This database focuses on U.S. donor philanthropic "big bets" toward social change of $25M or more and is based solely on publically available data.

Methodology: The Bridgespan Group identified all U.S. donors’ publicly announced 2015-2020 gifts for social change of $25 million and higher that it could find using a range of sources and outreach. It included bets pledged in these years, rather than fulfillments of prior commitments. In ascertaining which commitments go to “social change,” The Bridgespan Group aims for inclusivity and opts for a broad definition of social change, including all gifts to human services, the environment, and international development, save for a small minority that, upon individual review, clearly fell outside the social change realm. Though institutional gifts can incorporate social change concerns, Bridgespan does not include gifts to arts institutions, higher education institutions, medical institutions, or private K-12 schools unless donors stipulate the gift for anti-poverty initiatives or underfunded diseases that disproportionately affect low-income people. Bridgespan includes gifts to religious organizations only when the goal is human services or international development.

Access the full Philanthropic Big Bets Database at The Bridgespan Group.