Giving Compass' Take:

• Jeff Bezos announced who the recipients are of the $97.5 million grant funding for the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund and the details behind the selection process.  

• The executive director of a homeless organization in Seattle gave advice to Bezos regarding the first round of recipients. Why is it significant that Bezos utilizes knowledge from experts in the field and who are location-specific? 

• Read more about Bezos preschool investment. 

Jeff Bezos announced the 24 organizations from across the country that will receive a share of $97.5 million in grants from his new Bezos Day 1 Families Fund. The Amazon founder launched his philanthropic initiatives in September, with a dual focus on families experiencing homelessness and early education.

The “immediate donations” will go to groups in 16 states. Two organizations are near Amazon’s Seattle headquarters. Washington-based recipients and their gift amounts are:

  • Catholic Community Services of Western Washington in Tacoma, $5 million
  • Refugee Women’s Alliance in Seattle, $2.5 million

Last week, Amazon announced the location of its two new headquarters in New York and Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C. And organizations in these areas also will land grants from Bezos’ philanthropic fund. They include:

  • Community of Hope, Washington, D.C.,  $5 million
  • District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH), Washington, D.C., $2.5 million
  • Housing Families First, Henrico, VA, $2.5 million
  • Northern Virginia Family Service, Oakton, VA, $2.5 million
  • Urban Resource Institute, New York, $5 million

Absent from the list is Mary’s Place, a Seattle nonprofit helping homeless women and children that was in large part the poster child for Bezos’ decision to support homelessness organizations. However, Mary’s Place Executive Director Marty Hartman was one of the experts who provided advice in the selection process. Amazon is currently constructing a building on its Seattle campus that will house its employees and Mary’s Place clients.

“The goal of the Day 1 Families Fund awards is to shine a light and support the organizations that are doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter for young families in communities across the country,”  Bezos writes.

Read the full article about day one fund by Lisa Stiffler at GeekWire