In its first year, Pursuit’s AI Nonprofit Build Corps matched seven emerging technologists with seven New York nonprofits for paid, three-month projects.
Pursuit created the AI Nonprofit Build Corps to connect two needs: nonprofits seeking practical help to adopt AI, and New Yorkers seeking paid opportunities to apply their AI skills. Supported by a three-year FutureReady grant from the Mizuho USA Foundation, the program places Builders in paid, three-month deployments, working alongside nonprofit staff to develop solutions around organizational needs.
The Build Corps created paid opportunities for seven Builders while supporting seven organizations embedded in New York’s communities. On October 28, the Pursuit Builders and their matched nonprofits presented their projects at a Demo Day hosted at Mizuho’s U.S. headquarters.
Nonprofits are essential to New York’s communities and economy. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, New York City’s nonprofits provided approximately 641,000 jobs in 2022, accounting for nearly 17% of private-sector employment and paying almost $52 billion in annual wages.
Strengthening their technology capacity supports organizations that provide education, housing, health care, employment assistance, and other vital services. It also creates opportunities for emerging AI talent to contribute to that work. Through their projects, this first cohort of Builders gathered requirements, collaborated with staff, made technical decisions, and delivered solutions for their nonprofit clients, applying their Pursuit training in a professional setting.
“This initiative connects workforce development with a practical community need. Builders gain experience applying their skills in professional settings, while nonprofits receive support identifying where AI and other technology can strengthen their work. The Mizuho USA Foundation is pleased to support a model that brings those two priorities together,” said John Buchanan, Chief Information Officer of Mizuho Americas and Mizuho USA Foundation board member.
John Buchanan, Chief Information Officer, Mizuho Americas
“People need opportunities to show what they can do. The Build Corps gives Builders paid experience working on real organizational needs and brings AI capacity to nonprofits that serve New York. This is a critical learning experience that helps set our Builders up to succeed in their full-time jobs,” said Nick Simmons, CEO of Pursuit.
The program builds on Pursuit’s work with small businesses, including the recent Hispanic Federation SMB AI Demo Day. Across both settings, the model pairs organizations that need implementation support with local talent seeking professional experience.
During the engagements, several partners raised interest in continuing to work with their Builders. Effective adoption requires more than an initial demonstration. Staff need time, training, and technical support to test, maintain, and adapt new tools. That continued work could create additional opportunities for Builders while helping nonprofits build lasting capacity.
Builders worked alongside nonprofit staff to understand their needs and used AI to develop solutions around their existing systems and workflows.
Nick Simmons, CEO of Pursuit
Selected in partnership with Decoded Futures, the first-year cohort includes:
The Fortune SocietyMatched with Paula Lawton, developed David, an AI-powered assistant for staff questions about approved internal documents.
Welcome to ChinatownMatched with Manuel Roman, rebuilt a neighborhood canvassing app to help volunteers collect and save business information.
HeartShareMatched with Jonel Richardson, developed Bloom, a visual employment-interest survey with accessibility options and a staff dashboard connecting results with job options.
New York Sun WorksMatched with Pedro Martins, built a school-performance dashboard using organization-defined measures to help staff review data and identify schools needing attention.
Northern Manhattan Improvement CorporationMatched with Joshua Viera, created an RFP review tool that fills the organization’s existing viability form, links findings to source pages, and flags missing information for human review.
Met CouncilMatched with Juan Franco, developed policy-alert tracking and dashboard tools to help staff organize updates and compare document versions.
LeveragED FoundationMatched with Mahkeddah Thompson, produced an AI-assisted content tool that turns existing materials into draft social content for staff review.
Below, we spotlight The Fortune Society and Welcome to Chinatown for a closer look at how Builders worked alongside nonprofit staff to understand their needs and develop tools around their day-to-day work.
Pedro Martins and the New York Sun Works team present the school-performance dashboard.
The Fortune Society supports successful reentry from incarceration through a holistic approach to employment, housing, education, health, and other needs. Its Digital Equity Program addresses the technology access, skills, and support participants need in their personal and professional lives.
Pursuit Builder Paula Lawton began her work by visiting Fortune’s offices and meeting the people behind its services.
“I wanted to meet the people who do the work, just see their faces, get some energy from them,” Paula said.
Those conversations helped shape David, an AI-powered assistant designed to answer staff questions using approved internal documents. Fortune already worked within Microsoft 365 and SharePoint, so Paula adapted her build to that environment. The assistant is designed to help employees find information across functions such as HR, IT, and training, with citations linking answers to their sources.
The approach reflects a practical need: staff should be able to locate organizational information without searching across documents or repeatedly asking colleagues.
Paula gained experience adapting a technical solution to an organization’s existing systems, staff workflows, and testing needs.
From left: Jacob Schwartz, Paula Lawton, and Adrienne Whaley present David for The Fortune Society.
Welcome to Chinatown supports local businesses and entrepreneurs while strengthening connections across the neighborhood. Its work provides a direct link between nonprofit capacity and the small businesses that sustain New York’s local economy.
Matched Builder Manuel Roman joined technical-assistance sessions with business owners to understand the organization’s work before rebuilding its neighborhood canvassing app.
The previous app lacked a login system and a reliable way to save information. A volunteer who refreshed the page could lose the information they had entered. Using AI to support development, Manuel added login functionality and saved data, moved the app onto Welcome to Chinatown’s own hosting environment, and reorganized routes so volunteers could work address by address.
The tool captures details such as business type, vacancy, and opening hours, building a more useful picture of the neighborhood.
That information has a purpose beyond the map.
“Without information, it’s hard for us to advocate to policymakers about needs and small businesses,” said Welcome to Chinatown’s Chief Strategy Officer, Bryan Lozano.
The collaboration gave Manuel opportunities to lead volunteers through the app, respond to feedback, and connect his technical work to neighborhood advocacy.
“The technical work starts with listening. Working alongside the team helped me understand what volunteers needed in the field and how the information would be used. This paid engagement gave me experience building for a real organization and responding to the people using the tool,” said Manuel Roman.
Manuel Roman and the Welcome to Chinatown team present the rebuilt canvassing app.
These first-year projects demonstrate what is possible when emerging technologists gain paid, real-world experience while nonprofits receive practical support to explore and adopt AI. Employers, nonprofits, funders, and other partners can help extend that impact by creating additional opportunities for Builders and supporting organizations beyond the initial deployment.
Hire a Builder. Explore the Pursuit Lookbook and contact Pursuit about hiring Builders for future AI projects or full-time roles.
Participate as a nonprofit. Contact Pursuit to discuss your organization’s needs and readiness for a future Build Corps engagement.
Support paid opportunities. Help fund additional paid deployments and the implementation support nonprofits need to adopt AI.
Connect the work to your network. Introduce the projects and Builders to employers, nonprofit leaders, and partners who could benefit from the Builders’ skills.
To get involved, contact Devika Gopal Agge at devika@pursuit.org.