Tech Moguls Team Up to Build $1 Billion Artificial-Intelligence Nonprofit
Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and other prominent Silicon Valley figures announced a joint project Friday to establish a research center to develop “digital intelligence” that benefits humankind, reports The New York Times.
Girl Scouts Expand Use of Tech to Boost Flagging Membership
The youth organization is expanding its digital efforts, including a year-old program enabling cookie sales through mobile apps, in hopes of reversing a long-term decline in membership, writes the Associated Press.
Microsoft Co-Founder Backs Contest to Find Traffic Solutions
The tech billionaire Paul Allen is supporting a multimillion-dollar prize announced by the U.S. government to encourage innovative solutions to traffic and transportation problems, reports Seattle TV station KOMO.
Zuckerberg Responds to Criticism of New Philanthropy Vehicle
In a Facebook post Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg defended the corporate structure he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, plan to use to put almost all of their wealth into achieving social ends and funding community projects, The New York Times writes.
A Roundup of Views on the Zuckerberg Pledge
A Wall Street Journal column says the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative takes “a new approach to the kinds of problems with which philanthropy has long struggled.” Fast Company, The New York Times, and Politico, among others, have also weighed in.
Tech Aids Help Food Banks Handle Holiday Surge
Food charities are taking technological cues from e-commerce to meet the spike in both donations and demand for their services during the holiday season, The Wall Street Journal writes.
Donors Give $116.7 Million on Giving Tuesday
This year’s event brought in more than 1 million gifts, according to data from the 92nd Street Y. While the numbers are still being crunched, one measure shows a 40 percent increase over the amount raised last year.
By Eden Stiffman
Senior Editor
Newark to Create Community Schools With Zuckerberg Funds
The Foundation for Newark’s Future announced a $12.5 million plan Tuesday to develop new schools with significant community input and local service programs, one of the last investments from the philanthropic pot built upon Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million donation five years ago to the New Jersey city’s school system, Associated Press writes.
Zuckerberg and Chan Pledge Nearly $45 Billion to ‘Improving This World’
The couple promised to give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares, with a focus on advancing human potential and promoting equality.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor
Gates Scholarship Program Aims to Boost Minority Leadership
The successor to Millennium Scholars will distribute $417 million to provide tuition support for 3,000 undergraduate students.
By Alex Daniels
Contributor
Silicon Valley Flexes Its Muscles — Again
The announcement by Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, that they will dedicate nearly all of their Facebook stock to doing good marks another milestone in the rise of technology titans as major forces in philanthropy.
Gates Is Spearheading Multibillion-Dollar Clean-Energy Effort
As landmark U.N. climate talks get under way in Paris on Monday, Bill Gates is set to announce a global fund backed by governments and philanthropy to research and develop new clean-energy technologies, Greenwire and The New York Times report.
Charities Incorporate Virtual Reality Into Donor Pitches
Nonprofits such as Charity: Water and Pencils of Promise are exploring the immersive technology as a way to give donors a clearer view of their mission and work, The Wall Street Journal writes.
Link to Chinese Messaging App Pays Off for Medical Charity
Users of the popular Chinese social-networking application WeChat are providing a steady source of donations to Watsi, a crowdfunding nonprofit that raises money for people around the world to pay for medical care, CNN Money reports.
Ad Council Retools Public-Service Spots for Social-Media Age
New, multiplatform public-service campaigns by the Advertising Council show how the venerable nonprofit communications agency is evolving in an era of sophisticated digital social media, The New York Times writes.
Backed by Huge Audiences, Video-Game Stars Get Into Giving Tuesday
How much can international gamer celebrities like Athene raise for charity? Save the Children will find out with its #GamingTuesday.
By Rebecca Koenig
Contributor