- Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has donated over $87 million towards his COVID-19 relief pledge.
- His donations have ranged across a number of causes from stopping domestic violence, to giving equal access to the internet for students.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced last month that he was donating $1 billion of his Square equity to COVID-19 relief, and so far he’s dispersed over $87 million.
Dorsey created a new charity fund called Start Small LLC, which will initially focus on relief efforts to help with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Dorsey estimated that the fund is around 28% of his total wealth.
The Twitter CEO released a spreadsheet, which so far only shows $73 million in donations, accounting for how much and to where donations are being made. According to the spreadsheet, Dorsey has made contributions to organizations tackling domestic violence due to the pandemic, HIV/AIDS, refugees, advocacy for prisoners, among many others.
—jack (@jack) May 15, 2020
However, in a tweet, Dorsey added that there are several initiatives that have not been added to the spreadsheet yet.
Dorsey has so far donated over $1.3 million to two organizations that will screen for HIV as well as address how the current pandemic is impacting HIV in marginalized communities.
“Funds will support the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) COVID-19 Emergency Fund to support EJAF frontline partners to respond to the pandemic and its’ effects on HIV prevention and care for the most marginalized communities,” Dorsey’s spreadsheet wrote.
Experts have worried efforts to limit the spread of and treat infectious diseases like HIV could be significantly reduced due to the pandemic.
Tolbert Nyenswah, a research associate at Johns Hopkins University, previously told Business Insider that in countries where patients rely on clinics for medication, a lack of personal protective equipment means entire facilities that many rely on could be shut down if one hospital worker gets sicks.
That leaves people dealing with infectious diseases at risk. “This will have longtime consequences for decades to come,” Nyenswah said
Domestic violence has also increased as more people were sheltering in place. Business Insider previously reported that calls to hotlines in major cities increased during the lockdown. Dorsey is funding multiple initiatives to address the concern totaling more than $2.2 million.
He’s also invested in organizations that provide necessary food for people in need, providing support for the homeless, mental health initiatives, as well as $10 million into the Oakland School Fund to close the educational gap between students who don’t access to the internet and those who do.
According to The San Francisco Chronicle, officials in Oakland launched the initiative on Thursday to raise $12.5 million for 25,000 laptops and internet hotspots to families in the city. In a tweet Dorsey’ wrote that he saw the initiative and funded it “immediately.”
“$10mm to give EVERY single child in Oakland access to a laptop and internet in their homes, closing the digital divide,” he wrote on Twitter.
The Chronicle added that 50,000 students in the cities public school system “are disconnected or under-connected from technology at home.”
Here’s a list of all of Dorsey’s contributions so far:
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Mayor’s Fund LA-$2,100,000.00
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Direct Relief-$2,000,000.00
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Masks For The People-$1,000,000.00
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GiveDirectly-$333,333.00
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New York City’s Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence-$161,815.00
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Covenant House (New Orleans)-$167,000.00
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World Central Kitchen (New Orleans)-$333,000.00
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Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans & Acadiana-$333,000.00
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Total Community Action-$167,000.00
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Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)-$333,000.00
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Hispanic Federation Non-Profit Emergency Assistance Fund of Puerto Rico-$167,000.00
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The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation / GAIA’s Community-Based HIV Testing Services-$33,000.00
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Direct Relief-$26,667.00
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Team Humanity-$13,333.00
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CDE Foundation-$1,000,000.00
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Hospitality Helps-$100,000.00
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Indiana University Foundation-$25,000.00
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UCSF Foundation-$300,000.00
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Share Our Strength (No Kid Hungry)-$207,500.00
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World Central Kitchen-$207,500.00
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UCLA Foundation-$415,000.00
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NAMI: National-$41,500.00
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NAMI: Greater Houston-$124,500.00
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NAMI: New Orleans-$83,000.00
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NAMI: New York-$83,000.00
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NAMI: Metro (Detroit)-$83,000.00
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Matthew 25: Ministries-$830,000.00
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Bread of Life, Inc.-$830,000.00
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Dia de la Mujer Latina-$415,000.00
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Food Bank Council of Michigan-$297,180.00
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The Bail Project, Inc.-$25,000.00
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Community Foundation of Greater Flint-$425,000.00
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Freedom House-$50,000.00
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Center for Popular Democracy Action Fund-$125,000.00
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Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency-$500,000.00
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Southwest Counseling Solutions-$79,000.00
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DigDeep – Navajo Water Project-$1,000,000.00
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Community Association of Big Sur-$100,000.00
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CORE: Community Organized Relief Effort-$10,000,000.00
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Give2SF-$15,000,000.00
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Elton John AIDS Foundation-$1,000,000.00
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Oakland Public Education Fund-$10,000,000.00
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Project 100=$10,000,000.00
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Live In Peace-$530,000.00
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CommonLit-$600,000.00
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Mayvenn-$500,000.00
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Think of Us -$450,000.00
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Kakenya’s Dream -$720,000.00
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REFORM Alliance – $10,000,000.00
Dorsey said after that after COVID-19 is contained, his charity will focus on funding girls’ health and education, as well as universal basic income, Business Insider previously reported.
“Why UBI and girl’s health and education? I believe they represent the best long-term solutions to the existential problems facing the world,” Dorsey said in a follow-up tweet. “UBI is a great idea needing experimentation. Girl’s health and education is critical to balance.”
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