Anthropic expands AI support for nonprofits as it files to sell shares to the public

Earlier this month, Anthropic announced plans to set aside 5% of its shares for a new Anthropic Public Benefit Fund. The fund could make large donations to nonprofits or give money directly to groups of people harmed by AI. Shareholders must approve the fund after Anthropic completes its initial public offering, or IPO, when a company first sells shares to the public. This could happen as early as November.

Critics say AI companies are using donations and promises to support nonprofits to win public support at a time when many people are worried about the possible dangers of AI and its effects on jobs.

Anthropic says that, as a public benefit corporation, it balances business goals with the needs of the public. In a May interview with The Associated Press, Anthropic President Daniela Amodei said the company tries to make this balance clear. “I think there’s something really valuable about that as a construct just to help investors and employees and outside people understand what our intentions are and hold us accountable to them,” she said.

Other public benefit corporations include Warby Parker, which makes eyeglasses; Lemonade, an insurance company; and Amalgamated Bank.

Questions about whether public benefit corporations serve the public

Bella DeVaan, director of the Charity Reform Initiative at the Institute for Policy Studies, said public benefit corporations can make a difference. But she said the federal government does not currently regulate corporations well enough. Without changes to tax rules and a shift in what she calls “the public permissiveness toward billionaire power in America,” there is no guarantee that even public benefit corporations will act in the public's interest.

“Their wealth belongs to the public in the first place -- it’s created by the country and there’s a sort of social wage owed to people who use their products,” she said. “I hope that when people use the ethos of Silicon Valley that gave birth to these companies that have grand designs of changing the world that they’ll also think about how philanthropy could actually achieve charitable aims.”

Kelly said Anthropic's work with nonprofits is part of its mission. Of the 25,000 nonprofits currently using Claude for Nonprofits, most have fewer than 10 employees. This means the tool can make a big difference to these organizations. She pointed to Allies Against Slavery, a Texas nonprofit that fights human trafficking, as an example. Its only staff member working on government policy used Claude to study more than 750 state-level policies against human trafficking and turn them into recommendations for advocates.

“This is basically compounding good,” she said. “That’s the kind of work that we’re so excited to support here at Anthropic.”

Some nonprofits are already benefiting from Claude

Scott Burns, president and CEO of Montgomery County Food Bank, said his organization has already saved a significant amount of money by using Claude. These savings help the food bank provide food to more people in his Texas county, north of Houston.

“Costs have gone up for fuel,” Burns said. “Costs have gone up in every area – for proteins, in particular… I still want to be able to do more without adding a bunch of additional resources and (Claude) will enable me to do that.”

The Montgomery County Food Bank is one of the 30 nonprofits working with Anthropic to adapt Claude to its particular needs. Burns said his team has already used the tool to improve schedules for food pickups and deliveries and to stay in better contact with donors.

He looks forward to welcoming two Claude Corps fellows to the organization soon. They will help improve its old inventory system and plan volunteer schedules. Burns also hopes to share what the food bank learns with other food banks.

“Nonprofits – we’re kind of an open book,” he said. “Why would I not share? It’s only going to help get more people fed, right?”

Cat Ward, CEO of the Taproot Foundation, said her nonprofit is excited to work with Anthropic to provide nonprofits with free expert help on specific projects.

“Nonprofits are as lean as they come,” Ward said. “They’ve got the ambition. They’ve got the vision. This is about empowering them with tools that’ll help them go further faster.”

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