What is the history of Bill and Melinda Gates foundation What are their current Projects - Research Paper Example

The History of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Introduction The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the leading global philanthropic organization with its operations based in America and extended to other parts of the world. Bill and Melinda Gates are the main founders of this unique organization. On a global perspective, the major aims of the foundation are to address the unceasing problem of poverty and improve healthcare services. In America, the focus of the foundation is to enhance and improve education and technology.

This paper will discuss a brief history of the formation of the foundation and analyze some of its current major projects.The formal launch of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was in 1999 summer. In early 2000, it was the largest philanthropic trust in the United States since its endowment stood at more than $22 billion. It mainly focus on global health and population control programs, education reform and minority scholarships, a wide range of Pacific Northwest institutions and programs, and libraries and access to information technology (Crowley, 2000).

The foundation donated a total endowment of $17 billion in the form of Microsoft stock. However, the Foundation staff later transferred it into other assets to shield the organization both from the vagaries of the stock market and from the corporation. Under the direction of the senior Gates and Stonesifer, the foundation merged with the existing W.H. Gates and Gates Learning Foundations. There was also formation of major programmatic divisions for library and information systems, global health, and education directed respectively by Tom Vander Ark, Dr.

Perkin and Dr. William Foege, and Richard Akeroyd (Crowley, 2000).The main goal of the foundation is to offer everyone an equal opportunity to prosper through elimination or reduction of barriers like poor nutrition, weak educational systems and poor health. Therefore, the largest part of its expenditure is on three broad issues: global development, global health and programs in the United States, which focuses on enhancing education (New York Times, 2010).For better management of its philanthropy base, the foundation adopted 15 guiding principles.

Among these principles is the limited but crucial role played by philanthropy, the science and technology to enhance lives around the world by treating grantees as valued partners while still leaving room for growth and change. Founded on the beliefs of the Gates’ family, these principles have helped formulate policies used when giving grants to NGOs (Fundsforngos.org, 2008).Although it is unique in its scale, it is evident that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation stands for a family tradition of community involvement and giving formerly established by Mary Gates (1930-1994), Bill Gates mother, a former schoolteacher.

In 1991, Bill Gates made his first major contribution worth $12 million to help provide a molecular biology research lab on the three main program areas of the Foundation, which are ‘Global Development,’ ‘Global Health’ and the United States Program. In addition, the Foundation offers funding support to NGOs around the world. It has made significant funding to numerous organizations in China, Africa, South and East Asia, Latin America besides Europe and the US (Fundsforngos.org, 2008).

In January 2010, Bill and Melinda Gates said their foundation would double its spending over the next decade, to at least $10 billion on vaccines because supporting vaccines is the worlds most cost-effective public health measure. The foundations work varies from providing vaccines to prevent childhood diseases, preventing malaria to innovative research in order to enhance agricultural yields among other things (New York Times, 2010).ConclusionThe formation of Bill and Melinda Gates foundation was a critical step in forming a philanthropic organization that would address major problems facing the society.

The foundation seeks to eradicate poverty globally as well as address the problem of inadequate or poor healthcare. Another major aim of the foundation is to improve the quality of education and technology in America. Since its inception, the foundation has achieved various aspects of poverty eradication, enhancement in healthcare as well as improvement in education.ReferencesCrowley, W. (2000). Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.

cfm&File_Id=2907Fundsforngos.org. (2008). Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.fundsforngos.org/foundation-funds-for-ngos/gates-foundation-one-of-the-biggest-donor-for-the-ngos/New York Times. (2010). Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/g/gates_bill_and_melinda_foundation/index.html