The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a global philanthropy, but our roots are in the Pacific Northwest, where the Gates family has lived for generations. Here at home, we invest in improving education from preschool through college, preventing family homelessness, and strengthening community engagement, in order to ensure that every child has a chance to reach their full potential, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or family income.

FEATURED GRANT

Teacher Tech Project

Ask-A-Teacher Help Desks and Resource Guides for the top 5 learning platforms, plus instructional modules to help teachers take their in-person practices online. By Washington teachers, for Washington teachers.

Washington Census Equity Fund

The foundation is providing $750,000 to support 77 grantees across 83 grants, working in 36 of Washington’s 39 counties to reach historically hard-to-count communities.

UPDATES

April 2022 Newsletter: Hitting the Road to Learn

What wild spring weather we had recently in Washington state! I’m glad my team and I hit the road to meet some of our grantees and their partners in March, before the snow returned. One of the things I value most in my professional life is the ability to constantly learn and grow. My heart and perspective are both stronger when I can hear from community partners and the teachers, students, and families they serve.

March 2022 Newsletter: Welcome to March Madness

Welcome to March Madness! While I am talking about college, I’m not referring to basketball. I’m talking about the madness of college acceptance season!

February 2022 Newsletter: Why is Black History Month in February?

Like many of you, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is in the midst of celebrating Black History Month. While I have always been grateful for the focus, I’ve long been grumpy about it being celebrated during the shortest month. I’ve always wondered why we don’t celebrate year round? Being naturally curious and a data nerd, I went hunting for the origin story.

January 2022 Newsletter: A new year, a new approach

As I begin my first full year as director of the Washington State Initiative, I’m going to be real with you for a moment: I was hoping for a more optimistic start to 2022. But COVID-19 had other plans, and I want to first start by sending you love and hoping you and your loved ones remain safe.

December 2021 Newsletter: 3 reasons we’re grateful

Recently, I listened to a brief audio clip of Eastern Washington University Professor Philip Watkins describing the findings of his research on gratitude. (Gratitude research sounds like a pretty amazing job.) Professor Watkins found that the participants who wrote down three things they were grateful for were able to sustain their happiness longer than those who only recalled happy memories. So, as we head into the holidays and I look ahead to my first full year as director of the Washington State Initiative in 2022, let me take a few moments here to put that into practice.