NRD is managed by Genesis Analytics. We’re passionate about using real world evidence to drive better outcomes in education.
Every day, the Gates Foundation wakes up determined to use its resources to create a world where everyone, regardless of circumstance, has the opportunity to lead a healthy and productive life. This mission is built on one core belief: that
all lives have equal value. This principle guides every investment, driving the foundation to tackle the world’s most severe inequities and take on the toughest problems others cannot.
The foundation’s current work is vast, yet strategically focused. In global health, it partners with experts in over 130 countries to eradicate preventable diseases, support new tools like vaccines, and strengthen health systems. In education, its team is intensely focused on improving foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This work is built on three key levers: advocating for data-driven accountability for FLN outcomes, generating better knowledge and tools for effective teaching (including the role of edtech), and building country capacity to implement high-impact reforms at scale. This initiative is addressing a critical gap in numeracy, funding pedagogical research and development to create public goods and scalable, evidence-based programmes for low and middle-income countries.
This ambitious, data-driven philanthropy began with a moment of realisation. After initially donating PCs to US libraries, the founders read an article about millions of children in poor countries dying from preventable diseases. As new parents, they were stunned. They sent the article to Bill’s father with a note: “Dad, maybe we can do something about this.”
They began a deep dive into learning, consulting experts and listening to local leaders. Their commitment grew, culminating in the transfer of $20 billion of Microsoft stock to create the world’s largest foundation. When Warren Buffett entrusted his fortune to their cause, it amplified their ability to think bigger and bolder.
The results speak to the power of this focus. Since 2000, the foundation has spent $53.8 billion, and its partners have helped achieve historic milestones, most notably the global under-five child mortality rate falling by half. The foundation understands that not every project will succeed, philanthropy’s unique role is to take calculated risks on solutions that governments and businesses cannot. It learns, adapts and shares those outcomes openly for the world’s benefit.
This optimism and determination was forged in childhood, learning from their parents that anything is possible. They are now channelling that same spirit to ensure that factors entirely outside of one’s control, like birthplace, gender, or wealth, no longer determine a person’s potential.
The Hempel Foundation confronts some of the defining challenges of our time. Continued deforestation, catastrophic biodiversity loss, and millions of children growing up without access to quality education demand urgent, scaled responses.
The Foundation’s role is to provide catalytic support, enabling visionary organisations to overcome financial and capacity constraints and accelerate impact at scale. The Foundation aims to strengthen the supply of highly effective solutions while simultaneously growing the demand for these solutions among governments and funders. It actively seeks collaborations, partnerships, and alignment with government policies, never working in isolation from broader collective efforts.
In the area of global education, the Hempel Foundation addresses the global learning crisis through two core objectives. First, it focuses on increasing the supply of cost-effective learning solutions by supporting education organisations
to scale through government systems. Second, it works to enhance government demand for these solutions by strengthening data and evidence on what works to improve foundational learning.
The Hempel Foundation has always been a dedicated philanthropist. It was founded in 1948 by J.C. Hempel, a pioneer in the coating industry, and continues to fund its work through the resources of the Hempel Group, allowing it to make independent, long-term, catalytic investments in both education and environmental sustainability.
The world’s most pressing problems demand solutions of equal scale and ambition. Entrepreneurs, with their unique skills, networks, and resources, are uniquely positioned to deliver this transformative change. Yet, even with the profound desire to give back, they often lack the time or specialised knowledge to
direct their charitable giving where it will achieve the greatest impact.
Founders Pledge exists to bridge this critical gap. Its mission is to advise on, facilitate, and maximise the philanthropic impact of its global member community, ensuring their generosity tackles the world’s most solvable problems with ruthless efficiency.
The vision is a future where the vast value created by technology and innovation benefits those who need it most. Every action is guided by a relentless focus on maximising measurable, evidence-based impact.
Launched from the Founders Forum network in 2015, this drive to make strategic giving the norm has sparked a powerful global movement. Today, the community includes over 2,050 of the world’s most influential entrepreneurs from more than 45 countries.
Together, they have pledged an extraordinary $11.5 billion to charity and have already donated over $1.5 billion to high-impact causes, demonstrating an unparalleled commitment to tangible results.
As a nonprofit operating globally from registered entities in the UK, US, and Germany, Founders Pledge charges no membership fees, ensuring that 100% of members’; donations go directly to their chosen charities. Its work is powered by the generous support of strategic donors and partners who invest in its proven ability to deliver outsized impact with every gift.
Supporting Founders Pledge means investing in the most efficient engine for entrepreneurial philanthropy, empowering a global community of leaders to build a radically better future for all.
