Day One Fund – Jeff Bezos, the founder, and CEO of the multinational technology company Amazon launched the Bezos Day One Fund. The two-billion-dollar program is a philanthropic program that aims to fund non-profit organizations to help struggling and homeless families. It gives funds for the creation of non-profit, tier-one preschools for low-income communities.
With this excellent initiative by the American entrepreneur, industrialist, media proprietor, and investor, Jeff Bezos, the Day One fund is currently working all around the United States of America. Jeff Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie Bezos, donated 97.5 million dollars to twenty-four organizations around the country that provide homeless services as part of the Day One Fund program.
According to Bezos, the philanthropic endeavor will help establish a network of non-profit preschools and aid in funding existing non-profit organizations that provide services for the homeless. Of the declared 24 organizations, 15 organizations will be receiving five-million-dollar grants, while the other nine organizations will be receiving 2.5 million dollars as part of the program.
Jeff Bezos dedicated and spread a significant part of his wealth throughout the country, aiming to address social problems of poverty and inequality. Instead of devoting his wealth to organizations based in the city, he decided to set an example and think about homelessness and displacement issues.
With a two-fold objective, the Day One Fund aims to split 2 billion dollars between the two programs- the Day One Academies Fund and the Day One Families Fund. Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, founder of rocket company ‘Blue Origin’ and the owner of ‘The Washington Post’, is the wealthiest man in modern history with a net worth of at least 150 billion dollars.
With various critics calling for Bezos to give his wealth to the community with philanthropic efforts, he created the Day One Fund. The initiative was inspired by Jeff Bezos’ Day One mentality, where he believes every day is Day 1. With the same outlook, he took suggestions for approaches to philanthropy and created this charitable endeavor.
The Day One Fund is added to a long list of initiatives by Bezos, including financial contributions to various causes, including cancer research, marriage equality, scholarships for immigrant students, and much more. With the same set of principles used to run Amazon, the Bezos Day One Fund has allowed Bezos to invent, learn and improve.
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Day One Fund for Families
With the Day One Family Fund, Jeff Bezos is funding non-profit organizations that require money to aid them with their goals of providing shelter and resources to those in need. With grants to forty-two organizations throughout twenty-four states, the program aims to fund short and long-term plans to improve the current services to help homeless families.
Primarily inspired by Mary’s Place in Seattle with the motto ‘no child sleeps outside,’ the Day One Family fund issues annual grants to civic groups and organizations providing shelter and food to address homeless families’ needs. The compassionate effort allows the forty-two organizations to spread through twenty-four states to support those in need.
The organizations that received 105.9 million dollars in funding for 2020 are listed below-
| Sl no. | Name of the organization | State | Grant amount |
| 1. | Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness | Anchorage, AK | $450,000 |
| 2. | The Cathedral Center, Inc. | Milwaukee, WI | $1.25 million |
| 3. | Catholic Charities of Acadiana | Lafayette, LA | $5 million |
| 4. | Coalition for Homelessness Intervention & Prevention | Indianapolis, IN | $1.25 million |
| 5. | Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida | Orlando, FL | $2.5 million |
| 6. | Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio | Columbus, OH | $2.5 million |
| 7. | Community Action Council for Lexington-Fayette, Bourbon, Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Inc. | Lexington, KY | $5 million |
| 8. | Congreso de Latinos Unidos | Philadelphia, PA | $5 million |
| 9. | Denver Indian Family Resource Center | Denver, CO | $450,000 |
| 10. | East Los Angeles Women’s Center | Los Angeles, CA | $2.5 million |
| 11. | East Oakland Community Project | Oakland, CA | $2.5 million |
| 12. | Facing Forward to End Homelessness | Chicago, IL | $1.25 million |
| 13. | Families Together | Raleigh, NC | $1.25 million |
| 14. | Family Life Center | Kahului, HI | $1.25 million |
| 15. | Friendship Place | Washington, DC | $2.5 million |
| 16. | HELP of Southern Nevada | Las Vegas, NV | $5 million |
| 17. | The Homeless Families Foundation | Columbus, OH | $1.25 million |
| 18. | Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System | Los Angeles, CA | $5 million |
| 19. | HOPE Atlanta | Atlanta, GA | $2.5 million |
| 20. | House of Ruth | Washington, DC | $2.5 million |
| 21. | Housing Matters | Santa Cruz, CA | $2.5 million |
| 22. | Housing Up | Washington, DC | $2.5 million |
| 23. | Kahumana | Waianae, HI | $2.5 million |
| 24. | MAHUBE-OTWA Community Action Partnership, Inc. | Detroit Lakes, MN | $2.5 million |
| 25. | Metro Denver Homeless Initiative | Denver, CO | $1.25 million |
| 26. | MUST Ministries | Marietta, GA | $5 million |
| 27. | The National Center for Children and Families | Bethesda, MD | $2.5 million |
| 28. | Native American Youth and Family Center | Portland, OR | $5 million |
| 29. | North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness | Raleigh, NC | $1.25 million |
| 30. | One80 Place | Charleston, SC | $5 million |
| 31. | Poverello House | Fresno, CA | $2.5 million |
| 32. | Rainbow Services | San Pedro, CA | $1.25 million |
| 33. | Refugee Women’s Alliance | Seattle, WA | $2.5 million |
| 34. | Safe Haven Family Shelter | Nashville, TN | $1.25 million |
| 35. | The Salvation Army Austin Area Command | Austin, TX | $2.5 million |
| 36. | Samaritan House | Virginia Beach, VA | $1.25 million |
| 37. | Solid Ground | White Bear Lake, MN | $1.25 million |
| 38. | St. Vincent de Paul CARES | St. Petersburg, FL | $5 million |
| 39. | Su Casa – Ending Domestic Violence | Long Beach, CA | $1.25 million |
| 40. | Time for Change Foundation | San Bernardino, CA | $1.25 million |
| 41. | United American Indian Involvement, Inc. | Los Angeles, CA | $2.5 million |
| 42. | WestCare California | Fresno, CA | $2.5 million |
Day One Academies Fund
The Day One Academies Fund is a non-profit initiative that is part of the Day One Fund program launched by Jeff Bezos. The endeavor aims to establish and operate tuition-free preschools in under-developed communities. As Bezos said, this program will create an opportunity to learn, invent and improve.
With a genuine and intense customer obsession, the Fund utilizes the same Amazon principles to provide quality education to many students throughout the country. The Bezos Academy preschools offer year-round programs, five days a week, for children between three to five years of age.
With low-income families as priorities for admission, the Fund aims to give every student an equal opportunity to become a creative leader, thinker, and learner. With families, communities, school staff, and hosts as essential partners, the Fund aims to work towards every student’s love of learning.
The program considers a vast amount of data, including income levels, participation in reduced-cost or free meal programs, and access to licensed childcare providers. The program also looks out for local organizations and groups that perceive the needs of community members.
Conclusion
The Day One Fund is a praiseworthy initiative with a commitment of two-billion dollars. With a two-fold objective of helping homeless families and building tier-one preschools throughout the U.S, the program is a philanthropic endeavor that aims to help the community at large.
