The Chan Zuckerberg Foundation is the formally charitable arm of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the nonprofit foundation of Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. The Advocacy has a political sister group, Chan Zuckerberg Advocacy. All three groups receive 100% of their funding from Facebook shares donated by Zuckerberg and Chan.

The Foundation primarily donates to scientific research, universities, and education initiatives, though it has also contributed to left-of-center advocacy groups involved in education, immigration, low-income housing, and criminal justice policy. The Foundation is also a signer Bill Gates’ “Giving Pledge,” in which Gates invited billionaires “to commit to give the majority of their wealth to philanthropy either during their lifetimes or in their wills.” ^{1 2}

As of 2018, the Foundation had no listed employees or executives other than Mark Zuckerberg as trustee.

Grants

Since 2018, the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation has given 68 grants ranging from $50,000 to over $60 million. ³

The Foundation’s largest grant of just over $60 million is going to Gates Philanthropy Partners over a four-year period from 2018-2022. The grant contributes to a portfolio to develop treatments for heart disease and stroke in low and middle-income countries. ⁴

The Foundation’s second largest recipient is NewSchools Venture Fund, which over two grants stretching from 2018-2022 is receiving $45 million. The Fund works to improve education outcomes for low-income Americans, particularly in math. ⁵

The Foundation has given considerable funds in support of charter schools. Summit Public Schools, a network of eleven charter schools in California and Washington, received almost $29 million from 2018-2019. T.L.P Education, which runs the Summit Public Schools network, received $40 million from 2018-2020. ⁶

In 2018, grants from the Foundation launched Opportunity Insights, a research and policy think tank based out of Harvard University focused on improving economic opportunities for low-income Americans. From 2018-2021, Opportunity Insights will receive $15 million.

The Foundation has given grants to numerous universities for scientific research, primarily related to cellular biology, including $9.7 million to Harvard University, $8.6 million to University of California schools, $4 million to Northwestern University, $3.7 million to the University of Michigan, $2.5 million to the University of Washington, $2.4 million to the University of Pennsylvania, almost $2 million to the Baylor College of Medicine, almost $1.7 million to the University of Oxford, $1.5 million to Columbia University, almost $1.5 million to the University of Chicago, almost $1 million to Stanford University, $749,676 to Indiana University, $400,000 to Duke University, almost $400,000 to Ben Gurion University, and almost $400,000 to Northeastern University. ⁷

The Foundation has given grants to left-of-center nonprofit advocacy groups. From 2018-2023, the Foundation is giving over $39 million to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation to seed the Regional Housing Flexible Fund, a fund to provide housing to low-income individuals and racial minorities in the San Francisco Bay Area. ⁸

From 2018-2020, the Foundation gave $1 million to CASA de Maryland, a group which finds employment for immigrants regardless of legal status. In 2019, the Foundation gave $100,000 to the North Bay Organizing Project, a group which provides relief services to illegal immigrants impacted by California wildfires. ⁹

From 2018-2019, the Foundation gave $1 million to the BronxConnect program of the Urban Youth Alliance International, a criminal justice group. BronxConnect is co-sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation. From 2019-2021, the Foundation is giving $1.1 million to the Greater Kanawha Foundation, a group of criminal justice nonprofits in West Virginia. ¹⁰

Facebook Censorship Open Letter

On June 6, 2020, 143 scientists sent an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg asking him to increase the regulation of speech on Facebook to combat “misinformation and incendiary language” especially pertaining to racial issues and comments made by President Donald Trump. The Chan Zuckerberg Foundation had made research grants to 68 of the signatories. ¹¹¹²

Leadership

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan

Mark Zuckerberg is the co-founder, CEO, and largest shareholder of Facebook. As of September 2020, he was the third-richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $98 billion. ¹³ Priscilla Chan is a licensed pediatrician and former teacher. The two met while attending Harvard University and married in 2012. ¹⁴

Though Zuckerberg has never openly identified with a political party, he primarily supports Democratic candidates, having given money to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Senator Charles Schumer, Congressional candidate Sean Eldridge (D-NY), the San Francisco Democratic Central Committee, and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ),¹⁵ for whom Zuckerberg also hosted a fundraising dinner in 2013. ¹⁶ Priscilla Chan has also donated to Booker, Schumer, and Eldridge. ¹⁷

Starting in 2017, there were rumors of Zuckerberg running for president as a Democratic candidate,¹⁸ but he ultimately did not run in the 2020 elections. ¹⁹ Zuckerberg privately advised former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) during his 2020 Democratic presidential candidacy. ²⁰

Zuckerberg has also donated to Republican politicians, including Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), former Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), and former Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). ²¹ Zuckerberg also hosted a fundraiser dinner for then-Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) in 2013. ²²

1. The Giving Pledge, About. Accessed January 6, 2023. https://givingpledge.org/About.aspx
2. Woodhouse, Leighton. “How Big Philanthropy became Big Grift.” The Spectator, December 18, 2022. https://thespectator.com/topic/bad-samaritans-big-philanthropy/
3. “Grants.” Chan Zuckerberg Foundation. Accessed September 18, 2020. https://chanzuckerberg.com/grants-ventures/grants/?funding-entity=chan-zuckerberg-initiative-foundation.
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10. “Grants.” Chan Zuckerberg Foundation. Accessed September 18, 2020. https://chanzuckerberg.com/grants-ventures/grants/?funding-entity=chan-zuckerberg-initiative-foundation.
11. “Letter to Mark Zuckerberg from scientists funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.” DropBox. June 6, 2020. Accessed September 18, 2020. https://www.dropbox.com/s/dkkgbrv0rvs3ts2/Letter%20to%20Mark%20Zuckerberg%20from%20scientists%20funded%20by%20the%20Chan%20Zuckerberg%20Initiative.pdf?dl=0.
12. Dhaliwal, Benzinga. “Scientists Funded By Chan Zuckerberg Foundation Want Facebook To Clamp Down On Misinformation and Incendiary Speech.” Benzinga. June 8, 2020. Accessed September 18, 2020. https://www.benzinga.com/news/20/06/16198480/scientists-funded-by-chan-zuckerberg-foundation-want-facebook-to-clamp-down-on-misinformation-and-in.
13. “#3 Mark Zuckerberg.” Forbes. September 16, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/profile/mark-zuckerberg/#a22404f3e06d.
14. “Who is Priscilla Chan?” CNN Business. December 1, 2015. Accessed September 16, 2020. https://money.cnn.com/2015/12/01/technology/priscilla-chan-facts/.
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16. Young, Elise. “Zuckerberg Plans Fundraiser for Cory Booker’s Senate Run.” Bloomberg. June 8, 2013. Accessed September 16, 2020. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-06-07/zuckerberg-plans-fundraiser-for-cory-booker-s-senate-run.
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19. “Priscilla Chan says neither she nor her husband, Mark Zuckerberg, have political ambitions.” CBS. February 18, 2019. Accessed September 16, 2020. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/priscilla-chan-says-neither-she-nor-mark-zuckerberg-have-political-ambitions/.
20. Pager, Tyler; Wagner, Kurt. “Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Privately Advised Pete Buttigieg on Campaign Hires.” Time. October 21, 2019. Accessed September 16, 2020. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/priscilla-chan-says-neither-she-nor-mark-zuckerberg-have-political-ambitions/.
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22. Dickey, Megan Rose. “Mark Zuckerberg’s Holding a Fundraiser for Chris Christie.” Business Insider. January 24, 2013. Accessed September 16, 2020. https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerbergs-holding-a-fundraiser-for-chris-christie-2013-1.