I’m not sure how it’s already the end of 2024, but here we are! In the US, this week kicks off my favorite time of year – one that focuses on gratitude and giving. For more than a decade #GivingTuesday has launched the holiday season with a global day of generosity. It’s inspiring to be part of a global movement that is taking action—from millions of hours of volunteering to donations big and small to organizations making a difference in communities around the world. Last year in the US, more than $3.1 billion was donated. Incredible!
It’s this type of generosity that has the power to transform lives. At Gates Philanthropy Partners (GPP), we are grateful to those of you who have given generously throughout the year or are planning to make a #GivingTuesday commitment or your end-of-year gift.
Our goal is to make giving easy—and maybe even relieve some of your decision-making about where and how to give. We are a public charity that invests in trusted, vetted organizations alongside the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Our unique partnership with the foundation means we are built to maximize impact—and to get funding to programs around the world efficiently.
As a result, our portfolio of grantee partners ranges from world-renowned organizations like UNICEF working on polio eradication to community-based or regional organizations working on novel ways to tackle malnutrition in women and children in low-income countries.
Here are some of the organizations we supported in 2024 to inspire you to consider what is possible as you think about your own giving.
Shomvob: Creating job opportunities for women in Bangladesh
In the US we might use LinkedIn or Indeed to aid a job search. In Bangladesh, people turn to Shomvob, which aims to “connect talent with opportunity.” Beyond its networking platform, Shomvob has launched several employability training programs to build skills and help jobseekers navigate specific industries. In partnership with the Gates Foundation’s Gender Equality Division, GPP is supporting the platform’s efforts to engage low-income women in the job market by providing specialized outreach and training, like a recent training designed for women in healthcare.
SOS Médecins-Burkina Faso: Improving the quality of nutrition for pregnant women
When a woman is planning for pregnancy, her healthcare provider may offer guidance on nutrition and recommend vitamin supplements like folic acid to reduce the risk of birth defects in the brain and spine. However, women in low-income countries often face food insecurity or lack nutritious food sources, which undermine their health and threaten the survival of their baby. Multiple micronutrient supplements, known as MMS, containing 15 essential vitamins and minerals are a safe and effective way to improve the diets and nutritional status of pregnant women. GPP invested alongside the Gates Foundation’s Maternal, Newborn, Child Nutrition and Health team in SOS Médecins to support the introduction and scale-up of MMS in Burkina Faso—a country where 62 percent of women of reproductive age have anemia and 1 in 10 children are malnourished.
African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF): Reducing food security in Rwanda
There are more than 3 million farmers in Rwanda—and nearly 70 percent of rural households are engaged in smallholder farming to feed their family and often their nearby community. When a crop fails, those same households and communities can quickly spiral into food insecurity. For example, in potatoes, a fungus-like microorganism called late blight infects the leaves and tubers and can spread quickly. Farmers are interested in growing varieties of potatoes that are blight resistant without requiring chemicals. The same is true for other staples like cassava and maize. With support from the Gates Foundation and GPP, the AATF is working with local and global researchers to use agricultural biotechnology to develop disease-resistant crop varieties to reduce the risk of crop failures and increase the potential for families to consistently rely on these household staples.
At Gates Philanthropy Partners, we are fortunate to work alongside the Gates Foundation to source and fund projects like these for donors who want to engage in our ever-changing world. We strive to provide the best opportunities for giving—whether new, promising approaches that need catalytic funding or well-tested programs that are ready to scale.
Every day we collaborate with experts who are immersed in the fields of global health, gender equality, education, and beyond. They are talking to grantee partners, reviewing results of clinical trials or the roll-out of a new drug treatment. From these experts, we are able to curate the projects we share with you.
Happy Giving Season!
As you make your plans for this season of giving, we are here as a resource. If you’d like to learn more about our collaborative model, please reach out to [email protected]. And thank you to all those who have so generously partnered with us already. We couldn’t have supported the work of so many incredible organizations without you!
