Edmonds Food Bank Capital Campaign receives major grant award. EDMONDS - Edmonds Food Bank was awarded a $500,000 grant from Gates Foundation for Thrive Together: A Capital Campaign to Build a New Edmonds Food Bank. The grant marks a major milestone for the campaign and brings total funds raised to more than $3.3 million as the organization raises funds to build a new permanent home to best serve the growing needs of the community. Currently operating out of the basement of Edmonds United Methodist Church, Edmonds Food Bank has outgrown its existing space. The organization is actively seeking land for a future facility that will dramatically expand its ability to provide food access and support services to neighbors experiencing food insecurity. The future Edmonds Food Bank will include: * Increased food storage capacity * The ability to offer more distribution hours and improved customer access * Dedicated space for partner organizations providing services such as nutrition education, financial literacy, legal assistance, healthcare access, and workforce support * A community garden * A commercial teaching kitchen for cooking classes and community programming Staff from Gates Foundation toured Edmonds Food Bank in March during a food distribution to see firsthand the challenges within the current space, as well as the impact the organization has on the community. Within the last few weeks, Edmonds Food Bank has served record numbers including providing groceries for 1,670 households in one week. The grant comes at a pivotal moment for the campaign following the recent launch of the Edmonds Food Bank's Community 555 Campaign, a community-wide fundraising effort inviting supporters to help build momentum for the campaign. Tell us what you think. This poll is no longer accepting votes If you are IAM member, will you vote to approve the October 19 tentative agreement with Boeing? Poll ends 11:59 p.m., Oct 22, 2024.

DA4TI attends ICT4D Conference 2026 in Nairobi. Digital Agenda for Tanzania Initiative (DA4TI) was privileged to receive support from its partner, NetHope, to participate in the ICT4D Conference 2026 held in Nairobi. DA4TI was represented at the conference by Senior Researcher Bonface Witaba during the event organised by Catholic Relief Services in partnership with organizations including NetHope, Gates Foundation and KICTANet. The biennial conference marked a return to Kenya's capital and East Africa's leading technology hub for the first time since 2016. Held from May 20 to 22, 2026, the three-day gathering brought together stakeholders from across the Internet governance, policy, humanitarian, development, and technology sectors to explore the future of digital transformation through panel discussions, workshops, round tables, and hands-on learning sessions. The conference featured close to 80 sessions and attracted hundreds of participants from around the world, both physically and virtually. Discussions focused on the growing role of technology in addressing global development challenges and shaping inclusive digital futures. One of the key highlights of the conference emerged from the opening keynote delivered by a senior official from Kenya's ICT Ministry, who underscored Kenya's deliberate efforts to position itself, and Nairobi in particular, as a leading African centre for technology, innovation, and emerging digital industries. The remarks emphasized Africa's role in the next industrial revolution and the growing importance of Information and Communication Technology as the backbone of modern economies across sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, finance, manufacturing, logistics, cybersecurity, and governance. The conference further highlighted Africa's youthful population as a major strategic advantage, noting the continent's growing influence in the global digital economy. Kenya's success in mobile money innovation and the rise of Nairobi's "Silicon Savannah" ecosystem were cited as examples of how African-led innovation continues to shape global conversations on technology and financial inclusion. Kenya's ongoing investments in Artificial Intelligence, digital public infrastructure, broadband connectivity, cloud and data systems, innovation hubs, startup ecosystems, and digital skills development were also underscored. Significant attention was given to the importance of ethical technology governance, data protection, regulatory clarity, and inclusive digital transformation as countries prepare for the opportunities and challenges presented by emerging technologies. The Conference sessions were structured around three major thematic tracks focusing on data governance, sustainable development, and the future of digital ecosystems. Conversations explored the changing data landscape and the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence in humanitarian and development work, while also examining concerns around privacy, interoperability, ethics, and responsible data use. Other sessions examined how digital technologies can support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals through climate resilience, stronger food systems, improved healthcare delivery, and more effective emergency response mechanisms. Discussions also explored how funding shifts, youth leadership, and expanding digital public infrastructure are reshaping localisation efforts and contributing to more inclusive and sustainable digital futures. Overall, the conference reinforced the growing importance of technology, collaborative governance, and inclusive innovation in driving sustainable development and strengthening resilience across communities globally. DA4TI expresses its sincere appreciation to NetHope for supporting participation at the conference. The organization looks forward to applying lessons and practical strategies gained from the event in its ongoing programmes, while also strengthening collaboration with nonprofit and technology partners engaged during the conference.

New $200 million partnership backs AI public goods projects. Anabelle Colaco 16 May 2026, 21:05 GMT+ SAN FRANCISCO, California: Anthropic and the Gates Foundation have launched a four-year, US$200 million partnership to support artificial intelligence projects focused on health, education, and other public-interest initiatives. The two organizations said that each will contribute roughly half of the commitment. Anthropic's contribution will include technical staff support and usage credits for its Claude chatbot, while the Gates Foundation will provide grant funding, program design, and technical expertise. The initiative follows a separate $50 million agreement announced in January between the Gates Foundation and OpenAI to support 1,000 clinics and communities across Africa with AI tools by 2028. The new partnership aims to ensure that the benefits of AI are shared more broadly at a time when concerns are growing that the technology could widen inequality and displace jobs. One major focus will be on improving language accessibility. Janet Zhou, a director at the Gates Foundation, said many AI systems perform poorly when writing and translating dozens of African languages. To address this, the partnership plans to support data collection and labeling efforts that will be released publicly to improve AI models across the industry. Another area under consideration is the creation of knowledge graphs to help AI systems better support teachers in sub-Saharan Africa and India. "The public-goods focus has come from the needs of different partners and governments, including some of the fears that they may have around proprietary lock-in and sovereignty," Zhou said. The organizations also plan to equip research centers with Claude to help identify potential drug candidates for treating HPV and preeclampsia, conditions that have historically attracted less commercial investment from pharmaceutical companies. Elizabeth Kelly, who leads Anthropic's beneficial deployments team, said the partnership aligns closely with the company's founding principles. "This announcement is really core to who we are as a company," Kelly said. Anthropic, backed by Google and Amazon, has grown rapidly as demand for its AI and coding tools has surged.