Prospective Hosts: Put AI to work for your mission

Claude Corps is a fully-funded, 12-month paid fellowship that places early-career AI-skilled talent inside mission-driven nonprofits—referred to throughout this FAQ as host organizations. Fellows work full-time on projects that help host organizations use Claude across their missions in areas like workforce development, public health, housing, food security, veterans services, and education.

Three organizations run Claude Corps together. Anthropic funds the program, leads its overall strategy, and provides Claude expertise. CodePath—a national nonprofit focused on technical education—recruits, trains, and employs fellows as the employer of record. Social Finance administers the program’s philanthropic capital and leads measurement and evaluation.

The benefits of transformative AI systems could come at the cost of significant disruption. The companies building this technology have a responsibility to make sure the benefits are fully realized and widely shared, and to invest directly in the workers absorbing the change.

Our goals are twofold: to equip host organizations with valuable tools and systems, and to help fellows build AI skills that will serve them in their careers.

Cohort 1 places approximately 100 fellows at host organizations across the United States starting in October 2026. The full program places 1,000 fellows across three cohorts, with the remaining 900 fellows starting in cohorts that begin in March 2027 and August 2027.

• US-based nonprofit. You’re a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
• Claude for Nonprofits customer. You’re a Claude for Nonprofits Team or Enterprise customer. If you’re interested and not yet signed up for this discounted program, you can learn more here.
• In-person or hybrid workplace. You have an office where the fellow can spend regular time alongside your team. Fully remote organizations can apply now to host a fellow in the 2027 cohorts, but not for the October 2026 one.
• A sponsor and a supervisor. You can name a senior leader to champion the fellowship and a staff member to manage the fellow day-to-day.

• A fellow. Organizations can host up to four fellows, with salary and benefits fully covered.
• A $10,000 implementation grant. A one-time grant per host organization, administered through Social Finance, to cover the operational and administrative costs of hosting.
• Claude access. Up to $2,500 in Claude licenses and API credits per fellow.
• Training for your fellow. Fellows complete an intensive base camp before they arrive and continue with about five hours of training per week.
• Two week-long convenings. Your fellow and a named representative attend two in-person events during the year. Travel and lodging are covered.

• A manager. A named staff member who holds regular check-ins, gives feedback, and ensures the fellow is always working on meaningful, high-impact projects. If someone at your organization is already leading AI-focused initiatives, we recommend that person manage the Claude Corps fellow. If not, choose whoever is best positioned to take on that leadership role.
• Equipment and access. A laptop, email address, and the internal systems and data the fellow needs to do their work. The implementation grant should help cover these costs.
• Light reporting. Time tracking for CodePath’s records, short monthly surveys, and a representative at quarterly virtual host convenings.
• A plan for what’s next. A view of how the fellow’s project work will continue after the year ends. Hiring a fellow full-time after the fellowship is an option but not a requirement.

• CodePath is the employer of record. Fellows are full-time, salaried CodePath employees placed with your organization. CodePath handles payroll, benefits, and all employment administration.
• CodePath handles the employment side. Anything related to the fellow as an employee, rather than the work itself—performance concerns, conduct issues, or ending the placement—goes through CodePath. If something isn’t working, get in touch with CodePath.
• You are the manager. You set the projects, hold check-ins, and guide what the fellow works on day-to-day, the same way you’d manage any member of your team.
• You own what gets built. Everything the fellow creates during the year belongs to your organization.

• Capable generalists, trained on AI. Every fellow completes a base camp training covering prompt design, building with Claude and the API, and running an AI evaluation before they walk through your door. Fellows with deeper technical backgrounds are matched to organizations with more technical projects.
• You define the project. You’ll name one or more operational or programmatic challenges in your application. Examples from past conversations include: a workforce nonprofit building a triage tool so case managers match clients to programs faster, a housing organization summarizing inspection reports to reduce paperwork, and a legal aid clinic prototyping an intake screener to route callers by issue type.
• It doesn’t need to be fully scoped. If you know something is slowing your team down but haven’t defined the AI project yet, that’s fine. Anthropic works with selected hosts on project discovery before the fellowship begins.
• You interview before you’re matched. You’ll meet two to three finalists per fellow seat and rank your preferences.

• One application. Apply here. The application takes about 30 minutes to complete. You’ll provide details about your organization, sponsor, and supervisor, and answer a few short questions about why you want to participate and what you’d want a fellow to work on. Download the full application as a PDF to coordinate internally first if you’d like.
• Deadlines. Applications are rolling across all three cohort start dates (October 2026, March 2027, and August 2027). To be considered for Cohort 1 (fellows start October 19, 2026), apply by 11:59 pm PT on Friday, July 17, 2026.
• Want to learn more first? Watch our information host organization webinar here.

Fellows are early-career talent with under two years of full-time work experience, authorized to work in the United States, and selected through an open national application process. There is no minimum education requirement. We select fellows who are eager to learn and have everyday comfort with AI tools, work well with others, can clearly communicate their ideas, and have a demonstrated drive for societal impact.

Think of each fellow as a capable generalist and a fast learner. Every fellow completes a Claude-focused training program before placement, which covers prompt design, building with Claude and the Anthropic API, and evaluation. Fellows with deeper technical backgrounds are matched to more technical projects.

Every fellow completes a Claude-focused training before placement and receives structured training throughout the year, with approximately five hours per week dedicated to upskilling and professional development. Host organization staff also receive access to Anthropic enablement programming, so nonprofits can build AI fluency alongside their fellows.

CodePath employs fellows as the employer of record. Fellows are full-time CodePath employees with full benefits. Anthropic is fully sponsoring Claude Corps in its first year.

Yes. Every fellow completes a background check before placement. If a host organization works with vulnerable populations or has its own screening requirements, they can let us know in their application so we can plan ahead to support their requirements.

We do our best to place fellows locally when both the fellow and the host prefer it, but we ask that fellows be ready to relocate when the right match is elsewhere. Host organizations share location preferences in the application, and the matching accounts for geography. Fellows receive funding for relocation if their placement is outside of their current location.

Host organizations must be a Claude for Nonprofits Team or Enterprise customer. For the September cohort, hosts also need a hybrid or in-person workplace where the fellow can spend regular time alongside colleagues, a named leadership sponsor and fellow supervisor, a clear vision for where the fellow fits into the team, and a commitment to the full 12-month fellowship. Fully remote organizations are welcome to apply but will not receive their fellows until our cohorts beginning in 2027.

If you’re not already part of our discounted Claude for Nonprofits program, you can sign up here and then complete the host application.

At the moment Claude Corps is not designed for these organizations, but our ambition is to scale the program to include even more mission-driven entities. Organizations based outside the United States are not currently eligible for Claude Corps. Based on what we learn from this first year, and if there is demand for it, we will explore expanding beyond the United States in subsequent years.

Fully remote organizations are welcome to apply but will not be eligible to host fellows until our cohorts beginning in 2027.

Yes. Many organizations know they want to put AI to work but haven’t yet identified the right place to start. The Anthropic team will work with selected hosts who are early in their AI journey on project discovery before the fellowship begins.

Complete the host organization application. Host organizations are asked to share basic organizational details, the name of a leadership sponsor and fellow supervisor, and the preferred number of fellows and start date, and to write a short statement about why they want to participate.

Applications are rolling. However, the cutoff for hosting the first cohort starting in October 2026 is 11:59 pm PT on Friday, July 17, 2026. We encourage host organizations to apply early.

To learn more before applying, watch the host org webinar.

Above all, we look for genuine enthusiasm to participate. Beyond that, we consider a mix of factors — in no particular order:

• Geographic variety, so each cohort reflects communities across the country.
• Domain variety across sectors like workforce development, public health, housing, legal services, education, conservation, and more, so fellows can contribute to a wide range of impactful work.
• A clear vision for the fellow's role, including how they'll fit into your team and broader strategy.
• Readiness for AI adoption — you don't need to be AI experts, but you should have a clear appetite for using AI in your work and some early ideas about where it could help.

If the number of qualified organizations exceeds the spots available in a given cohort, we'll defer qualified applicants to the next cohort start date.

We’ll notify host organizations in late August if they have been selected as a host for Cohort 1 (October 19, 2026). Fellow–host matching begins after selection.

Yes. If we can’t place a host organization in Cohort 1, we’ll automatically consider that application for Cohort 2, which starts in March 2027. Host organizations will be informed and will not need to reapply.

Yes, host organizations interview finalists before placement. Matching is a two-sided process designed to give both fellows and hosts agency. After fellows are accepted into the cohort, we pair potential fellows with host organizations based on project fit, geographic proximity, and mutual interest. Host organizations interview two to three finalists per fellow position and candidates interview with two to three organizations. Each side then ranks their preferences, and placement matches are confirmed.

Up to four. We recommend at least two fellows per organization, if feasible, to facilitate a strong experience. The right number depends on the host organization’s capacity, the projects they have in mind, and fellow availability. Please note preferences in the application, and we’ll confirm the final number during matching.

The fellowship runs for 12 months. Fellows are full-time CodePath employees and are placed with host organizations through an employer of record agreement. Approximately five hours of each week are dedicated to structured training and professional development, with the rest of the time dedicated to the host organization’s projects.

Host organizations should manage the fellow as they would any full-time hire. That includes:

• Naming a supervisor who holds regular check-ins, provides ongoing coaching and feedback, and keeps the fellow on track
• Providing one or more defined projects and access to the data, tools, and guidance the fellow needs to complete them
• Joining quarterly virtual convenings with other host organizations
• Completing brief monthly surveys and monitoring fellow work hours for CodePath’s records
• Building a plan for sustaining the fellow’s work after the fellowship ends

The best projects solve a specific operational or programmatic challenge the organization faces today, with identifiable users and a scope one or two fellows can make progress on. Examples include: a workforce nonprofit building a triage tool so case managers match clients to training programs faster, a housing authority summarizing inspection reports to reduce staff paperwork, and a legal aid clinic prototyping an intake screener to route callers by issue type.

This is expected and welcome. The initial project is a starting point. As the fellow builds trust and the host organization’s team learns what AI can do, projects will evolve. Anthropic staff can support this evolution, and some of the most valuable projects will emerge months into the fellowship.

Host organizations control what data, systems, and information the fellow can access, just as they would for any on-site contractor. Fellows need enough access to do their job well, and their supervisor can expand access as trust builds over the year.

Host organizations should connect with CodePath, as employer of record. CodePath will work with the organization and the fellow to understand what’s happening and find the right path forward. Depending on the situation, that may mean matching a new fellow to an organization and a new host to the fellow. CodePath will stay close so both fellows and host organizations have a positive experience.

Support mechanisms include:

• A dedicated member of CodePath and/or Anthropic staff offering office hours, architecture guidance, prompt development, and evaluation design for the fellow
• Approximately five hours per week of structured training for each fellow
• Enablement programming for staff at the host organization
• Two week-long convenings for the fellow and a named host organization representative, with travel and lodging reimbursed by CodePath

Anthropic covers fellow salaries and benefits through CodePath. A host organization’s investment is staff time to supervise and mentor the fellow, plus the standard equipment and access they’d provide to any new hire.

Every host organization receives a one-time $10,000 Host Implementation Grant, administered through Social Finance, to cover the operational and administrative costs of hosting. The grant is per host organization, not per fellow.

Each fellow receives up to $2,500 in Claude licenses and API credits, covering Max, Team, or Enterprise seats including Claude Code, plus API credits scoped to project needs.

Host organizations should treat their fellow like any new hire. That includes providing a laptop, an email address, access to internal systems, and the data and guidance they need to do their job well.

Tools, products, and code the fellow builds during the fellowship belong to the host organization. A Host Organization Memorandum of Understanding will set this out in writing.

We encourage host organizations to hire their fellows directly on a full-time basis if feasible, and we hope many will. Even if the fellow moves on, the tools and products they built stay with the organization, along with a documented handoff plan. Ongoing maintenance is the host’s responsibility once the fellowship ends, so hosts should start sustainability plans early.

Three short agreements, one with each program partner, so the host organization always knows who is responsible for what.

• Anthropic: a program MOU covering the host organization’s overall participation, Claude licenses and credits, enablement programming, and support.
• CodePath: an employer of record agreement covering the fellow’s employment, supervision expectations, time sheets, and other workplace terms.
• Social Finance: a grant agreement covering the $10,000 Host Implementation Grant for operational and administrative expenses associated with hosting a fellow.

We’ll send all three agreements after a host organization has been selected for a given cohort, with plenty of time for review before the fellowship begins.

Watch the Claude Corps host organization webinar. We walk through the program and the application and answer questions from prospective host orgs.

This FAQ will be updated throughout 2026-2027 to reflect the latest details.