Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Redirected from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the world's largest charitable foundation, endowed by Bill Gates, chairman and founder of Microsoft, and his wife, Melinda Gates. It was created in January 2000 through the merger of the Gates Learning Foundation and the William H. Gates Foundation. The foundation is based in Seattle, Washington and is led by William H. Gates, Sr. (Bill Gates' father) and Patty Stonesifer.
The foundation's grants have provided funds for underrepresented minority college scholarships, AIDS prevention, diseases that strike mainly in the Third World, and other causes. The Foundation currently provides 90% of the world budget for the attempted eradication of poliomyelitis (polio), the World Health Organization having "moved on" to other diseases. In June 1999, Gates and his wife donated US$5 billion to their foundation. They have donated more than US$100 million to help children suffering from AIDS. On January 26, 2005, it was announced that the Foundation had made a further contribution of US$750 million to the international Vaccine Fund to help fight diseases such as diphtheria, whooping cough, measles, poliomyelitis and yellow fever. As of 2005, the foundation has an endowment of approximately US$28 billion. To maintain its status as a charitable foundation, it must donate at least 5 percent of its assets each year. This amounts to over $1 billion.
Donations
The foundation primarily focuses on the following areas:
The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization
The foundation gave The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization a donation of US$750 million on 25 January, 2005.
Official site: VaccineAlliance.org (http://www.vaccinealliance.org/), Donation press release (http://www.vaccinealliance.org/Media_Center/Press_Releases/pr_newfunds_24Jan2005_en.php?&&)
Related links: News item at vnunet.com (http://www.vnunet.com/news/1160743)
The Institute for OneWorld Health
The foundation gave The Institute for OneWorld Health a donation of nearly US$10m to support the organization's work on a drug for visceral leishmaniasis (VL).
Indian Ocean Earthquake
The foundation made total grant donations of US $3 million to various charities to help with the aid effort for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake. These charities include:
Children's Vaccine Program
The Children's Vaccine Program, run by the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), received a donation of US$27 million to help vaccinate Japanese encephalitis on 9 December, 2003.
Official site: ChildrensVaccine.org (http://childrensvaccine.org), Donation press release (http://childrensvaccine.org/html/rel-031209.htm)
Gates Millennium Scholars
Administered by the United Negro College Fund the foundation donated $1 billion US for minority student scholarships.
Official site: www.gmsp.org
Access to Learning Award
Each year an award of up to US$1 million is given to a public library or similar organization outside the United States that has an innovative program offering the public free access to information technology.
Official site: Part of CLIR.org (http://www.clir.org/fellowships/gates/gates.html)
Gates Cambridge Scholarships
Donated US$210 million In October 2000 to help people outside of the United Kingdom study at the University of Cambridge. Approximately 100 students every year are funded.
Official website (http://www.gates.scholarships.cam.ac.uk/)
University Scholars Program
Endowed a scholarship program (http://www.duke.edu/web/usp/) in 1998 at Melinda Gates' alma mater, Duke University. The program provides full-ride scholarships to about 10 members of each undergraduate class, and one member in each class in each of the professional schools (Schools of Medicine, Business, Law, Divinity, Environment, and Nursing). The program also pays for a full-time administrator who organizes seminars to bring these scholars together for interdisciplinary discussions as well as the selection process in the Spring.
Computer History
It donated $15 million to the Computer History Museum in October, 2005.
[1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4350972.stm)
Rice Research
Donated US$800,000 to the Philippine Rice Research Institute to develop rice with higher amounts of micronutrients. [2] (http://www.philrice.gov.ph/newsroom.php?newsTag=775)
External links
www.komotv.com/news/story.asp?ID=33816
(Guinness World Records)]
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