Fast Company: Bloomberg Philanthropies bets $42 million on the power of cities
May 25, 2018
The annual report coincides with another Bloomberg announcement to commit $42 million to expand What Works Cities, especially to smaller cities–those with at least 30,000 people–in part because data shows it’s really working. (Key findings from the report include how Chattanooga, Tennessee is figuring out new ways to recruit for diversity within its police force. Twelve cities are now sharing similar lessons although it’ll take time to see the results.)
Read moreForbes: Mike Bloomberg Wants To Know Why More Than 29 Million Are Dying Each Year
May 16, 2018
This year more than 29 million people will die without a known clear cause. While this may sound like a plot for an Avengers movie, it’s actually a real-life, real-world problem that billionaire philanthropist Mike Bloomberg wants fixed.
Read moreThe New York Times: Bloomberg Expands Arts Grant Program to Seven More Cities
May 10, 2018
Bloomberg Philanthropies is investing $43 million in more than 200 small and midsize cultural organizations in seven cities — Atlanta; Austin, Tex.; Baltimore; Denver; New Orleans; Pittsburgh; and Washington. “We wanted to reach cities that we thought had a really strong mix in the way they were serving up arts and culture,” said Kate Levin, who oversees arts programs at Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Read moreNBC News: Michael Bloomberg donates $4.5M to U.N. climate body after U.S. cuts
April 23, 2018
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has vowed to write a $4.5 million check to the United Nations body that oversees climate change negotiations to make up the shortfall in the agency’s budget caused by U.S. funding cuts.
Read moreNPR: 100 Top Colleges Vow To Enroll More Low-Income Students
April 18, 2018
College access and affordability: It’s a common topic in higher education — because college is the one place that can really be a catapult when it comes to moving up the economic ladder. And yet, research has shown that low-income students make up just 3 percent of the students that attend America’s most selective colleges.
And, it’s not that these students just aren’t there — every year tens of thousands of top students who don’t come from wealthy families never even apply to elite colleges. Universities are taking note — and banding together under something called the American Talent Initiative — a network backed by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Aspen Institute and the research firm Ithaka S+R.
Read moreFast Company: What U.S. Mayors Think About The Future Of Their Cities–And The Country
April 10, 2018
Bloomberg Philanthropies launched the $200 million American Cities Initiative in June 2017 to help city leaders develop new programs and policies that solve universal societal problems like affordable housing, poor public health, a lack of well-paying jobs, and even crime and climate change. The goal is to prototype radical interventions in one place, then share what’s working with others.
Read moreThe New York Times: In Poor Countries, Antismoking Activists Face Threats and Violence
March 12, 2018
Mr. Bloomberg announced that he was donating $20 million to create a new global watchdog agency called Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products — or S.T.O.P. — devoted to monitoring the industry’s deceptive tactics.
Read moreForbes: The Higher Education Movement Our Country Needs
March 2, 2018
Across our history, America has educated our citizens and future leaders far more effectively than other countries. U.S. education has always been a staple of national strength and global leadership.
With this idea in mind, dozens of college and university presidents are convening today at Bloomberg Philanthropies with a singular mission: to bolster our country’s leadership by sending 50,000 more highly-qualified lower-income students to top colleges and universities with high graduation rates by the year 2025.
Read moreFast Company: This Contest Will Put Millions Into Ambitious Public Art
March 2, 2018
Several years ago, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched a competition to award struggling cities $1 million each for trying a novel approach at revitalization. It was called the Public Art Challenge, with the goal being that each place should think up some big, unifying, and life-improving masterpiece.
That effort has paid off beautifully. According to Bloomberg’s math, the four winning projects based in Los Angeles; Gary, Indiana; Spartanburg, South Carolina; and a triumvirate of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy in New York generated $13 million for those four places, both in terms of new jobs, related neighborhood investments, and visitor spending
Read moreQuartz: Nine American cities are revolutionizing how data can improve lives
March 2, 2018
Bloomberg Philanthropies named the inaugural group of nine US cities to achieve What Works Cities certification, its standard for government effectiveness. Underpinning the certification is an evaluation of how well a city uses data-driven decisions to improve its residents’ lives.
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