The Giving Pledge at 15: A growing, global community changing philanthropy and impacting the world

Nicola Forrest and Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation committed $100 million to Future Generation Women, a new philanthropic investment fund managed exclusively by women, aiming to advance economic equality and opportunity for women and their children in Australia. 

Alya and Gary K. Michelson, M.D. gave $120 million to help launch a new, innovative medical research hub aimed at developing new treatments for diseases like Alzheimer’s, cancer, and heart disease. 

Byron and Tina Trott committed $150 million over 10 years to create new opportunities for students from America’s small towns and rural communities.  

The Patchwork Collective (Benoit Dageville and Marie Dageville) joined together with the Gates Foundation (Bill Gates), Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (Chris Hohn), Delta Philanthropies (Strive and Tsitsi Masiyiwa), and other donors to launch the Beginnings Fund. The nearly $500 million fund aims at preventing more than 300,000 avoidable maternal-newborn deaths in 10 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 and providing quality health care for 34 million mothers and babies. This fund was born from the vision of these Pledgers, ELMA Philanthropies, and the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity.

Cameron Adams is co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Canva, an online visual communication and collaboration platform with a mission to empower the world to design. Since launching in 2013, Canva’s global community has grown to over 230 million monthly users in over 190 countries and has created more than 34 billion designs. Cameron is responsible for heading up the design and product teams, playing a key role in future product directions and innovations. Before teaming up with Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht to bring Canva to the world, Cameron was building email startup Fluent, and prior to that worked with Lars and Jens Rasmussen (co-founders of Google Maps) to realise the design vision for Google Wave. In his spare time, Cameron enjoys spending time with his two kids, playing music, or DJing. 

Lisa Miller studied Advanced Science specialising in the fields of zoology and evolutionary biology before starting her career as a scientist at the Australian Museum. After transitioning into tech in 2004, Lisa has spent the last eighteen years developing products and scaling leaders and teams at some of the fastest growing companies in Australia – including Canva. She has now united her passion for conservation and technology by establishing Wedgetail: an organisation devoted to conserving and restoring biodiversity through sustainable investment. 

Excerpt from Giving Pledge Letter: 

“Philanthropy is more than charity; it is a means of addressing systemic issues, driving meaningful change, and ensuring that future generations inherit a world rich in possibility and biodiversity. By joining the Giving Pledge, we aim to emphasise this responsibility and commit our resources to the planet that we all rely on.” 

Dr. Noubar Afeyan is founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, a company that creates bioplatform companies to transform human health and sustainability. An entrepreneur and biochemical engineer, Afeyan holds more than 100 patents and has co-founded more than 100 life science and technology startups during his 37-year career. He is co-founder and chairman of the board of Moderna, the pioneering messenger RNA company.   

Afeyan completed his doctoral work in biochemical engineering at MIT and his undergraduate studies at McGill University. He was a senior lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, a lecturer at Harvard Business School, and he currently serves as a member of the MIT Corporation. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2022. 

Afeyan is a Trustee of the Afeyan Foundation and a co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and several other philanthropic projects. 

Anna Afeyan Gunnarson is a Trustee of the Afeyan Foundation, a family foundation building and advancing innovative solutions to benefit communities worldwide. 

Since leaving a career in biochemical engineering, she devoted her time to raising her four children and volunteering in schools and non-profit organizations with a special focus on innovation and equity in education. For eight years, she taught science at Beacon Academy in Boston and joined their board, chairing the Finance Committee and serving as Treasurer. 

She also serves on the board of Dilijan International School of Armenia (UWCD), Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, Health Network for Armenia (HENAR), and co-chairs the board of YerazArt Foundation for Young Musicians. 

Before coming to the US to work in process development for the Schering-Plough Corporation, Anna worked as a process engineer at Alfa-Laval in Sweden. She received her M.S. in Biochemical Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. 

Excerpt from Giving Pledge Letter: 

“All of us who have been fortunate in our lives, who truly have all we need, can play an even greater role—in partnership with local advocates, governments, and businesses—to ensure that opportunities are more widely accessed and the rewards of progress are broadly shared.”

Muna Easa Al Gurg is an Emirati businesswoman and philanthropist from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. She is Vice Chairperson and Director of Retail at the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group. She is also on the board of directors of several companies including HSBC Bank Middle East Limited. Muna was the Chairwoman of Young Arab Leaders.

Muna is committed to empowering women and girls in the Arab world. In 2015 she launched the Muna Al Gurg Scholarship at London Business School, supporting female students studying in the school’s MBA and Executive MBA programme.  Muna Al Gurg is an active member of the ‘30% Club’, an organization that promotes gender balance in leadership positions.   

Muna is on the board of several non-profit organizations and is a founding board member of Endeavor UAE. 

Muna is an Aspen Fellow and member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN).

Excerpt from Giving Pledge letter: 

“Every woman deserves dignity, independence, and the autonomy to shape her own path. Every woman deserves to recognise her potential.”

Joe is the Founder and Chairman of Commonwealth Financial Network (1979), which is the largest privately owned independent investment broker-deal/RIA in the United States. Commonwealth has been recognized as a ”Best Place to Work” over 40 times by regional and national publications. And J.D. Power and Associates has ranked Commonwealth “Highest Advisor Satisfaction Among Financial Investment Firms” every one of the eleven times they have ranked the industry.  

He is also chairman of Southworth Development, a golf and resort real estate company with award-winning properties in the United States, Scotland and The Bahamas.  

In 2011, Joe helped to form Commonwealth Cares to maximize the impact of Commonwealth’s charitable efforts. Since its inception in 2010, Commonwealth Cares has supported more than 360 different organizations that relieve human suffering, promote social and economic growth, and protect our planet’s resources. 

In 2012, he founded the Deitch Leadership Institute at the Boston Latin School, the oldest public school in the United States (1635). The institute provides leadership training and focuses on the individual growth of students as well as on community improvement. 

And in 2019, he established the Elevate Prize Foundation, which celebrates and empowers individuals and organizations whose ideas and endeavors elevate the human experience. The Elevate Prize is on a mission to “Make Good Famous” and inspire the world to action.   

Joe is a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer of The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess and the author of the bestselling book,  Elevate: An Essential Guide to Life. 

He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in International Relations and an alumnus of Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management Program. After college, Joe followed his muse and moved to the US Virgin Islands and eventually returned to Boston to pursue a career in financial services, always trying to merge the ethos of the islands and the entrepreneur. Today, he divides his time primarily between Miami, Boston, and elsewhere – depending on the weather and the adventure. 

Excerpt from Giving Pledge Letter:  

“There is a remarkable alchemy in giving. When we elevate others, we rise in equal measure…and usually much more.”

Bharat grew up in Kenya and moved to India where he attended high school and college. He and Neerja Sethi met in the US and co-founded Syntel, a global technology services company. They are passionate about supporting economic mobility through education and entrepreneurship as well as promoting healthcare and wellness.  

Jay C. Hoag has been a venture capitalist and technology investor for over 43 years. 

He co-founded TCV in 1995. Since that time, TCV has raised ~$24 billion in capital and emerged as a leading provider of growth capital to technology companies. Jay is chair of TCV’s Investment Committee and is also a member of TCV’s Executive Committee, which oversees general management of the firm and its funds. 

Prior to TCV, Hoag was a Managing Director at Chancellor Capital Management, where he spent more than 12 years as a technology-focused venture capitalist and fund manager. 

He has been involved in a large number of technology investments, including Actuate Software (acquired by OpenText), Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB), Ariba (acquired by SAP), Altiris (acquired by Symantec), BlueCoat Systems (formerly CacheFlow), C|NET, eHarmony, Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA), Encompass (acquired by Yahoo!), EXE Technologies (acquired by SSA Global), Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE), Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), Fandango (acquired by Comcast), Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN), LinkedIn, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), ONYX Software (NASDAQ: ONXS), Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON), Prodege (parent company of Swagbucks & acquired by a private equity firm), RealNetworks (NASDAQ: RNWK), Rover (NASDAQ: ROVR), Sportradar (NASDAQ: SRAD), Spotify (NYSE: SPOT), SpringStreet (acquired by Homestore.com), Strava, TechTarget (NASDAQ: TTGT), Toast (NYSE: TOST), TripAdvisor (NASDAQ: TRIP), Vacationspot.com (acquired by Expedia), Viant (acquired by iXL), and Zillow (NASDAQ: ZG). Jay has been recognized numerous times by Forbes on its Midas List as one of the industry’s top technology investors. 

Jay is on the Investment Advisory Committee at the University of Michigan, the Board of Trustees of Northwestern University, and is a Trustee Emeritus at Vanderbilt University. 

Jay received a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan. 

Michaela “Mikey” Hoag is founder of Part the Cloud, the nation’s most successful Alzheimer’s research fundraiser. In just 12 years, Part the Cloud has raised close to $90M and currently funds over 70 human trials across the globe. After initial funding from Part the Cloud, grant recipients have earned over $1.6B in follow on funding from the federal government, venture capital firms and other sources. Mikey is also a board member at the Ann Romney Center for Neurological Disease at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and has been a Boston College trustee since 2007. She was a former member of the United States Equestrian team, color commentator for equestrian sport and Director at a sports marketing agency. Mikey will be joining the UCSF Foundation board in Fall 2025.

Excerpt from Giving Pledge Letter: 

“We have been very fortunate to benefit from the opportunities that our country has provided.” 

Drew and Erin Houston live in California with their son Charlie. Drew is the co-founder and CEO of Dropbox, which he started in 2007 after graduating from MIT. Dropbox helps millions of people and businesses around the world organize and share their most important information.

Erin’s career has spanned management consulting, investing, and leadership roles at consumer startups. She now focuses her time on the couple’s growing family and creative projects.

With this pledge, Drew and Erin are excited to embark on a deeper journey into philanthropy together. 

Xin Liu is founder and president of Enlight Foundation, which focuses on education equality, improving youth mental wellbeing, engaging young leaders in developing climate solutions, and investing in next-generation social change makers globally. To create systemic change, Xin invests in young people, elevates youth voices, working collaboratively with other foundations, researchers, and nonprofits. Xin is the anchoring donor of the $200M Youth Mental Wellbeing Funders Co-Lab, currently the biggest philanthropic initiative for global youth mental health. 
 
Xin is also founder and director of Xinhe Foundation, which supports scientific research and practices on improving early childhood development, rural reading programs, as well as programs groom youth leaders in China.  
 
Prior to funding and leading the Enlight Foundation, Xin Liu was an award-winning writer and photojournalist both in China and the United States. Her work has been published in China Youth Daily, Baltimore Sun, Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post, Time Magazine, and more. More recently, she published two books in China: At the Still Point of the Turning World and Become One with the Dust. Most recently, Xin is awarded “Outstanding Asian American Women Who Dared”.

Excerpt from Giving Pledge Letter: 

“I believe we can create a better future by collaborating with each other, elevating young leaders, lifting up solution-focused practices, and most importantly, treating one another with compassion.” 

Jim McKelvey is best known for co-founding Square, now called Block. He is the former Chair of the St. Louis Federal Reserve and a trustee of Washington University.  

Jim is also an artist/designer who authored the world’s top textbook on glassblowing. His industrial designs are in both the Smithsonian and Museum of Modern Art. He co-founded Third Degree Glass Factory, one of the top centers for glass artwork.  

Jim’s current projects include creating the world’s first plastic-free diaper and radically increasing the speed at which drugs are tested and approved.  

Anna McKelvey is a lawyer, philanthropist and founder of the Alpha Epsilon Fund, the couple’s main charitable vehicle. 

Anna was born and raised in Strängnäs, Sweden. Before moving to the United States, she served as general counsel at a Japanese asset management firm in Tokyo. Anna is a board member of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, a research organization improving the world through plant science innovation, and Founders Pledge, seeking to bridge the gap between entrepreneurs and the charities making the most difference in the world. Anna is board chair of the McKelvey family office.  

Excerpt from Giving Pledge Letter:  

“Organizations with a deep sense of responsibility focus intently on meaningful outcomes. We now share in this responsibility.” 

Lisa Sobrato Sonsini is an accomplished philanthropist and community leader who has helped shape the philanthropic landscape of Silicon Valley over a thirty-year career. Lisa began her professional journey in corporate and securities law, advising startups during the early years of the region’s technology boom. In the mid-90s, Lisa created the Sobrato Family Foundation, a unifying platform for her family’s philanthropic efforts across multiple generations. Under her leadership, the foundation has grown into one of the largest philanthropies in the United States, partnering with communities to meet urgent needs, dismantle systemic barriers, and pursue long-term social justice. Sobrato Philanthropies is part of The Sobrato Organization, a multi-generational family enterprise that has played a central role in the economic and social fabric of Silicon Valley for nearly 70 years. Lisa currently serves as Chair of The Sobrato Organization’s Owners Council and member of its Governance Board, helping to guide the integration of the family’s real estate, investment, and philanthropic assets for maximum impact. 

Extending her vision beyond traditional philanthropy, Lisa co-founded Ravello Impact with her husband, Matt Sonsini. Ravello Impact is a social impact and investment collaborative that supports values-driven innovation and social entrepreneurship to create positive change. One of Ravello Impact’s flagship efforts is Academic Innovation Catalyst, a program that partners with top-tier research institutions such as UC Berkeley to help academic innovators bring socially impactful discoveries to market. Ravello Impact also engages in local urban renewal, reflecting Matt and Lisa’s belief in the power of place and infrastructure to drive opportunity and equity. Lisa is a passionate advocate for disadvantaged youth, particularly those navigating the educational and foster care systems, and supports ventures around the world that empower local communities through education, healthcare, and economic development. She received her BA from UCLA and JD from Berkeley Law. 

Matt Sonsini is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Ravello Impact, a social impact and investment platform. Matt is also the Principal and Co-Founder of Academic Innovation Catalyst (AIC), a philanthropic initiative that seeks to unlock academic innovation for positive social impact. Matt began his career as a corporate and securities attorney in Silicon Valley, where he practiced for almost 20 years. Matt’s practice involved representing technology companies at all stages in start-up, financing, governance and complex transactional matters. Matt later joined The Sobrato Organization, a diversified investment, real estate and philanthropic organization. As Chief Executive Officer, Matt oversaw all investment, real estate and philanthropic operations and helped set firm strategy, while serving on the Governance Board and Sobrato Philanthropies Board of Trustees. Prior to becoming CEO, Matt served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Investment Officer, creating and growing Sobrato Capital into a substantial private and public securities investment platform.  

Matt and his wife, Lisa, have embraced giving back as a core objective and value of their lives and careers, which inspired the creation of AIC and Ravello Impact. Areas of focus for their philanthropic and impact work include grass-roots organizations that seek to level up opportunities for all members of our community to share in the extraordinary growth of Silicon Valley. Matt and Lisa have also sought to support differentiated social entrepreneurs who would make a salutary dent in the world and possess the talent and grit to do so. Matt is a former board member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula and supporter of other local non-profits. In addition, as Builders of Berkeley, Matt and Lisa have given back to their alma mater through their support of the Law School, the Center for Connected Learning, the School of Education and SkyDeck, of which Matt is an advisor, among other institutions and programs. Matt also serves on the Advisory Board of CITRIS and the Banatao Institute at UC Berkeley.

Excerpt from Giving Pledge Letter:

“We approach our philanthropy with humility and curiosity, recognizing that wealth does not necessarily bestow insight.”

Glen Tullman is the Chief Executive Officer of Transcarent, the first comprehensive, consumer-directed health and care platform that makes it easy for people to access high-quality, affordable health and care. Transcarent is transforming healthcare with WayFinding, an experience powered by clinicians and generative AI where Members can “Just Ask Transcarent” to instantly get trusted health and benefits navigation, take the next step with personalized clinical guidance, and access on-demand care delivery.   

Tullman is the former Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder of Livongo Health, the first at-scale consumer digital health company to truly empower people with chronic conditions to live better and healthier lives using data science. In his final year, Glen led Livongo through the largest consumer digital health Initial Public Offering in history, a secondary offering, a convertible debt offering that raised over $550 million, and the industry’s largest merger to date between Livongo and Teladoc Health, valuing Livongo at $18.5 billion and beginning a new era of consumer-directed virtual care.    

A visionary leader and entrepreneur, Tullman previously ran two other public companies that changed the way health care is delivered. During his time as Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts, the Company was the leading provider of electronic prescribing, practice management, and electronic health records for physician practices. Glen led Allscripts IPO and Secondary offerings. Prior to Allscripts, he was Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Systems, the leading resource management systems for hospitals, which he also took public and then sold to McKesson/HBOC. Before entering healthcare, Glen served as President and COO of CCC Information Systems, a provider of computerized systems for the property and casualty insurance sector.  

Glen is also one of two Founding Partners at 7wire Ventures, one of the highest-returning venture capital funds in Illinois. He is the author of On Our Terms: Empowering the New Health Consumer, in which he proposes new solutions to address the chronic condition epidemic facing our country.  

A strong proponent of philanthropy, Glen was honored in 2019 with a Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award for his career focused on improving the safety, empathy, and efficiency of our healthcare system. He also serves as a Life Director of the Illinois Chapter of Breakthrough T1D, the leading organization advancing life-changing breakthroughs for Type 1 Diabetes.  

Glen has three amazing children and three grandchildren who inspire him every day. 

Excerpt from Giving Pledge Letter: 

“For me, this pledge serves not as a final destination, but as a public declaration of my ongoing commitment to give more, do more, and live up to the values that have guided me this far.”