Philanthropist Melinda French Gates is well-known for her advocacy of charitable giving. She is the former co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (soon to be renamed the Gates Foundation), which focuses on local and global issues around community, health, development, gender equality and sustainable economic growth. She is the co-founder and a signatory of The Giving Pledge, a promise by the world’s wealthiest individuals to give a major portion of their wealth to philanthropy. In her latest gift, she endowed $1 billion over the next two years to individuals and organizations advocating for women’s rights.
Ahead, we dive into more about French Gates’ giving, including her most recent donation. We also explore entrepreneur and philanthropist Robert F. Smith’s dedication to supporting organizations that support women.
Melinda French Gates’ Philanthropy
Over the years, French Gates has been a fervent advocate for issues surrounding healthcare service centers in educational spaces, working to eradicate malaria and polio and closing the funding gap for female founders. In addition, she has been involved in helping to solve issues around global immunization, access to technology for low-income communities and education.
Most recently, she has donated to causes supporting women’s rights and has stood firmly on the importance of investing in women and young girls. In 2019, she pledged $1 billion over ten years to help empower women. In May 2024, she made another billion-dollar commitment focusing on women and families.
Melinda French Gates’ Commitment to Women’s Issues in 2024 and Beyond
As part of this new commitment, Pivotal Ventures, a company French Gates founded in 2015 that helps create key opportunities for equality through advocacy, philanthropy, partnerships and investments, will donate $200 million. These funds will go toward general operating support to existing organizations in the U.S. that protect women’s rights and advance their power and influence. Some of these organizations include:
- National Domestic Workers Alliance
- Washington Center for Equitable Growth
- MomsRising Education Fund
- Collective Future Fund
Pivotal Ventures will also donate $240 million, divided into $20 million grants, to global leaders, including Ava DuVernay (filmmaker), Jacinda Ardern (former Prime Minister of New Zealand) and Allyson Felix (Olympic gold medal winner). These advocates will choose the nonprofit organizations that will receive these funds through 2026.
In addition, the company will give $250 million to organizations working to strengthen women’s mental and physical health globally. These organizations will be selected via open call applications through Lever for Change.
So far, $690 million in commitments have been designated. In all, French Gates will donate $1 billion to these organizations and global vanguards through Pivotal Ventures.
“Decades of research on economics, well-being and governance make it clear that investing in women and girls benefits everyone,” said French Gates in a guest essay for “The New York Times.”
Smith, The Giving Pledge and Supporting Women’s Health Issues
Like French Gates, Smith, the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners (Vista), is resolute in championing purpose-driven action and advocacy. As of 2017, Smith is a signatory of The Giving Pledge and was the first Black American to sign it.
In his The Giving Pledge letter, Smith wrote, “…On behalf of my family, I am privileged to join the Giving Pledge with a commitment to invest half my net worth — during my lifetime — to causes that support equality of opportunity for African Americans, as well as causes that cultivate ecological protection to ensure a livable planet for future generations.”
Similar to French Gates, Smith is a proponent of addressing issues surrounding women’s rights, women’s empowerment and gender equality, particularly, equitable access to healthcare.
In 2016, Fund II Foundation, of which Smith is the founding director and President, provided a $27 million grant to Susan G. Komen’s African American Health Equity Initiative (AAHEI), now Stand for H.E.R – Health Equity Revolution.
In reference to Fund II Foundation’s mission, Smith stated, “Fund II Foundation is focused on — among a number of pillars – helping to decrease that disparity and level the playing field in health care and treatment for African American women.”
Because of the high number of Black women in the U.S. who suffer from breast cancer each year, Fund II Foundation, Susan G. Komen and Stand for H.E.R. aim to offer education, access to equitable healthcare and reduce the number of Black women suffering from breast cancer by 25%.
Fund II Foundation is also keenly focused on advancing Black maternal health. Through its Black Maternal Health Equity initiative, Fund II Foundation is working to accelerate and sustain healthy Black births through six Black Maternal Health Task Groups: Transforming Medical Education; Engaging Partners and Males; Establishing a Maternal Health Institute; Launching an Education Campaign; Clarifying Policy Initiatives; and Serving Vulnerable Pregnant People. Through these task groups, Fund II Foundation hopes to educate, empower and mobilize Black women and allies to increase awareness around maternal health disparities and drive innovative solutions to close the gap.
Read more about Smith’s commitment to issues surrounding women’s rights and welfare on LinkedIn.
