At a glance
- Giving in all its forms—time, money, and talent—helps people shape the world they want to live in.
- When people have the right tools, information, and inspiration, their giving can accelerate the pace of positive change in the world.
- We partner with high-capacity givers and philanthropic organizations around the globe as they hone their giving strategies to achieve greater impact.
- We mobilize resources to tackle the world’s greatest health and development challenges.
- We support research, innovation, collaboration, and knowledge sharing to enhance giving and strengthen the philanthropic sector.
Our strategy
The Philanthropic Partnerships team exists because the Gates Foundation believes that philanthropy has a unique and powerful role to play in creating a world where every person has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life.
Our strategy is designed to help donors close the gap between intent and action, and ensure their philanthropy supports lasting change. We engage with ultra-high-net-worth individuals, corporate and private foundations, philanthropic collaboratives, advisors, family offices, and social impact investors. We have a longstanding commitment to supporting a healthy philanthropic sector and a strong giving ecosystem, and we engage with leaders to drive that work forward.
Much of our work focuses on mobilizing resources for three key priorities in global health and development: improving maternal and child survival rates, eradicating infectious diseases, and helping hundreds of millions more people break free from poverty.
We host Gates Philanthropy Partners, an independent 501(c)(3) organization that enables people to invest in global health and development priorities alongside the Gates Foundation. We also host the Giving Pledge, a separate but affiliated philanthropic community that is issue-agnostic.
Areas of focus
Our team customizes our engagements across regions to enhance and enable generosity and to maximize its impact.
For philanthropists who want to partner with the foundation, we offer opportunities to participate in initiatives and networks that allow them to give together to achieve greater impact. Most notably, we host Gates Philanthropy Partners, a public 501(c)(3) charity that makes it easy for donors to give with confidence to programs that have the greatest impact on global health and development. Donations support the Gates Foundation’s trusted grantees and are directed to projects where additional funds can have an immediate impact.
We partner with some of the world’s most engaged philanthropists with the greatest capacity to give, most notably through our support of the Giving Pledge community.
The Giving Pledge is a promise by philanthropists to give the majority of their wealth to charitable causes, either in their lifetime or in their wills. Today, building on that promise, the Giving Pledge has grown into a global community that actively connects to each other and to changemakers, learning and engaging deeply to support progress on urgent issues around the world.
Operationally, the Giving Pledge is a separate but affiliated initiative hosted at the Gates Foundation. Learn more at givingpledge.org.
We are helping to develop a vibrant sector of diverse, high-performing donor collaboratives that are uniquely situated to accelerate giving and direct it to where it is needed most. Working alongside our partners, we are building new platforms that encourage donors to give together to maximize their impact, particularly in global health and development. Learn more at collaboratives.gatesfoundation.org.
We support the philanthropic ecosystem that enables dedicated nonprofit organizations working around the globe to save and transform lives. We particularly focus on measuring the flows of global giving, curating data on giving opportunities, understanding how public policies affect the philanthropic sector, and exploring the potential role of artificial intelligence in philanthropy.
Why focus on philanthropic partnerships?
Philanthropy plays an important role in solving many of the world’s biggest health and development challenges. Generosity is part of what makes us human, and all cultures have strong traditions of giving and caring for their communities.
Unlike businesses or governments, philanthropists have the flexibility to explore the root causes of an issue, be bold in their vision, and meet critical needs to change and save lives. But at every level of wealth, individuals face an array of decisions about their giving. By sharing inspiration, learning from others, and working together, givers can accelerate the pace of positive change in the world.
We believe that when people have the right tools, information, and inspiration, they give more generously and intentionally.
Related initiatives
GPP is a public charity that enables donors to align their giving with the priorities of the Gates Foundation.
The Giving Pledge is a movement of philanthropists who commit to giving the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.