When the calendar rolls over to January, we’re surrounded by words like resolution, restart, and rejuvenation. I’d like to add one of my own —refresher.
For those who may be new to Gates Philanthropy Partners—and even for those who may have been with us for nearly a decade since we launched —we are starting the year with a refresher on who we are and how we work.
First, some history.
Following Warren Buffet’s lead in 2006, other donors were inspired to send unsolicited donations to the Gates Foundation. Gifts came in from schoolchildren who had raised funds and seniors naming the foundation in their wills. They trusted us to steward their funds. We needed a way for people to easily give, and for those gifts to be expertly, efficiently, and transparently granted alongside Gates Foundation strategies.
Gates Philanthropy Partners (GPP) launched in 2016 as a public charity—independent from the Gates Foundation but closely aligned.
Here’s how we work.
We offer donors a variety of ways to give
We offer donors something unique—the ease of decision-making to issues that are complex, like global health and US education. And we offer options: donors can select one of the existing funds or special initiatives we manage. GPP can also be a beneficiary to donors and families that are considering their legacy planning.
Some people are looking for partnerships with the Gates Foundation and our team can facilitate that relationship. For example, we matched one donor keen to support refugees with a foundation investment in UNHCR to create safe hygiene access for women in a Rohingya refugee settlement in Bangladesh.
We engage with experts to identify opportunities for funding
As gifts are received, we ask smart, tough questions. Where can additional flexible funding have the greatest impact? Where is the need greatest? What funding is needed now versus months from now? What is actually going to work? How many people will be reached?
To find those answers, we are continuously engaged with program experts across the six divisions at the Gates Foundation—global health, global development, global growth and opportunity, gender equity, global policy and advocacy, and U.S. programs—with an eye on where additional funding could move a project forward.
We move efficiently by leveraging Gates Foundation grantmaking processes
Money never sits idly in an account. Once a potential opportunity is identified, we work alongside the program experts to understand the context, goals, budget, and activities. Because grants have already been vetted by the foundation’s due diligence processes, we’re able to move quickly on decisions and leverage its infrastructure and financial systems.
We share what we learn
Instead of separate reporting, we receive the same progress reports that are shared with foundation program officers. That way, we also gain first-hand insights into what’s going well and if there are any delays or concerns, without creating extra work.
Each year we share an Impact Report with all our donors—ensuring we’re communicating where funds are spent and highlighting the work of our grantees.
Since 2016, we have granted more than $350 million. We experienced a surge in giving during the pandemic and those donations were channeled into our COVID-19 Fund, which granted more than $150 million to initiatives focused on testing, research into treatments, vaccine distribution, and getting supplies to frontline health workers in low- and middle-income countries.
Gates Philanthropy Partners provides a powerful way for donors to give—in collaboration with others to have an outsized impact. If you’d like to learn more about how we work, please reach out to [email protected].
