While most of us know that Bill and Melinda Gates are some of the biggest donors to charitable causes in the world, we may not realize the sheer extent of their philanthropic work. So what can we learn from philanthropy’s biggest power couple? Here are just a few of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s biggest objectives and achievements, and why the foundation is changing the nature of charitable giving as we know it.
Fighting Disease
Undoubtedly,the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is primarily known for its work in helping to prevent, treat, or eliminate infectious diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS. By providing vaccinations to vulnerable populations, for example, the foundation has achieved the unprecedented accomplishment of fully eradicating polio from the world. The foundation’s work with populations affected by malaria could also potentially save millions of lives.
Education
While much of the work by the Gates Foundation centers around issues faced by developing nations, providing greater access to educational opportunities in the United States is also a primary objective of the organization’s leadership. With the goal of ensuring that more impoverished students have the opportunity to pursue secondary educations, for example, the Gates Foundation provides tens of millions of dollars in grant money to help schools train educators and provide students with access to innovative technology.
Empowerment
Believing that empowering women and girls to reach their full potential increases the resiliency of communities across the globe, the Gates foundation places a high priority on efforts to help females pull themselves up from poverty through financial planning and literacy. In one of its most successful efforts, for example, the Gates Foundation has sought to provide women from impoverished backgrounds with access to financial tools such as savings and insurance accounts.
For these reasons, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is tackling some of the biggest problems the world currently faces. By treating and even eradicating major diseases, providing financial tools to individuals from impoverished regions, and using educational programs to reduce poverty and increase social mobility throughout the world, the foundation is truly changing the lives of billions of people. Indeed, as entrepreneurs and business leaders, there is much that we can all learn about philanthropy from the Gates Foundation.
About The Author
Yuri Vanetik is an Entrepreneur, Private Investor, Coalition Builder, and Philanthropist in Orange County, California. He is the Managing Partner of Vanetik International, LLC, a management consulting firm which offers advisory services and strategic planning to businesses and industries. He is also the Managing Partner of Dominion Asset Management, a technology-driven opportunity real estate fund that invests in undervalued real estate throughout the United States. Yuri Vanetik brings over 20 years of professional experience in a variety of roles, and has been featured in notable publications, including theWall Street Journal,California Business Journal, Bloomberg Law, and Forbes.
