Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, paediatrician Priscilla Chan, donated 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation in 2013. Valued at $992 million, the 2013 donation came after the couple donated 19 million shares in 2012.
Silicon Valley Community Foundation basically partners with a large number of wealthy donors to fund causes they deem will help make the “world a better place for all”. The donors gift assets such as real estate, stock, mutual funds, or cash and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation ensures the funds reach the desired cause or organization.
One of the organizations that receives funding through the Silicon Valley Community Foundation is Planned Parenthood. In 2012, Planned Parenthood received $480,000 in donations from Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Those funds reached cities across the States, such as San Antonio, TX, New York, NT, Jacksonville, FL, and Burlington, VT.
Currently Planned Parenthood receives approximately 40% of its funding from government sources, which means they wouldn’t be able to operate as they currently do if federal funding was pulled. This would likely mean reduced services and an increase in clinic closures.
Donating to Planned Parenthood is becoming increasingly important, as a growing number of politicians seem hellbent on getting it defunded. While federal legislation failed to pass teh Senate, three states have pulled state funding with many fearing that other states will soon follow suit.
Mark Zuckerberg’s donation was made in 2013 and has only recently made headlines. Still, it will hopefully encourage others who can to make their own donations, and to speak up in defence of the organization and the important work it does.
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