Prospective Fellows: Help mission-driven organizations put AI to work for good

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.

Fellows are full-time CodePath employees with full benefits. CodePath handles payroll, W-2s, and HR, while the host organization directs day-to-day work.

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 January 2027 and August 2027.

Host organizations are nonprofits of all sizes, geographies, and focus areas. Focus areas include:

• Arts and culture
• Benefits access and public assistance
• Civic technology and government services
• Community development
• Education
• Environment and conservation
• Financial health and economic opportunity
• Food security and nutrition
• Housing and homelessness
• Humanitarian assistance
• Refugee services
• Legal services and justice
• Public health and healthcare access
• Research
• Small business and entrepreneurship
• Workforce development and job training

• Age and experience. You’re 18 or older with under two years of full-time work experience.
• Work authorization. You’re authorized to work in the United States.
• No degree required. That includes no technical education—it’s okay if you’ve never written code.
• Willing to relocate. Your host organization could be anywhere in the country. You need to be open to moving for the year—we cover relocation costs if you do.

• One application. Apply here—applications are rolling.
• Deadlines. July 17, 2026 for the first cohort (starts October 19, 2026). Applications stay open on a rolling basis for the January 2027 and August 2027 cohorts.
• What the application includes. A short form about you, two Anthropic courses on AI fluency and Claude, and two short-answer questions.
• If you move forward. You’ll have a take-home assessment, a 25-minute conversation with our team, and a final round of two interviews. Anthropic and CodePath employees will conduct the conversations and interviews. At each stage in the process, we will let you know where you stand as soon as we can.
• If you’re selected. You will interview with two to three host organizations to find the best fit for you and the host organization based on their projects, your skill set, and your interests.

• You have used AI. You have used Claude or AI in your daily life and have a baseline understanding of how it works. You do not need to have experience with coding or other technical tasks.
• You’re interested in learning new skills. You pick things up on your own and are not afraid of trying something new.
• You can clearly communicate your ideas. You can explain what you’re working on and why in a way others understand.
• You work well with others. You listen, like working with other people, and collaborate well on a team.
• You’ve shown up for something. That can be a cause, a community, or a problem that matters to you—and you’ve tried to do something about it, in a small or large way.

• You’re a paid employee. CodePath is your employer for the year. You get a full salary, health benefits, and paid time off.
• You work on site at your host. You move to where your organization is, work there in person, and report to a dedicated manager. Your host organization will give you a project (or projects) based on what they need most. By the end of your fellowship, you will have used AI to further the mission of your host organization.
• You keep learning. The year starts with an intensive training bootcamp. After that, about five hours a week is structured training; the rest is project work.
• You have a community. You’ll have access to a CodePath mentor, Anthropic office hours for the hard technical questions, and a national cohort of fellows.

• You have an on-ramp to build your career. The point of this year is to develop a set of skills and experiences that help you navigate a world that’s changing fast. Our hope is that the next step is truly yours: join a nonprofit, a government agency, or a company; enroll in school; or build your own thing.
• You leave with real skills and real work. You have a year of hands-on experience putting AI to work inside an organization, and at least one project you owned from start to finish. We hope that helps open the doors you want opened.
• You leave with a network. You have relationships with your host organization and a national cohort of fellows that outlast the year.

Claude Corps is open to early-career applicants who meet all of the following:

• Are 18 or older
• Have under two years of full-time work experience
• Are authorized to work in the United States
• Already use AI tools in their day-to-day life or work, and have taken concrete action on a cause, community, or problem they care about
• Are willing to relocate to the host organization if needed (relocation support is available)

There is no minimum education requirement. Fellows do not need a college degree, so STARs (workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes) with less than two years of full-time work experience are encouraged to apply.

No formal AI training or coding background is required, but applicants should already be using AI tools in their day-to-day. Specifically, we expect fellows to be able to:

• Use Claude (or a similar AI tool) to research a topic, summarize sources, or work through a question they don’t yet know the answer to
• Draft, revise, and improve written work with AI assistance
• Ask an AI for help understanding or working with code, even without a coding background
• Judge when an AI’s response is trustworthy and when it needs verification or a follow-up question
• Adjust how they prompt when a first attempt doesn’t get them what they need

Every fellow completes a Claude-focused training program before placement, so we are not looking for expertise—we are looking for the comfort and judgment that comes from real day-to-day use. Fellows with deeper technical backgrounds are matched to more technical projects.

Yes, as long as the applicant is available to work full-time starting October 19, 2026, and has under two years of prior full-time work experience.

Claude Corps Cohort 1 is specifically designed for early-career applicants with under two years of full-time experience.

Applications can be submitted here. The application asks for:

• Background and experience
• Short-answer questions, including one about a time the applicant made an impact in their community, and one about a time they learned from a mistake or setback
• Completion of two short AI training modules (AI Fluency and Claude 101) hosted on Skilljar—this gives applicants a preview of the training fellows receive, and helps the program see how they prompt, evaluate an AI’s response, and adjust when the first answer is not quite right (instructions are included in the application)
• Demographic information (voluntary, used for program reporting and equity tracking)

The application deadline for Cohort 1 (starting in October 2026) is July 17. Applicants who apply after the Cohort 1 deadline will be considered for upcoming cohorts, which will take place in January and August 2027.

Selection is based on five things: hands-on comfort with AI tools, ability to learn quickly, communication skills, self-direction, and a demonstrated drive to work on societal challenges. No specific background is required. The program is not looking for specific credentials but for people who already use AI in their day-to-day, pick things up quickly, communicate clearly, and can work independently in a new environment.

After applications are reviewed, selected candidates are invited to interviews. The process typically includes a skills-based assessment and at least one interview. Next steps are communicated clearly at each stage, and all applicants are notified of their status once review is complete.

Matching is a two-sided process. After fellows are selected, both fellows and host organizations rank their preferences. Matches are made based on project fit, geographic proximity, and mutual interest. Fellows interview with two to three finalist host organizations before a placement is confirmed, so fellows have a voice in where they end up.

All Cohort 1 placements are in-person. Fellows work on site at their host organization. Future cohorts will include hybrid and remote options.

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.

Cohort 1 begins October 19, 2026. During the first week, all fellows and host org representatives will attend base camp in San Francisco. After that, fellows will work from their host org location.

Base camp is a mandatory on-site orientation and training week held before fellows begin at their host organizations. It covers the Claude training curriculum, how to work with teams at the host organization, and professional skills for the year ahead. Travel and logistics are covered by the program. Details are shared with accepted fellows.

Fellows are embedded full-time at their host organization, working alongside colleagues at the organization on AI projects defined with the organization’s leadership. Projects typically focus on an operational or programmatic challenge the organization faces, such as streamlining intake processes, surfacing insights from data, or building tools that help staff focus more time on direct service. No two placements are identical.

Yes. About five hours each week is dedicated to structured training and professional development. This time is built into the fellow’s schedule—it is part of the job, not extra work on top of it. Supervisors at the host organization know this time is reserved.

Fellows have two points of contact. The host organization supervisor manages day-to-day work and project direction. The CodePath program contact supports professional development and handles any employment matters. If there’s ever a conflict between the two, CodePath is the final word on employment matters.

Fellows have dedicated support throughout the year, including help with problem definition and discovery, scoping and designing solutions, architecture guidance, prompt engineering support, evaluation design assistance, and regular office hours.

Fellows should tell their CodePath program contact. CodePath will work with the fellow and the host organization to understand the situation and find the right path forward, which may mean adjustments to the project, additional support, or, in some cases, a placement change. The program works hard to get matches right, and checks in regularly so issues are raised early.

The fellowship is a 12-month term designed as a career on-ramp. Fellows leave with a year of applied AI experience, a portfolio of shipped work inside a mission-driven organization, and a CodePath reference. The role does not convert automatically to a permanent CodePath position, but fellows are welcome to apply to any open roles through the normal process, and CodePath supports each fellow’s transition at the end of the year.

Claude Corps fellows are employed by CodePath at a salary of $85,000 per year, paid twice a month.

As full-time CodePath employees, fellows receive:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Paid holidays and flexible PTO
• Life and disability insurance
• Additional benefits including FSA, EAP, and pet insurance

Full benefits details are shared at offer.

Yes. Each fellow receives up to $2,500 in Claude API credits to use on approved host org projects. Fellows also receive training on Claude and the Anthropic API as part of base camp and ongoing professional development.

The fellowship is a full-time commitment. Outside employment or freelance work that conflicts with fellowship duties, creates a conflict of interest, or compromises performance is not permitted. Fellows with a specific situation should talk to their CodePath program contact.

Yes. Fellows work with their host organization’s internal data, systems, and processes. Confidentiality obligations apply both during and after the fellowship, and fellows may be asked to sign a confidentiality or IP agreement with their host organization as part of onboarding.

Contact recruiting@claudecorps.org. CodePath complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and applicable state laws, and will work with the fellow to determine appropriate accommodations.

Reach out to recruiting@claudecorps.org. This FAQ will be updated as more details are confirmed.