming the initiative, project lead Simon Morfit, senior director, Project Evident, said: “We’re excited to support Rethink Ireland in bringing lessons learned from our AI capacity-building efforts in the United States (involving 150+ organisations) to Irish nonprofits and social enterprises. We’re grateful to Google.org for its continued investment in responsible AI adoption in the nonprofit sector and its recognition that building organisational capacity is essential to unlocking better, more equitable outcomes at scale.”
TechCentral Reporters