I’m moving $1B of my Square equity (~28% of my wealth) to #startsmall LLC to fund global COVID-19 relief. After we disarm this pandemic, the focus will shift to girl’s health and education, and UBI. It will operate transparently, all flows tracked here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…
Why UBI and girl’s health and education? I believe they represent the best long-term solutions to the existential problems facing the world. UBI is a great idea needing experimentation. Girl’s health and education is critical to balance: drawdown.org/solutions/heal…
Why is #startsmall a LLC? This segments and dedicates my shares to these causes, and provides flexibility. Grants will be made from Start Small Foundation or the LLC directly based on the beneficiary org. All transfers, sales, and grants will be made public in tracking sheet.
Why the transparency? It’s important to show my work so I and others can learn. I’ve discovered and funded ($40mm) many orgs with proven impact and efficiency in the past, mostly anonymously. Going forward, all grants will be public. Suggestions welcome. Drop your cash app ;)
Why pull just from Square and not Twitter? Simply: I own a lot more Square. And I’ll need to pace the sales over some time. The impact this money will have should benefit both companies over the long-term because it’s helping the people we want to serve.
Why now? The needs are increasingly urgent, and I want to see the impact in my lifetime. I hope this inspires others to do something similar. Life is too short, so let’s do everything we can today to help people now. ✌🏼
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The most incredible aspect of the internet is that no one person or organization controls it: the people make it what it is every day. That ideal is constantly under threat, especially today. We commit as a company to fighting for an #OpenInternet.
The power of the internet is only as good as the power it gives to individual people. The more we do to advance that, the stronger it becomes. This underlies all else. But there are two emergent and growing threats.
The first is a number of large organizations effectively building walled-garden alternative internets, sustained by favorable regulation, and thus killing competing ideas and organizations that could be better for society.
$1.6m to @codetenderloin to support support Code Tenderloin’s Calming the Corner street pop-up providing immediate and on the ground needs in the Tenderloin of San Francisco. codetenderloin.org
$1.7m to @antiviolence to support the AVP 24/7 Spanish/English crisis intervention hotline nationally and launch text and chat, and provide assistance for undocumented LGBTQ immigrants with emergency support. avp.org
Working on getting help to be more proactive and have a general intake form that doesn’t lean on my network or established orgs that have already done the work.
$75k for @TeenHealthMS to support the urgent needs of Mississippi youth disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 by providing a variety of assistance options, including: housing, nutrition, childcare, transportation, medical, and school supply assistance teenhealthms.org
$3mm to Colin @Kaepernick7’s @yourrightscamp to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization to elevate the next generation of change leaders. knowyourrightscamp.com
$1m to @DigDeepH2O to connect remote indigenous homes to hot and cold running water so that tribal members, especially the elderly and the at-risk, can stay home and stay safe, and to make Navajo Nation more resilient to ongoing and future outbreaks. navajowaterproject.org
$350k to @EdgewoodCenter who promotes the behavioral health of children, youth, and families, and supports a positive transition to adulthood. Funds will be used to assist in the emergency essential services provided by Edgewood as a result of COVID-19. edgewood.org
#startsmall is up to $87.8M in disbursements. Most are in the tracking sheet, some in process for next week. Interested in helping? All these are incredible and impactful orgs...find one that resonates with you. And now a thread on 6 new grants... docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…
$530K for Live In Peace to provide 300+ families with rent in East Palo Alto, East Menlo Park, and Redwood City. These families are not eligible for rent moratorium or government assistance and have seen devastating financial losses from COVID-19. liveinpeace.org