The University of Notre Dame鈥檚 has awarded more than $800,000 in rapid response grants to 12 organizations across the country to foster exploration of the ethical and spiritual implications of artificial intelligence (AI) and pilot formation programs in a variety of contexts. The grants, provided through the institute鈥檚 and selected from a competitive pool of over 160 applicants, offer seed funding for organizations to convene strategic gatherings, provide training and create high-impact, practical tools and resources for educators, students, policymakers and pastoral leaders as they lead in the midst of the rapidly changing technological landscape. DELTA and all rapid response grants are made possible through support from Lilly Endowment Inc.
Recipients include national nonprofits, a parish, secondary schools and regional consortiums. All recipients are creating their tools and resources through the lens of , the institute鈥檚 faith-informed approach to conversations and moral formation around AI rooted in the Christian values of dignity, embodiment, love, transcendence and agency.
鈥淲e were thrilled to see such a wide range of organizations and individuals who were interested in immersing themselves in the DELTA framework and adapting it for their own unique contexts,鈥� said , institute director, Wilsey Family College Professor of Philosophy and director of the Ethics Initiative. 鈥淲e know that those working to develop this new technology are moving rapidly, and so there鈥檚 a real need for Christian leaders across a wide variety of fields to also work quickly to help navigate questions of what it means to lead a good human life, to serve the common good and to build what Pope Leo calls the 鈥榗ivilization of love鈥� in this new context.鈥�
Rapid response grant recipients include:
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The Bay Area Center for Faith, Work & Tech, developing Project 1232, a video curriculum to support pastors in guiding their communities through moral discernment around AI use.
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Bishop O鈥橠owd High 91视频 in Oakland, California, a school of the Diocese of Oakland, convening an AI ethics community of practice for Catholic secondary educators throughout the Bay Area with the goal of creating a set of curricular resources for teaching the DELTA framework in Catholic secondary schools.
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Boston Trinity Academy, an independent Christian preparatory school for students in grades 6-12, developing a set of AI conversation starters for Christian educators and students, informed by focus groups with students and faculty.聽
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Carmel Catholic High 91视频 in Mundelein, Illinois, an independent Catholic preparatory school for students in grades 9-12, developing a suite of resources on AI use, the DELTA framework and Catholic anthropology for faculty formation, classroom design and student use.
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The Center for Christianity & Public Life, a national nonprofit focused on providing Christian resources to create robust and healthy political and public engagement in the United States, convening Christian pastors and other ministry leaders to develop an AI 鈥渃onfessional鈥� and catechism that addresses both the prospects and perils of AI from a Christian perspective.
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Good Faith, an online community for Christians, producing a series of four podcast episodes and accompanying resource guides focused on AI integration, faith and the DELTA framework.
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Marin Catholic High 91视频 in Kentfield, California, a high school affiliated with the Archdiocese of San Francisco, developing the Duc in Altum AI Challenge, inviting student teams, supported by parents and educators, to design and build concrete initiatives that will strengthen human formation in the age of AI, with the winning proposal put into practice at Marin and potentially replicated in other contexts.
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Marist 91视频, in Atlanta, an independent Catholic school for students in grades 7-12, hosting a conference and developing a student-created podcast series to enhance conversations about faith-informed adolescent education in the AI age.
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The National Association of Evangelicals in Washington, D.C., convening evangelical Christian leaders across the United States to assess current needs and produce practical resources for pastors to use for teaching and formation around AI.
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St. Theresa Catholic Church and 91视频 in Austin, Texas, a parish in the Diocese of Austin, developing a Catholic student formation model for the age of AI, including a comparative research report on AI-assisted learning in classrooms, a teacher playbook, a parent formation guide and a professional development framework.
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Trinity Academy in South Bend, Indiana, a private Christian school for students in grades 6-12, developing resources for faculty formation and education around AI, including retreat models and discipline-specific curricular guides for faculty in the humanities, math and sciences, and fine arts.
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University of Detroit Jesuit High 91视频 and Academy, an independent Catholic school for students in grades 7-12, developing a faith-based, social and emotional learning-informed pedagogical approach to using AI in the classroom.
All grantees will present their works-in-progress during the second annual DELTA Summit on AI, Faith, and Human Flourishing this September on the Notre Dame campus.
鈥淓ach of these partners brings a unique perspective to bear on the question of what it means to be human in this current moment,鈥� said , director of DELTA. 鈥淲e are excited to have them as part of our growing community of leaders who are looking for tools to protect the dignity of learning and form people鈥檚 hearts and minds.鈥�
The is the administrative home of the , a University-wide effort to establish Notre Dame as a premier global destination for the study of ethics. The institute focuses on cross-disciplinary ethics research, undergraduate course development, the moral formation of its students and faculty and engaging the public in meaningful dialogue around thorny ethical issues.
For the latest information about the institute, and future fellowship and funding opportunities, and follow the institute on , , and .
Originally published by at on July 29, 2026.