The New York Times: Climate Change’s Bottom Line
February 3, 2015
In May 2014, the committee members gathered at the Bloomberg Philanthropies offices in Manhattan to hear two of the authors commissioned by the Rhodium Group — Robert E. Kopp, a climate scientist at Rutgers University, and Solomon M. Hsiang, an economic policy researcher at the University of California, Berkeley — present their findings. Among their conclusions if the status quo persisted: Climate change would increase energy demand in Texas by between 3.4 and 9.2 percent by midcentury. Crop yields in Missouri and Illinois would face a 15 percent decline over the next 25 years. And in the Northeast, annual property damage from severe storms — from hurricanes to blizzards — would likely increase $11.1 billion, to a total of $15.8 billion by the end of the century.
Read moreThe New York Times: For States, $48 Million to Help Cut Emissions
January 21, 2015
Two charitable groups will spend $48 million over the next three years to help states figure out how to reduce emissions from electricity production, an effort to seize the possibilities that are opening up as the cost of clean power falls.
The plan is to be announced Wednesday morning in New York. Half the money will come from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable organization set up by Michael R. Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, and half will come from Mark Heising and Elizabeth Simons, a California couple who have taken a strong interest in reducing the risks of climate change.
Read moreThe New Yorker: The Talking Cure
January 12, 2015
In 2012, the mayor of Providence, Angel Taveras, heard about the Mayors Challenge, a new competition being offered to cities that proposed a bold idea for making urban life better. The prize was to be given by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the foundation started by Michael Bloomberg, the former New York mayor, on the premise that cities are “the new laboratories of democracy.” The city that won the grand prize would receive five million dollars to realize its project, and four other cities would be given a million each. As Taveras recalled, “They announced that challenge on Twitter, and right away I said, ‘We’re going to go for it.’ And I didn’t know exactly what it would be at the time, but I knew it was going to be on early-childhood education.”
Read moreInside Philanthropy: Who’s Empowering Wonks to Fuel Economic Growth in American Cities?
January 8, 2015
Bloomberg Philanthropies made our list of most interesting foundations in 2014 because of its wide range of huge gifts, signaling ways the foundation may be forging new giving paths in Michael Bloomberg’s first year outside of the mayor’s office. But there’s one interesting initiative at BP we’ve haven’t talked about much that’s been getting big funding and spreading to new areas: Bloomberg’s Innovation Teams.
This initiative is mainly associated with Mike Bloomberg’s wonky obsession with making government more efficient. But it also offers insights into how one of America’s top funders aims to foster economic growth and job creation in U.S. cities, a challenge which has confounded many foundations and yet is attracting new energy amid a growing focus on urban renewal.
Read moreFortune: Inside a NYC museum’s radical $81 million reboot
December 16, 2014
Take, for instance, the critical role played by Bloomberg Philanthropies in helping to finance the digital aspects of the renovation.
“When I first went to them, the conversations weren’t about money,” Baumann recalls. “They would say to me, ‘Caroline, this is the future of museums, so of course we’re interested. The money came later, but they have been partners from the start.”
Read moreCNN: Michael Bloomberg: Cities drive innovation
December 15, 2014
More and more cities are becoming engines of policy innovation, searching for bold new solutions to tough problems that Washington has failed to address. Coming up with innovative new ideas requires creative thinking based on rigorous data analysis. And then, once the best ideas are selected, the hard work begins — implementing them.
Successful innovation depends as much on the ability to generate ideas as it does the capacity to execute them. The trouble is, many mayors have small staffs who are already stretched thin just keeping the trains running on time. It is often impossible for them to devote the kind of time and energy that is necessary to research, develop and implement innovative new policies.
Read moreThe Economist: Test-tube government : Governments are borrowing ideas about innovation from the private sector
December 8, 2014
A new report published by Nesta, a British charity devoted to promoting innovation, and Bloomberg Philanthropies shows how popular these government innovation labs have become. They can be found in a striking variety of places, from developing countries such as Malaysia to rich countries like Finland, and in the offices of mayors as well as the halls of central government.
Read moreBBC: Drowning: ‘Hidden childhood killer’
November 17, 2014
Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City and founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies, an organisation that provided funding for the report, said: “I believe that you can’t manage what you don’t measure and there’s never been a comprehensive effort to measure drowning around the world until now.
“The more evidence we can gather, the better we’ll be able to tailor our prevention efforts.”
Read moreStraits Times: Gardens by the Bay launches 1st visitor mobile app sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies
November 17, 2014
Gardens by the Bay has launched a mobile app that is a guide, educational tool and game for its visitors.
Its first app is available in five languages – English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and Japanese – and is sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Read moreThe Washington Post: Download latest app before the symphony
November 3, 2014
Bloomberg Philanthropies gave $17 million to five institutions this year “to produce innovative projects . . . that use cutting edge technology and enable visitors to share content.”
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