Bloomberg Philanthropies
/OVERVIEW: Bloomberg Philanthropies is the umbrella giving vehicle for the myriad giving of Michael Bloomberg, the Wall Street billionaire and former New York City mayor. Bloomberg funds a range of topic areas through foundation, corporate, and personal giving, including health and public health, the environment and climate change, education, government innovation, and arts & culture.
IP TAKE: Bloomberg Philanthropies is one of the largest philanthropies globally and a major presence across all of its funding areas. It is an active, collaborative participant in much of its work, which tends to take the form of signature initiatives and hands-on support for national and municipal governments. In 2022 alone, Bloomberg Philanthropies invested “$1.7 billion around the world.” According to IP founder David Callahan, “few mega-givers better exemplify Big Philanthropy than Michael Bloomberg… he knows how to pull all the levers of influence that wealth can buy, mixing data-driven grantmaking with strategic political spending.” Spanning its many issue areas, Bloomberg Philanthropies is committed to “saving and improving lives around the world.”
This funder tends to provide ongoing support for existing grantee partners, and does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding. Opportunity may exist, however, through some of the Philanthropies’ competitions and contests, which are peppered throughout close to 100 programs and initiatives. To stay abreast of any new opportunities, sign up for Bloomberg’s newsletter and check relevant program pages periodically. Bloomberg Philanthropies is an ally of dozens of causes, which are constantly evolving as Bloomberg expands its reach.
PROFILE: Bloomberg Philanthropies was founded in 2006 by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg is the founder of financial services, software and media company Bloomberg LP, and is one of the wealthiest people in the world, according to Forbes. Bloomberg has given away over $14 billion of his fortune over his lifetime, and has indicated that he intends to leave his company to a trust that will finance Bloomberg Philanthropies in perpetuity.
Michael Bloomberg attended Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Business School before going to work on Wall Street at Salomon Brothers. He was given a $10 million severance package when Salomon was bought by George Soros’ Travelers Group. He then founded Innovative Market Systems, which delivered high-quality business information for investors. This was the start of Bloomberg’s empire, which was eventually renamed Bloomberg L.P. In 2001, Bloomberg mounted a successful campaign for Mayor of New York City, where he has served three terms. According to a recent annual report, Bloomberg encompass “all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including corporate, foundation, and personal philanthropy.”
Bloomberg Philanthropies works “to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people.” Grantmaking focuses on five key areas: Public Health, Environment, Education, Government Innovation and Arts & Culture. A sixth grantmaking area, Founder’s Projects, provides support for issues of special interest to Michael Bloomberg, including but not limited to Gun Safety, Disaster Relief and Women’s Economic Development. Beyond these areas of focus, Bloomberg specifies five aspects of its approach to grantmaking. These are:
Addressing unmet needs.
Identifying and engaging strong partners.
Reliance on data.
Focusing on cities to drive progress.
The use of advocacy and lobbying to achieve goals.
All told, Bloomberg runs close to 100 grantmaking programs and initiatives at any given time. In addition to grantmaking, Bloomberg works includes a pro bono consultancy, Bloomberg Associates, which supports mayors of cities around the world, and Bloomberg’s Corporate Philanthropy program, which “looks to address unmet needs in the communities around the world in which Bloomberg L.P. employees live and work” through the “the time and talents of employees.”
Grants for Civic and Democracy, Community Development, and Global Development
Bloomberg’s Government Innovation grantmaking works to help cities “bring bold ideas to life and spread proven solutions to cities around the world.” According to Michael Bloomberg’s Annual Letter on Philanthropy, “By investing in mayors and local leaders, we can scale and spread change faster than ever — and help make this period of unprecedented urbanization a time of unprecedented global progress.” Indeed, a significant portion of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ work supports initiatives that help mayors and other city leaders tackle and solve problems of climate change, sustainability, economic development, public health and more. The Government Innovation program has three main sub-initiatives:
Supporting City Leaders focuses on mayors and other city leaders by “providing them with the resources and support they need to improve the lives of the people living in their cities.”
Bloomberg Philanthropies provides ongoing support to named initiatives including the Bloomberg-Sagol Center for City Leadership at Tel Aviv University, the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University and the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, which partners with Harvard’s Business School and the Kennedy School of Government to help mayors from cities around the world “to implement proven, innovative strategies in order to solve the biggest problems their cities face.”
Other projects that have received support from the City Leaders program include the Local Infrastructure Hub, a national program that helps U.S. municipalities secure federal support for infrastructure development, and CityLab, a Bloomberg-hosted meeting described as “the preeminent meeting of city leaders and the top minds in urbanism and city planning.”
Supporting Innovation in Cities aims to support city governments around the world as they “transform their cities and prepare them for the future.” This program runs five signature programs:
The Mayors Challenge is a competition that promotes “next-generation solutions that have the potential to transform the way city halls work and improve the lives of citizens.”
I-Teams uses research and data to help mayors “assess local conditions, develop original solutions, and measure progress.” Piloted in in five cities, this program will expand to 40 cities around the world.
The Bloomberg Initiative for Cycling Infrastructure helps cities “design streets that increase biking rates, revitalize neighborhoods, and promote the health and wellbeing of communities.”
Cities of Service is a network of local governments that “leverages citizen service as a tool to drive public sector innovation and achieve measurable impact on pressing local challenges.” The program works to provide a “mechanism for citizen participation in local governance.”
Bloomberg’s Financial Empowerment Centers aim to help local governments “increase the quality and consistency of local financial services to help residents increase assets and free themselves from consumer debt.”
Strengthening City Data to Improve Lives focuses on helping cities to “better use data and evidence to engage the public, improve services, evaluate progress, and make sound investment decisions.” It currently runs two subprograms:
Run in collaboration with Bloomberg’s alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, the City Data Alliance is a program for mayors of cities in North, Central or South America who wish to “to take their data expertise to the next level.” After a six-month executive education and coaching program, participants’ cities may receive funding to “improve critical data practice.”
The What Works Cities Certification program is run in collaboration with Results for America and other partners to help governments of cities in North, Central and South America make “better use of evidence and data to engage the public, fund and improve services, and evaluate progress.”
Grants for Education, Work and Opportunity
Bloomberg’s Education funding “works to ensure that all students have the skills and opportunities to succeed in the 21st century.” Grantmaking supports K-12 initiatives, higher education and career and vocational training programs with a focus on “giving more students a chance to fulfill their potential.”
Grants for K-12 Education
Bloomberg’s Advancing K-12 Education initiative focuses on “increasing high school graduation rates and, ultimately, college enrollment” through three subinitiatives:
Education Reform funding supports “the success and growth of new and existing high-quality charter and autonomous schools.” In 2021, Bloomberg committed $750 million to “create 150,000 additional seats for children in charter schools in 20 U.S. metro areas, including New York City.”
Summer Boost is a signature Bloomberg program that provides academic support and enrichment to charter school students over the summer months. Launched in New York City in 2022, the program has expanded to seven additional cities.
Another signature program, Global Cities, aims to “develop global competence among the next generation” through an “international virtual exchange program” for middle school students from 51 cities around the world.
Grants for Higher Education, Work and Opportunity
Higher education grantmaking focuses on educational and career opportunity for low- and middle-income students, as well as support for individual schools with which Bloomberg maintains ongoing relationships. Funding stems from three programs:
Expanding College Access and Success aims to broadly expand access to higher education through three subinitiatives.
The American Talent Initiative is a collaboration among Bloomberg, the Aspen Institute and Ithaka S&R that helps “top” institutions of higher education recruit and graduate students from low-income backgrounds.
Bloomberg’s CollegePoint is a signature program that provides advisement and financial aid guidance to high-achieving, first-generation college students from low-income backgrounds.
A $1.8 billion gift to Johns Hopkins University that enables the school to “permanently commit to need-blind admissions and ensure educational opportunities for the next generation of global leaders.”
Bloomberg’s Supporting Career and Technical Education program “supports pilot and early-stage apprenticeship programs and works to build an evidence base of effective programs that can be shared and replicated across the country.” Grantees include CareerWise, Delaware Pathways and YouthForce NOLA.
Bloomberg supports individual Educational Institutions “that have a special importance to him and make a real impact in their communities,” including medical schools at four historically Black colleges. Funding goes to organizations including the Emma Bloomberg Center for Access and Opportunity at Princeton University, Cornell Tech, the Georgina and Charlotte Bloomberg Public Service Fellows Program at NYU and Howard University School of Medicine, among others.
Grants for Climate Change and Clean Energy
Mike Bloomberg is “[g]lobally recognized for his work to fight climate change and accelerate the energy transition.” In 2021, he was named special envoy for climate ambition and solutions by U.N. Secretary General António Guterres. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Environment giving area reflects this commitment, which, as IP has reported, has expanded into renewable energies. Giving stems from four separate initiatives.
Moving Beyond Carbon aims broadly “to drive the transition away from coal and gas and toward clean energy alternatives.” The initiative is comprised of three subprograms and focuses entirely on the U.S.
Beyond Carbon was established in 2019 with a $500 million commitment—a second $500 million commitment followed in 2023—to “help finish the job transitioning the country from coal and other fossil fuels to 100% clean power.” Strategies for the future include funding research, mobilizing grassroots groups, supporting clean energy policy and advocacy and conducting financial analyses toward implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act “to ensure effective use of coal transition financing and clean energy tax credits.” Bloomberg added another $500 million to the initiative in 2023, pledging “to shut down ‘every last’ coal plant in the United States.”
U.S. Beyond Coal was launched in 2011 as a collaboration among Bloomberg, the Sierra Club and some other environmental groups to accelerate the retirement of coal plants around the country. Since then, the program “helped retire 70% of the nation’s coal plants.” Today, the initiative works mainly at the state level to “accelerate the deployment of clean energy.”
Beyond Petrochemicals is Moving Beyond Carbon’s newest initiative. Launched in 2022, this program aims to “halt the rapid expansion of petrochemical and plastic pollution in the United States.” Priorities include the development of policy to “safeguard the health of American communities” and stopping “the expansion of more than 120 proposed petrochemical and plastic projects concentrated in three target geographies – Louisiana, Texas and the Ohio River Valley.”
Bloomberg’s Global Coal and Air Pollution grantmaking builds on the success of the U.S. Beyond Coal initiative and works toward “reducing emissions, protecting public health, and halting the progression of climate change.”
Global Beyond Coal mobilizes grassroots campaigns to retire coal plants around the world and has so far focused its work in Europe, Australia, South Korea and Japan.
The Air Pollution program works mainly with national and city governments around the world to involve “local partners and authorities to design and lead projects that accelerate the end of air pollution.”
Supporting Sustainable Cities is a subinitiative of Bloomberg’s Environment program that “supports and collaborates with mayors and local partners to ensure cities have the resources they need to raise their ambition, share learnings, and make progress in the transition to a sustainable, healthy future.” It consists of four subprograms:
America is All In is “a coalition to drive a society-wide mobilization for bold climate ambition to uphold the country’s commitment to domestic and international climate action.” By working “across sectors” and with the U.S. government, this initiative aims to “present to the global community a new, ambitious and achievable national target of reducing emissions at least 50% from a 2005 baseline by 2030.”
Bloomberg serves as president and provides support to the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a “network of 97 of the world’s largest cities” that aim to share research, best practices and strategies for climate action.
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy is a group of leaders from 10,000 cities and localities around the world that seek to “to create ambitious, measurable targets that address climate change by reducing and limiting greenhouse gas emissions and increasing deployment and access to clean, renewable energy.”
The American Cities Climate Challenge provides support to 25 U.S. mayors as they “accelerate climate action.” Participating cities receive resources including technical, financial, communications and educational support.
The Driving Sustainable Finance initiative represents Bloomberg Philanthropies’ “efforts to increase transparency around the risks caused by climate change and boost sustainable investments in climate solutions.” This initiative runs three subprograms.
Bloomberg provides ongoing support to the IFRS Foundation’s Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, which “was established to identify industry-specific metrics to help companies around the world manage and report on the sustainability topics that matter most to their investors.”
Ongoing support also goes to the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, of which Mike Bloomberg serves as chair. This organization makes “recommendations to help companies disclose information designed to help lenders, insurers and investors better assess climate-related risks and opportunities, driving capital toward more sustainable investment.”
Bloomberg also chairs the U.N.’s Climate Finance Leadership Initiative, which seeks “to increase private sector investment in clean energy and climate solutions in emerging markets.”
It is worth noting that Bloomberg has also supported the production of two climate documentaries: “From the Ashes,” which documents the coal mining industry’s impact on “economy, health and climate, and “Paris to Pittsburgh,” a National Geographic film that “celebrates how Americans are demanding and developing real solutions to the climate crisis.” With Carl Pope, the former director of the Sierra Club, Mike Bloomberg has also co-authored a book, “Climate of Hope: How Cities, Business, and Citizens Can Save the Planet.”
Grants for Marine and Freshwater Conservation
Bloomberg’s Environment grantmaking area also names Protecting the Ocean as a priority. This subprogram’s mission is to “to ensure the ocean, key marine ecosystems and the billions who depend on them can survive and thrive.”
Bloomberg Philanthropies launched the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative in 2014 “to enable greater ocean sustainability” in target regions of Brazil, Chile and the Philippines. Since then, the initiative has added at least 10 additional regions, where it focuses on the protection of coral reefs, and the development and adoption of sustainable, science-based fishing practices.
Strategic partners of the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative include the Wildlife Conservation Society, Global Fishing Watch, Outlaw Ocean and Blue Ventures, among others.
Grants for Global and Public Health
Bloomberg’s Public Health funding focuses on preventable causes of death and noncommunicable diseases. Through its many initiatives, Bloomberg works in low- and middle-income areas to “save millions of lives by spreading solutions that have been proven to work.” Initiatives are mainly organized around individual health priorities.
Bloomberg’s Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use works broadly to help “cities and countries implement measures that are proven to reduce use and protect people from harm.” As IP has reported, tobacco cessation is an important feature of this funder’s work.
STOP Tobacco is Bloomberg Philanthropies’ campaign for “the creation of a robust global monitoring system to pinpoint manipulation and deceptive or illegal practices by the tobacco industry.” The program aims to inform and assist governments in educating citizens about the dangers of tobacco use.
In collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg established and provides ongoing support to the Anti-Tobacco Trade Litigation Fund, which “fights the tobacco industry’s use of international trade agreements and litigation to prevent countries from passing strong tobacco-control laws.”
Working exclusively in the U.S., Bloomberg’s funding to “protect kids” from the dangers of e-cigarettes works with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids to “pass laws to ban all flavored e-cigarettes, prevent manufacturers from marketing to children, crack down on online sales, and help concerned parents make their voices heard.”
The Promoting Healthy Food Choices initiative focuses on obesity prevention by “raising public awareness of the problem and supporting policies to promote healthier diets.”
Bloomberg’s Food Policy program prioritizes “the enactment and evaluation of policy efforts that aim to move people toward healthier diets.” Geographic areas of focus include countries with high rates of obesity including Brazil, Mexico and the U.S.
The Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Advocacy program works to “address the negative health effects of these products and curb their consumption through increased public awareness and small tax increases.” This initiative helped win the passage of a landmark beverage tax in Mexico in 2014, since which time more than 50 national and municipal governments have passed similar measures.
In 2021, Bloomberg made a five-year commitment of $120 million to combat the overdose epidemic in the U.S. The initiative targets “hard-hit states” and focuses on prevention, treatment, harm reduction and the removal of “legal and administrative barriers in the federal government that hinder people’s ability to access quality medication treatment and harm reduction services.”
Bloomberg Philanthropies’ grantmaking for Reproductive Health prioritizes access to reproductive health services in developing countries. Bloomberg partnered with the government of Tanzania on a maternal health initiative for the Kigoma region and provides support to Family Planning 2030, “a global partnership that supports the rights of women and girls to make their own independent decisions about having children.”
Bloomberg Philanthropies partners with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gates Philanthropy Partners to provide support for Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative to promote cardiovascular health in the U.S. and around the world. Strategies include the elimination of trans fats in processed foods, dietary sodium reduction and improvements in the medical control and treatment of hypertension.
The Drowning Prevention program funds efforts in Bangladesh, Vietnam and Uganda, including swimming instruction for children, day care supervision, and data collection to develop a “cost-effective set of approaches to drowning prevention interventions.”
The Global Road Safety Initiative works with organizations and governments to improve road safety. Grantmaking targets low- and middle-income nations and supports activities in the areas of legislation, data collection, transportation infrastructure, vehicle safety and “road use behavior.”
Building Public Health Coalitions is a broad health initiative that encompasses three Bloomberg-launched efforts to “to spread effective strategies to improve health, advocate for smart policies, and reduce preventable deaths.”
The Global Health Advocacy Incubator “provides support and training to help organizations bring critical issues to the attention of governments and the public and to drive policy change.” A component of the incubator’s work involves information sharing among health organizations, the media and the public. IP has reported previously about Bloomberg’s global health giving.
The Partnership for Health Cities was organized by Mike Bloomberg as part of his work as World Health Organization Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries. The partnership consists of representatives from 70 cities around the world who are committed to sharing best practices and increasing awareness of some of the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases and injury risks. Through annual summits, members collaboratively name and recommend “proven interventions” for reducing avoidable deaths.
The Task Force for Fiscal Policy on Health brings “health leaders from around the world” together to consider the application of fiscal policy tools to the problem of noncommunicable diseases. The group’s report, “Health Taxes to Save Lives,” recommends that governments around the world “significantly raise their excise taxes on alcohol, tobacco and sugary beverages,” thereby improving public health and increasing tax revenues.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Arts grantmaking “supports artists and cultural organizations and improves audience experience to strengthen the creative landscape and quality of life in cities around the world.”
Through its Strengthening Local Arts Organizations initiative, Bloomberg Philanthropies works in the U.S. to help “local arts and culture organizations continue innovating and enriching their communities.”
The Arts Innovation and Management subprogram supports “diverse small and mid-sized cultural institutions from all artistic disciplines” in select U.S. cities and Puerto Rico.
The Digital Accelerator Program provides grants to arts organizations of all disciplines as they “invest in strategic improvements to their technology infrastructure.” Grants have gone to organizations in the U.S. and the U.K., including the Mark Morris Dance Group, the Oakland Museum of California, Kiln Theater of London and the Orchestra of St. Lukes.
The Bloomberg Arts Internship offers paid summer internships in the arts to high school students in Baltimore, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Bloomberg Philanthropies has also provided critical support to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, the Perelman Performing Arts Center and The Shed, all of which are located in New York City.
Bloomberg Connects is an initiative to “help audiences connect to culture online or onsite.” The initiative launched an app in 2019 that enables users to “makes it easy to access and engage with arts and culture from mobile devices, anytime, anywhere.”
The Supporting Public Art program brings “mayors, local leaders and artists together to collaborate on temporary public art projects that start conversations, spur change, and strengthen communities across America.” This initiative runs three subprograms.
The Public Art Challenge “invites mayors and artists to submit proposals to receive up to $1 million in funding for innovative public art projects designed to address local challenges.”
The Asphalt Art Initiative makes grants to “assists cities looking to use art and design to improve street safety, revitalize public spaces and engage their communities.” Grants support projects in the U.S. and Europe.
Bloomberg Philanthropies provides ongoing support to ArtPlace, “a nationwide initiative to drive revitalization in cities and towns by putting arts at the center of community development.”
Advancing Arts Around the World is Bloomberg’s global arts initiative. In London, it supports the Serpentine Galleries, the London Mithraeum, Ice Watch and London Mastaba. It also funds International Biennales at museums around the world.
Grants for Violence Prevention
Since his days as Mayor of New York City, Mike Bloomberg has been a vociferous supporter of gun control. He founded the organization Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which later merged with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. The two organizations eventually launched Everytown, which has become “the country’s most powerful grassroots force for gun safety.” The organization continues to receive financial and strategic support from Bloomberg.
Grants for Women and Girls
Bloomberg Philanthropies names Women’s Economic Development as one of its Founder’s Projects and supports programs around the world that “create opportunities for women that lead to economic independence.” Grantee partners in this area include Women for Women International, Nest, CARE and the African Women Entrepreneurship Cooperative, among others.
Grants for Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Aid
Bloomberg Philanthropies is committed to providing timely Disaster Relief in response to natural and other disasters around the world. In response to recent hurricanes, storms and flooding, Bloomberg Philanthropies has provided a broad range of resources, including food, medical supplies and services, communications gear and tactical assistance for transportation and evacuations. Additionally, Bloomberg has published resilience toolkits to help leaders and others in the face of natural disasters. Toolkits are available free at Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Disaster Relief page.
Important Grant Details:
Bloomberg Philanthropies’ grantmaking generally takes the form of ongoing commitments in the millions or tens of millions.
Bloomberg runs dozens of signature initiatives, many of which bear the Bloomberg name.
This funder does not accept applications for funding, choosing instead to cultivate its own relationships with large nonprofits and NGOs.
A significant portion of this funder’s work supports city, state and national governments.
Bloomberg runs close to a dozen collaborative programs that bring mayors and other leaders from cities around the world together to address and solve shared problems related to climate change, health and more.
Bloomberg Philanthropies does not maintain a grants database, but annual reports are available at the organization’s site.
General inquiries may be submitted to Bloomberg Philanthropies via its online form.
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