Jeff Bezos is literally moving mountains in his bid to combat homelessness. On Tuesday, November 22, the billionaire announced 40 grants totaling $123 million.
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If Microsoft’s Bill Gates is invested in the healthcare industry, Bezos is leading the way to alleviating poverty for so many families.
All We Know About Jeff Bezos’ Day 1 Families Fund Initiative
In 2018, Amazon‘s Jeff Bezos launched Day 1 Families Fund Initiative. Through the initiative, he has pledged to donate $2 billion in the fight against homelessness. As part of this pledge, he awarded 40 grants on November 22.
This is coming after Bezos sat down for an exclusive interview with CNN and talked about his decision to give away much of his $124 billion net worth during his lifetime. He also revealed that the key fields he’ll be distributing money to is environmental preservation and social justice issues, which will include donations to various projects and persons seeking to unify humanity.
This is probably why American country singer Dolly Parton, known for her advocacy on equality, was honored with Courage & Civility Award from Jeff Bezos and his partner Lauren Sanchez. The award came with a $100 million grant that the “Jolene” singer can put towards her many philanthropic efforts.
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Previous winners of the grant include chef Jose Andrés, who used some of the money to make meals for Ukrainians – and the climate advocate and CNN contributor Van Jones.
Shortly after CNN’s interview with Jeff Bezos, Bezos’ former wife donated another $2 billion to various organizations. This is her second big donation in less than a year, as she previously gave away nearly $2 billion that’ll go to over 465 organizations.
Jeff Bezos On Approaching Philanthropy With Strategy
Before Bezos came forward with his plan to donate much of his money during his lifetime, he was previously criticized for being one of the few richest people who didn’t sign the Giving Pledge, even though it was signed by hundreds of the world’s richest people.
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But Bezos isn’t only planning to give away his money, he wants to use strategy and research to make sure it has the right amount of impact it should. Talking to CNN about donating his vast wealth, he said that his aim is to figure “out how to do it in a levered way.”
“It’s not easy. Building Amazon was not easy. It took a lot of hard work, a bunch of very smart teammates, hard-working teammates, and I’m finding — and I think Lauren is finding the same thing — that charity, philanthropy, is very similar,” he said.
“There are a bunch of ways that I think you could do ineffective things, too,” he added. “So you have to think about it carefully and you have to have brilliant people on the team.”
The organizations set to receive substantial donations in this round of grants include The Salvation Army, Denver Metro Area, Mother Nation: Honoring the Beauty and Strength of Native Families in Seattle and Homeless Alliance in Oklahoma City.
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