AWS Imagine Grant

• Nonprofit organizations with a registered 501(c) status based in the United States are eligible to apply. This includes 501(c)3 organizations, as well as credit unions, public utility organizations, and other 501(c)-designated entities.
• Organizations with annual budgets of any size may apply for this program. AWS Imagine Grant welcomes all causes and mission areas. However, educational institutions are excluded at this time as they are currently outside of our priority funding areas.
• The Children’s Health Innovation Award is by invitation only in 2026.

We are in the process of expanding the grant program globally. Currently, the program is available to customers headquartered in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Please check back soon for updates.

Organizations with active 501(c) status or equivalent, that are registered in the United States but serve beneficiaries outside of these geographies, are eligible to apply.

We are not accepting applications from education institutions, including primary or secondary schools, and colleges and universities as they are currently outside of the AWS Imagine Grant priority funding areas. The AWS Education Equity Initiative accepts applications from nonprofits, governments, socially-minded EdTechs and corporate social responsibility teams seeking to build digital learning solutions for underserved and underrepresented communities. 

Yes. Organizations who have applied and not been awarded an AWS Imagine Grant are welcome to apply again.

We recommend that organizations wait a period of one calendar year or one cycle before reapplying to the AWS Imagine Grant, with the exception of projects that are clearly and sufficiently different in nature, scope ,or stage than the previous submission. Winners are welcome to reapply to the same or a different category than their initial award, given that the applications should be clearly and sufficiently different in nature, scope, or stage than the previous submission.

No. Each organization may only submit one application per award cycle.

No. At the time of Round One application, please select which category best fits your organizational goals.

The number of grantees in each award category varies each year depending on several factors, such as the number and quality of applications, and budget availability. The AWS Imagine Grant is one of many resources available to help you achieve your technology goals and we are committed to supporting you as much as possible.

No. The use of AWS is not a requirement to apply for an AWS Imagine Grant. As the award package includes AWS-specific resources, the AWS Imagine Grant is best suited for organizations who do plan to incorporate AWS technology into their project design.

We accept proposals once annually. Timeline for the 2026-2027 U.S. grant cycle is as follows:

• March 19 – Round One application guideline available for download and application portal opens
• June 5 – Round One application portal closes
• July 14 – Round One results notified via email; Round Two invitation extended via email
• August 10 – Round Two application portal opens (invite only)
• September 14 – Round Two application portal closes
• Mid-November – Imagine Grant results communicated via email
• December 1 – Imagine Grant winners publicly announced

An internal AWS adjudication panel will review project proposals. We anticipate communicating the results per the application calendar. We will communicate the decision to the proposal contact listed on each submission. We expect the proposal contact to notify their organization about award decisions and administrative requirements. If your proposal contact changes throughout the application process, please communicate that change to us at [email protected].

We seek to fund a diverse set of projects that leverage cloud technology for mission impact across the nonprofit sector. All mission and cause areas are welcome, excluding ineligible organizations listed above.

• The next application cycle will open in March 2026, at which time Round One application instructions will be available for download. The Round One application portal will open in March 2026, which you can access through the AWS Imagine Grant main page.
• We will extend Round Two applications by invitation only, based on the evaluation of Round One applications. Organizations who are invited to the Round Two will be provided instructions to submit full proposals for either the Momentum to Modernize, Go Further, Faster, or the Pathfinder award categories. Organizations may only submit one project for the category selected. Full proposal instructions will be provided to Round Two applicants only at the time of notification.

AWS will judge proposals based on factors that include:

• Innovative and unique nature of the project
• Impact on mission-critical goals
• Clearly defined outcomes
• Succinctly defined milestones
• Detailing and applicability of AWS services within the project scope
• Viability of proposed sustainability plan
• Comprehensiveness of applicant’s proposal and information requested
• Submission of proposal in correct format and within program deadlines

At times, a project may not fit neatly under one category. In these instances, consider where your project fits into your organization or program’s long-term goal and how your organization leverages technology today (check out our report on nonprofit cloud maturity). For example, if your long-term vision is to apply AI/ML to analyze your organization’s data but you are currently building a data lake to enable that long-term goal, Momentum to Modernize is the better category for you.

Yes. AWS Nonprofit Credit Program provides access to AWS Promotional Credit, enabling nonprofits to implement cloud-based solutions and meet their mission goals without upfront investment in physical infrastructure.

Yes, eligible 501(c)(1), (8), (9), (11), (12), (14), and (15) organizations can access $5,000 in AWS credits.

The Children’s Health Innovation Award is by invitation only in 2026. Join our email list to be notified about future grant opportunities.

Nonprofit organizations around the world may apply for up to $5,000 USD annually in AWS Promotional Credit through the AWS Nonprofit Credit Program.

AWS has a multitude of self-service resources and training resources. Watch this Imagine Grant tutorial video to help you put together a high-quality proposal. If you need support in defining your project scope or writing this application, fill out this form on the AWS nonprofits page and an AWS representative will reach out within 1-2 business days. Please prepare a high-level project outline so our colleagues can connect you to the right resources.

While only registered 501(c) nonprofits (and U.K. & Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand equivalent) are eligible to apply for the AWS Imagine Grant, many winning projects do utilize the support of a MSP/technology partner in implementation. For specific questions, please email us or reach out to your AWS account manager.

The AWS Education Equity Initiative accepts applications from nonprofits, governments, socially-minded EdTechs, and corporate social responsibility teams seeking to build digital learning solutions for underserved and underrepresented communities.