Bloomberg Philanthropies is a philanthropic organization that encompasses all of the charitable giving of founder
Michael R. Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
. Headquartered in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Bloomberg Philanthropies focuses its resources on five areas: the environment, public health, the arts, government innovation and education. According to the
Foundation Center
Candid is an information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies. In 2016, its database provided information on 2.5 million organizations.Wyland, Michael. "GuideStar Introduces Program Metrics Section for Nonprofit Profile ...
, Bloomberg Philanthropies was the 10th largest foundation in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 2015, the last year for which data was available. Bloomberg has pledged to donate the majority of his wealth, currently estimated at more than $54 billion.
Patti Harris is the CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies.
History
While working at
Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is a privately held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was co-founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan (Bloomberg), Duncan MacMi ...
, Bloomberg donated much of his wealth to medical research, education and the arts. He also sat on the boards of numerous charitable organizations. Beginning in 2004, Bloomberg appeared on
Chronicle of Philanthropy
''The Chronicle of Philanthropy'' is a magazine that covers the nonprofit world of philanthropy. Based in Washington, DC, it is aimed at charity leaders, foundation executives, fund raisers, and other people involved in philanthropy. ''The Chroni ...
’s list of top 50 Americans who had donated the most money that year.
Between 2004 and 2011, Bloomberg was listed as a top 10 American philanthropist each year.
Since 2006, the headquarters has been located at
Stuyvesant Fish House on East 78th Street in Manhattan.
Initiatives
Bloomberg Philanthropies directs its resources to five issue areas: the environment, public health, the arts, government innovation and education.
Environment
Bloomberg Philanthropies has focused on
combating climate change and moving toward clean energy sources. In 2011, the foundation partnered with the
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
’s
Beyond Coal The Beyond Coal movement is a campaign by environmental group the Sierra Club to promote renewable energy instead of coal. Their primary objective is to close coal power plants in the United States, including at least one-third of the country's m ...
campaign by donating $50 million toward shutting down coal-fired power plants. On April 8, 2015, Bloomberg Philanthropies increased its support of the Beyond Coal campaign with a $30 million pledge, in order to accelerate the goal of closing and replacing half of all U.S. coal power plants with clean energy by 2017. Beyond Coal expanded into Europe in summer 2017 with a goal of phasing out the use of coal on the continent by 2030. The campaign marked the closure of the last coal-burning power plant in Austria in 2020. 2020 also saw the expansion of Beyond Coal into Asia including the launch in of Korea Beyond Coal in September of that year. Building on the momentum of the Beyond Coal work, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched Beyond Carbon, taking aim at natural gas and combustion-driven cars.
Bloomberg Philanthropies partnered with
RadicalMedia
RadicalMedia is an independent global media and communications company. Founded by Jon Kamen and Frank Scherma, the company develops, creates, and produces film, television, advertising, branded content, music videos, live events, design, digita ...
to produce the 2017 documentary "From the Ashes." the film was distributed by
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
and debuted at the 2017
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...
. The film appeared in theaters and aired on National Geographic in summer 2017. In conjunction with the film, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a new commitment and crowdfunding campaign to support "entities backing economic development in communities that are historically dependent on the coal industry, and have suffered as plants have closed." In 2018, Bloomberg Philanthropies again partnered with National Geographic and Radical Media for a follow-up documentary, “From Paris to Pittsburgh.” The film examined the social and economic impacts of climate change-fueled natural disasters, from the heartland to the nation’s coastlines.
Bloomberg Philanthropies also partners with the
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group –
The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is a group of 97 cities around the world that represents one twelfth of the world's population and one quarter of the global economy. Created and led by cities, C40 is focused on fighting climate change a ...
, where Bloomberg is the former chairman, to curb carbon emissions in major cities around the world. In 2012, Bloomberg Philanthropies made a $6 million donation to the Environmental Defense Fund to help secure strong state-level regulations for hydraulic fracturing. Bloomberg has stated his support for "responsible" fracking as an alternative to coal power. In January 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies committed $53 million to Vibrant Oceans Initiative over the course of five years to help reform fisheries and increase sustainable populations. In April 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies invested $5 million in Little Sun, a solar-powered lamp company founded by artist
Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson ( is, Ólafur Elíasson; born 5 February 1967) is an Icelandic–Danish artist known for sculptured and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer's ...
and entrepreneur Frederik Ottesen.
In June 2017, after President Donald Trump announced plans to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, Bloomberg Philanthropies Founder Mike Bloomberg unveiled plans to honor the nation’s commitment through a network of governors, mayors and businesses. The alliance, known as
America’s Pledge was coordinated by Bloomberg Philanthropies. In cooperation with the
Rocky Mountain Institute
RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute) is an organization in the United States co-founded by Amory Lovins dedicated to research, publication, consulting, and lecturing in the field of sustainability, with a focus on profitable innovations for energy an ...
and the
World Resources Institute
The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. WRI's activities are focused on seven areas: food, fore ...
, America’s Pledge monitored climate activity and issued a series of reports in keeping with the climate accord’s data requirements. When President Joe Biden took office in 2021 and announced plans to rejoin the climate agreement, America’s Pledge and another Bloomberg Philanthropies led climate initiative called We Are Still In joined forces to become America is All In.
In 2018, Bloomberg Philanthropies and OceanX, an initiative of the
Dalio family, committed $185 million over a period of four years to protect the oceans.
In May 2019, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a 2020 Midwestern Collegiate Climate Summit in
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
with the aim to bring together leaders from Midwestern universities, local government and the private sector to reduce climate impacts in the region.
In October 2020, Bloomberg Philanthropies was announced as one of the alliance partners of
Prince William
William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales.
Born in London, William was educa ...
's
Earthshot Prize, to find solutions to environmental issues.
In May 2022, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a $242 million expansion into its efforts to help the world transition to clean energy. The announcement, made during the Sustainable Energy for All forum in Kigali, Rwanda, announced the investment will expand current energy transition efforts to 10 countries. These include Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey, and Vietnam. The initiative will focus on delivering data and research to governments and decision makers to aid and accelerate renewable investments; developing public awareness; working with countries to implement transition policies through international collaboration; launching clean energy pilot projects; and exploring strategies to phase out coal use. Key partners include
Sustainable Energy for All and
ClimateWorks Foundation
ClimateWorks Foundation is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization founded in 2008. ClimateWorks Foundation's mission is to slow global warming by funding other organizations internationally to help find best practice solutions to cut down o ...
.
Public health
Led by epidemiologist
Kelly J. Henning, the Bloomberg Philanthropies public health program has focused on reducing tobacco use through the
MPOWER tobacco control strategy, making roads safer and eradicating polio, among other public health initiatives. In March 2012, the foundation donated $220 million to fight tobacco use over a four-year period. Following new commitments in December 2016, Bloomberg Philanthropies reached a total of $1 billion in its campaign to reduce tobacco use, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In 2009, Bloomberg Philanthropies partnered with the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
to donate $125 million to reduce traffic-related fatalities, and in 2014, it committed an additional $125 million to combat road traffic deaths in low- and middle-income cities. In March 2013, Bloomberg Philanthropies donated $100 million to help the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...
eradicate polio worldwide.
Bloomberg Philanthropies has also supported initiatives to improve women's health. In July 2012, the foundation committed $50 million to the Global Family Planning Initiative, a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation program focused on providing obstetric care and contraceptives to women in developing countries. This contribution came after Bloomberg pledged $250,000 to support
Planned Parenthood
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
in February 2012. In October 2012, the foundation also donated $8 million to the Bloomberg Philanthropies Maternal Health Program, which focuses on reducing maternal deaths in
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
. In March 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies expanded its work in Tanzania and to provide reproductive health services in Africa and
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
.
Beginning in 2012, Bloomberg Philanthropies pledged $16.5 million toward the Obesity Prevention Program, a three-year effort to support public health policies aimed at reducing obesity in Mexico, which has one of the highest rates of obesity in the world. With support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Mexican health leaders and activists mounted a national health campaign against soda consumption and successfully lobbied for the passage of a national sugar-sweetened beverage tax. In 2014 - the first year of the tax - purchases of sugary drinks in Mexico dropped by up to 12%.
In January 2014, the Obesity Prevention Program and other health advocates in Mexico successfully lobbied for the passage of an 8% tax on high calorie snacks, which was intended to work in tandem with the 2014 soda tax to reduce unhealthy food purchases nationwide. In June 2015, a study by researchers at Mexico's National Institute of Public Health and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill showed a corresponding average reduction of 5.1% in purchases of all food items subject to the junk food tax. Following the tax's implementation, lower-income households in Mexico purchased 10.2% less junk food, while medium-income households bought 5.8% less overall.
On March 23, 2015, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched the four-year, $100 million Data for Health initiative in partnership with the Australian government. The initiative's stated goal is to help 20 low and middle-income countries improve public health data collection and more effectively address public health problems. On June 21, 2016, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced the official launch of health partnerships with the first 18 participant countries, which include China, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brazil, Ecuador, Malawi, Morocco, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Rwanda, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, and Zambia.
In 2019, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched a program to help prevent drowning in Bangladesh where they are the leading cause of death for children. The project focuses on providing childcare and other monitoring solutions to keep children out of harm’s way. In 2020, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced it would double its ongoing effort to fight road traffic deaths worldwide with $240 million in additional funds through 2025 focusing on speed management and enforcement, infrastructure design and vehicle safety.
Arts
Bloomberg Philanthropies’ focus on the arts includes a $32 million commitment in 2011 to funding arts organizations and initiatives throughout New York City as well as provide business management training. Bloomberg Philanthropies invited 250 small and midsize arts organizations to apply for the $32 million disbursal. In September 2011, Bloomberg Philanthropies joined several foundations to contribute a total of $11.5 million to ArtPlace, a nationwide art funding initiative led by the
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
that aims to use the arts as a strategy for economic development.
In June 2013, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a $15 million grant to five institutions —
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, the
New York Botanical Garden
The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...
, and
Guggenheim Museum
The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.
Museums in this group include:
Locations
Americas
* The Solomon R. Guggenhei ...
— as part of the Bloomberg Arts Engagement Initiative to develop mobile applications for visitors. In September 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies committed $17 million to increase the use of digital technology at six cultural institutions – The
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...
,
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
,
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 museums that fall under the wing of the Smithsonian Inst ...
,
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...
, the
Science Museum in London
The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually in 2019.
Like other publicly funded ...
, and
Gardens by the Bay
The Gardens by the Bay is a nature park spanning in the Central Region of Singapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden (in Marina South), Bay East Garden (in Marina East) and Ba ...
in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
– and rebranded the program as Bloomberg Connects. The foundation has committed a total of $83 million to cultural institutions around the world.
In October 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched the Public Art Challenge, a competition that invited local leaders and arts organizations to collaborate on temporary public art projects that would celebrate creativity and drive economic development. On June 23, 2015, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced four winning projects, selected from 237 nationwide submissions. The winning proposals came from Gary, Indiana; Los Angeles, CA; Spartanburg, SC; and a joint effort between Albany, Schenectady, and Troy, NY. Each winning proposal received $1 million to support the proposed public art installation over the following two years. In 2018, Bloomberg Philanthropies unveiled a new round of the Public Art Challenge and in January 2019 announced five winners: Anchorage, AK, Camden, NJ, Coral Springs, FL, Jackson, MS, and Tulsa, OK.
From July 16 to August 14, 2016, the
Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs hosted Current: LA Water, a citywide public art biennial supported by a $1 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Public Art Challenge initiative. Local artists created public art pieces across 16 different locations to remind LA residents of the city's important relationship with water, in the face of record-setting drought and the ongoing work to revitalize the
Los Angeles River
, name_etymology =
, image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg
, image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge
, image_size = 300
, map = LARmap.jpg
, map_size ...
.
Speaking to the United States Conference of Mayors in May 2017, Bloomberg Philanthropies founder Michael Bloomberg announced the creation of the Partnership for Health Cities initiative which offers cities technical support to improve the health of residents. By July, fifty cities were participating in the program.
To support arts and other nonprofit organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bloomberg Philanthropies led a group of foundations in creating a $75 Response and Impact fund in March 2020. Foundations associated with
Estée Lauder,
Ken Griffin and
Jon Stryker
Jon Lloyd Stryker (born c. 1958) is an American architect, philanthropist, and billionaire heir to the Stryker Corporation medical technology company fortune.
As reported by Forbes, Stryker's net worth is estimated at $4.2 billion.
Stryker is t ...
also contributed.
Government innovation
Bloomberg Philanthropies supports efforts to make city government more efficient and innovative. In January 2013, a $16.2 million grant was awarded to five different cities to establish Financial Empowerment Centers, which were set up to provide free financial counseling for low-income individuals. Five U.S. cities split a $24 million Bloomberg Philanthropies grant to create “Innovation Delivery Teams” – teams working to streamline municipal government. In August 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies invested $45 million for grants to implement Innovation Delivery Teams in city governments across the United States.
In March 2013, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced
Providence, R.I.
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
as the winner of the Mayors Challenge, an initiative intended to foster innovation in America's cities. Providence was awarded $5 million for proposing a plan to overcome a language skills deficit prominent in low-income children.
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, and
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
each were awarded $1 million. In September 2014,
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
was announced as the winner of the European Mayors Challenge, and the city was awarded €5 million to help improve the quality of life for elderly residents.
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Kirklees
Kirklees is a local government district of West Yorkshire, England, governed by Kirklees Council with the status of a metropolitan borough. The largest town and administrative centre of Kirklees is Huddersfield, and the district also includes ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, and
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
were awarded €1 million each.
On January 20, 2016, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched the 2016 Mayors Challenge, calling for Latin American and Caribbean cities to submit government innovation proposals that improve residents’ lives and make government work better. In November, Mike Bloomberg announced that
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, Brazil had won the $5 million grand prize for a project that helped farmers connect to urban markets. Four other cities received $1 million each in the challenge:
Medellín and
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
in Colombia, as well as
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
, Chile and
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
, Mexico. Almost a third of the major cities in the region competed in the 2016 Mayors Challenge.
The next round of the innovation contest — focusing on American cities — was announced in June 2017. The next round of the innovation contest — focusing on American cities — was announced in June 2017. In fall 2018, nine cities were announced as the winners: Denver, CO; Durham, NC; Fort Collins, CO; Georgetown, TX; Huntington, WV; Los Angeles; New Rochelle, NY; Philadelphia; and South Bend, IN. The winning projects addressed a range of subjects including homelessness, climate change and the opioid crisis.
In April 2015, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched What Works Cities, a $42 million national initiative to help 100 mid-sized American cities better use data and evidence to improve government effectiveness and residents' lives. As of March 2016, 27 U.S. cities were official participants in the program.
In 2016, Bloomberg gave Harvard $32 million to create the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative within
Harvard Kennedy School
The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
's
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, formerly known as the Ash Institute, was established in 2003 and is part of the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States.
The Center’s mis ...
; the initiative provides training to mayors and their aides on innovative municipal leadership and challenges facing cities.
In March 2021, Bloomberg Philanthropies donated $150 million to
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
to create the ''Bloomberg Center for Cities to support mayors''.
In May 2022, Bloomberg announced the launch of a $50 million national program to ensure that all cities and towns have access federal infrastructure funding, to drive local recovery and aid in improving communities for residents. the Local Infrastructure Hub: Support for U.S. Cities and Towns to Put Federal Funding to Work for Residents, aims to connect city leaders to experts to develop clarity and direction in the application process for federal infrastructure. This is aimed to be done by understanding the 400 funding opportunities offered by the government and developing competitive funding applications.
Education
Bloomberg Philanthropies focuses on driving public policy initiatives and education leadership at a local level as a means to improving America's school system. To date, the organization's education giving has been split between charitable, legislative and political initiatives. In October 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched a $10 million program to help top-performing students from low- and middle-income families apply to and graduate from the nation's top colleges. By December 2016, it pledged to give $1.7 million to the American Talent Initiative, a program run by the College Excellence Program at the
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...
and Ithaka S+R, a consulting subsidiary of
Ithaka Harbors
Ithaka Harbors, Inc. is a US not-for-profit organization whose stated mission is to "help the academic community use digital technologies to preserve the scholarly record and to advance research and teaching in sustainable ways". It is the paren ...
.
In April 2022, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced three grants totalling $200 million in support of public charter schools. The receipts were Harlem Children’s Zone’s, Promise Academy and Success Academy.
Other philanthropic ventures
Bloomberg has been a longtime donor to his alma mater,
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
. In January 2013, he donated $350 million to the university, the largest single gift in the school's history. In total, Bloomberg has donated $1.1 billion to Johns Hopkins, making him the most generous living donor to any education institution in the country.
In April 2001, the School of Hygiene and Public Health was renamed as the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In May 2012, the Charlotte R. Bloomberg Children's Center opened inside the new
Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 mo ...
, with a focus on pediatric care.
Bloomberg Global Business Forum
The
Bloomberg Global Business Forum is an annual event organized by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The event is held during the annual meeting of the
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
in each September in New York City as part of
Global Goals Week
'Global Goals Week'' is a shared commitment between a coalition of over 160 partners across all industries, which mobilizes annually in September to bring together communities, demand urgency, and supercharge solutions for the Sustainable Develo ...
- an annual week-long event for action, awareness, and accountability for the
Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...
.
Women's economic development
Since 2008 Bloomberg Philanthropies has worked with nonprofit advocacy organizations including
Women for Women International
Women for Women International (WfWI) is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides practical and moral support to female survivors of war. WfWI helps such women rebuild their lives after war's devastation through a year-long tiered progra ...
and Sustainable Harvest to create economic opportunities for women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Supported initiatives include job training, civic and life skills education, entrepreneurship programs, and a philanthropic data-sharing portal created with the
Foundation Center
Candid is an information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies. In 2016, its database provided information on 2.5 million organizations.Wyland, Michael. "GuideStar Introduces Program Metrics Section for Nonprofit Profile ...
and the King Baudouin Center to help women in Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Sudan, and Nigeria.
While hosting the U.S.-Africa Business Forum on September 23, 2016, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a $10 million grant to the Relationship Coffee Institute to support the expansion of its ongoing women's economic development initiatives in
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
and
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
. The renewed financial commitment will enable the institute to provide an additional 20,000 women in both countries with business training and connections to international coffee markets.
On October 4, 2016,
Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging including hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. T ...
opened its first hotel in Rwanda with a pledge to support women trained by the Relationship Coffee Institute and Women for Women International - both local partners of Bloomberg Philanthropies. The new hotel has employed 27 such trainees in hospitality positions and procured their artisanal baskets, coffee, cheese, and honey to provide to hotel guests.
Sciences
On October 18, 2016 Bloomberg revealed it is donating $50 million to the
Museum of Science in Boston, the largest gift in the institution's 186-year history.
Board of directors
As of January 2015:
*
Tenley Albright
Tenley Emma Albright (born July 18, 1935) is an American former figure skater and surgeon. She is the 1956 Olympic champion, the 1952 Olympic silver medalist, the 1953 and 1955 World Champion, the 1953 and 1955 North American champion, and the ...
, former Olympic figure skating
champion
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...
* Emma Bloomberg, daughter of Michael Bloomberg
*
Georgina Bloomberg
Georgina Leigh Bloomberg (born January 20, 1983) is the owner of the equestrian team New York Empire, a professional equestrian, and a philanthropist. She is the daughter of Susan Brown and Michael Bloomberg – former New York City mayor, found ...
, daughter of Michael Bloomberg
*
David Boren
David Lyle Boren (born April 21, 1941) is a retired American lawyer and politician from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as 21st governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and three terms in the United States Senate ...
, President of the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
, former
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
and
Governor of Oklahoma
The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gove ...
*
Kenneth Chenault
Kenneth Irvine Chenault (born June 2, 1951) is an American business executive. He was the CEO and Chairman of American Express from 2001 until 2018. He is the third African American CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
Early life and education
Chen ...
, CEO and Chairman of
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
*
D. Ronald Daniel, former managing director at
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...
*
Manny Diaz, former
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
*
Daniel L. Doctoroff, Chairman and CEO of
Sidewalk Labs
Sidewalk Labs is an urban planning and infrastructure subsidiary of Google. Its stated goal is to improve urban infrastructure through technological solutions, and tackle issues such as cost of living, efficient transportation and energy usage. ...
, former CEO and President of
Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is a privately held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was co-founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan (Bloomberg), Duncan MacMi ...
* Fiona Druckenmiller, philanthropist
*
Patti Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies
*
Robert A. Iger, Executive Chairman,
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
*
Walter Isaacson
Walter Seff Isaacson (born May 20, 1952) is an American author, journalist, and professor. He has been the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C., the chair and CEO of CNN, ...
, author and President and CEO of the
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...
*
Maya Lin
Maya Ying Lin (born October 5, 1959) is an American designer and sculptor. In 1981, while an undergraduate at Yale University, she achieved national recognition when she won a national design competition for the planned Vietnam Veterans Memoria ...
, artist
*
John J. Mack, former CEO and Chairman of
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...
*
Reverend Joseph M. McShane, President of
Fordham University
Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...
*
Mike Mullen
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...
, former
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...
* Jamie Niven, Retired Chairman,
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...
The Americas
*
Sam Nunn
Samuel Augustus Nunn Jr. (born September 8, 1938) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Georgia (1972–1997) as a member of the Democratic Party.
After leaving Congress, Nunn co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiat ...
, CEO of the
Nuclear Threat Initiative
The Nuclear Threat Initiative, generally referred to as NTI, is a non-profit organization located in Washington, D.C. The American foreign policy think tank was founded in 2001 by former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and describes itself as a "nonprofit ...
and former
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
*
Samuel J. Palmisano
Samuel J. "Sam" Palmisano (born July 29, 1951) is a former president and the eighth chief executive officer of IBM until January 2012. He also served as Chairman of the company until October 1, 2012.
Palmisano was appointed president and chief ...
, former President, CEO and chairman of
IBM
*
Henry Paulson
Henry Merritt Paulson Jr. (born March 28, 1946) is an American banker and financier who served as the 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 2006 to 2009. Prior to his role in the Department of the Treasury, Paulson was the Chairman a ...
, former
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
*
Alfred Sommer
Alfred (Al) Sommer (born October 2, 1942) is a prominent American ophthalmologist and epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His research on vitamin A in the 1970s and 1980s revealed that dosing even mildly vitamin ...
, Professor at the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. As the second independent, degree-granting institution for research in epi ...
*
Sir Martin Sorrell
Sir Martin Stuart Sorrell (born 14 February 1945) is a British businessman and the founder of WPP plc, the world's largest advertising and PR group, both by revenue and the number of staff. Upon being ousted in April 2018, Sorrell was the longe ...
, Chief Executive of S4 Capital
* Anne Tatlock, former Chairman and CEO of
Fiduciary Trust International
Fiduciary Trust Company International is a United States-based wealth management firm that provides investment management and wealth management services. It has served high-net-worth families, foundations, and endowments since 1931. , the firm ...
*
Dennis Walcott, former
New York City Schools Chancellor
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Michael Bloomberg
Philanthropies
Philanthropy in the United States