Bill Gates pumps $158 million into push to combat US poverty
Monday, May 7, 2018
By Sally Ho
Bill Gates launched a new fight against systemic poverty in the U.S., with his private foundation on Thursday announcing millions of dollars toward initiatives ranging from data projects to funding for community activists.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said it will spend $158 million combating American poverty over the next four years. It comes as the foundation moves deeper into U.S. issues after largely focusing on global health and development. Critics have long challenged Gates to do more to help the poor at home in the U.S.
Specific programs and grants to combat poverty have not been identified but the foundation’s work will be informed by the U.S. Partnership on Mobility from Poverty, an ideas-oriented task force.
The Gates Foundation, the world’s largest philanthropic organization, funded the task force to kick-start its entry into American poverty issues. The partnership is housed within the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based liberal-leaning think tank, and said it has worked to create ideas over the past two years that philanthropic groups, businesses and government could carry into action.
