Bloomberg Philanthropies Report Annual
Annual Report 2020
Feeding NYC Convening Mayors to Strengthening Global Health Care Workers Support COVID-19 Recovery Climate Activism
Improving Transportation Increasing the Number and Road Safety of Black Doctors Protecting the Oceans
Ensuring better, longer lives for the greatest number of people Engaging Cultural Following the Data Audiences Digitally at Johns Hopkins
Advancing College Supporting Communities with Training Health Care Access and Success Best of Bloomberg Volunteers Workers in Africa
Discover More 2020
Spread Address Unmet Share Build Ideas Needs Data Partnerships Increasing Sustainability Advancing Cutting- Improving Fishing Practices in Cities Edge Research
Retiring Coal Plants Globally Fighting for Clean Air
Helping Cities Investing in Students at Spurring Community Respond to COVID-19 Johns Hopkins University Volunteering
Creating Safe and Preventing Opioid Overdoses Engaging Public Spaces
About Bloomberg Philanthropies
Encompassing all of Mike Bloomberg’s giving, Bloomberg Philanthropies includes his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works with mayors in cities around the world. Mike has committed the vast majority of the profits from Bloomberg L.P., the global financial technology, data, and media company that he founded in 1981, to support the work of Bloomberg Philanthropies. Supporting Refugees Investing in Women’s Spreading Innovative Worldwide Economic Development Ideas to Help Cities
Providing Relief to Convening Mayors to Advocating for Healthier Cultural Organizations Support COVID-19 Recovery Food Policy
Creating Summer Spaces Mobilizing for Gun Safety Supporting Public Art for Kids
Ensuring better, longer lives for Mission the greatest number of people Strengthening Career and Technical Training
Bloomberg Philanthropies works to improve the lives of millions of people in 810 cities and 170 countries. In 2020, Bloomberg Philanthropies invested $1.6 billion around the world. This included the launch of many new efforts to meet urgent challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over his lifetime, Mike Bloomberg has so far given $11.1 billion to philanthropy.
1 Contents
About Bloomberg Philanthropies 1 Global Reach 4 Annual Letter on Philanthropy 6 CEO Letter 14 COVID-19 Response 18 Public Health 28 Government Innovation 42 Bloomberg Associates 50 The Arts 56 Education 68 Environment 78 Founder’s Projects 90 Bloomberg L.P. 106 Board of Directors 112
The Bloomberg Connects app being used at The Drawing Center in New York City to explore Covid Tears by Chitra Ganesh.
2 3 Global Reach Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 810 cities and 170 countries
The Arts Supporting the arts, investing in cultural organizations, and improving audience experience to strengthen the creative landscape that is critical to social and economic vibrancy in cities.
Bloomberg Associates Providing world-class consulting and mentorship to mayors and their teams in order to improve residents’ lives in cities across the globe.
Education Working to ensure that students have the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century and the opportunity to maximize their potential.
4 Environment Addressing the climate crisis and moving the world to a clean energy future by working with a wide range of partners — including policymakers, scientists, activists, and business leaders — on the highest-impact global climate solutions.
Founder’s Projects Investing in unique efforts led by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Government Innovation Helping local leaders sharpen city governments’ ability to identify challenges, develop meaningful solutions, and improve lives.
Public Health Reducing preventable deaths from tobacco use, unhealthy diets, road traffic crashes, and other causes by spreading solutions that are proven to save lives.
5 Annual Letter on Philanthropy Many people have remarked that they’d like to forget that 2020 ever happened. But the fact is, there’s never been a year more important to remember — and learn from. We faced four historic crises in 2020: a new global health crisis, an accelerating climate crisis, an American political crisis four years in the making, and a long-simmering crisis of racial injustice that finally reached a breaking point. The end of the year did not end any of the crises. In fact, in many ways, each continued to get worse as the year went on. The calendar will not save us. We have to do it ourselves, and that has been the focus of our work at Bloomberg Philanthropies. As 2020 began, I was in the middle of a campaign to address the “Despite all that we political crisis. I threw my hat in the ring to run for president because, as faced in 2020, I’m more I said many times on the campaign optimistic than ever trail, Donald Trump was an existential threat to our democracy. I ran to about our ability to prevent the country from suffering tackle the big challenges four more years of dysfunctional, we face. To succeed, it’s divisive, and reckless leadership in the White House, leaving us to imperative that we apply continue descending further away what we have learned from our greatest strengths: our sense of unity as Americans, our during the pandemic.” respect for our allies abroad, and our commitment to freedom, equality, and democracy, here and around
6 the world. While our campaign to our Constitution and democracy. fell short, I never gave up on the The same idea that led me to run ultimate objective: bringing new for president and remain involved leadership to the White House. in the 2020 campaign — stepping Over the course of the up to offer leadership during a election, I supported ad campaigns severe national crisis — defined highlighting important issues our work fighting the COVID-19 in key states, including a major pandemic, beginning just a few investment in Florida that allowed days after my campaign ended. the Biden-Harris campaign to In early March, with nothing focus more of its resources on but denial and obfuscation coming other battleground states that from the White House regarding wound up tipping the balance in COVID-19, Bloomberg Philanthropies their favor — including Michigan, set out to help fill the leadership Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. I vacuum. We looked for ways we also supported grassroots groups could step in when Washington working to protect voting rights stepped back by empowering and increase turnout, including mayors on the front lines of the crisis, Stacey Abrams’ group Fair Fight, creating a much-needed contact which helped to turn Georgia blue tracing program that we made in November and flip both Senate available globally, and supporting seats to Democrats in the January critically important data collection. runoffs. And I continued to support And that was just the beginning. Everytown for Gun Safety's efforts The coronavirus also highlighted to improve public safety and elect issues of racial inequality and gun-sense champions. Throughout injustice that have been allowed to the final weeks of the campaign, fester. In May, when the killing of the political data operation we George Floyd shocked the nation had created, Hawkfish, sounded and galvanized protests around the the alarm about the possibility of world, our team was already hard at a “red mirage” phenomenon in work bringing to life the Greenwood which President Trump would falsely Initiative, which our campaign declare victory before all votes were had developed to increase Black counted — precisely what he did. wealth. With COVID-19 claiming so It was a disgraceful assault on our many Black lives — Black people in democracy, and with his enablers the United States are dying from in Congress cowardly refusing to COVID-19 at a rate nearly three times condemn it, the president continued that of white people — we quickly to attempt to overturn the will of decided to expand the initiative’s the people, including by inciting ambitions to help address the issue supporters to block the certification and one of the factors driving it: of the election by Congress. In trying the shortage of Black doctors. The to do so, a mob violently stormed fact is: Black patients overall have the U.S. Capitol and left a number better outcomes when they are of people dead. The possibility treated by Black physicians, but only of another four years of President five percent of practicing doctors Trump could have been catastrophic in the United States are Black. 7 Credit: Morehouse School of Morehouse Medicine Credit:
Students at the four historically Black medical schools in the United States, including Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, are receiving support to reduce their debt burden.
The large student debt mean more Black lives saved and that often comes with medical fewer health problems that limit school is partly responsible for opportunity in Black communities. the shortage by deterring many The battle against COVID-19 talented students from pursuing has highlighted valuable lessons careers in medicine. The pandemic that we can apply to other major could make the problem worse, challenges facing our world, because the financial strain on including the battle against climate families means fewer students change — and that starts with the will be able to afford medical importance of urgency. We saw school. It’s a serious problem that the horrific damage that can occur hasn’t gotten enough attention. when the White House sits back and So, our foundation took action. allows a crisis to spiral out of control. This past summer, Bloomberg Complacency is deadly. Urgency is Philanthropies made a gift of life-saving. As I see it, we can win $100 million to the nation’s the war against climate change if we four historically Black medical apply this and other lessons from schools — Charles R. Drew University the fight against COVID-19 — and of Medicine and Science, Howard here are five of the most important: University College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, and Elect leaders who aren’t Morehouse School of Medicine. The afraid to face the facts. schools are using the funds to make The White House response medical school more affordable, to the pandemic was a case study helping to ensure that more students in incompetence, and it sprang graduate and go on to careers in from the delusion that pretending medicine. More Black doctors will something isn’t happening can
8 make it so. From the beginning, State to create the nation’s largest the president and his top advisors contact tracing program. As part of played down the dangers of the that effort, we worked with Johns pandemic, sowed doubt in science, Hopkins University to create a undermined experts, and peddled training curriculum and then made outright falsehoods. In all of those it available for free around the ways, the administration’s response country and the world. More than to the pandemic mirrored the way one million people have taken the some politicians have responded to course, from 50 states and more the threats of climate change, with than 150 countries, and local health similar results: confusion, distrust, departments in more than 35 U.S. and a lack of progress. Our ability states have made the course a to confront the coronavirus or requirement for contact tracers. climate change or any other major At the same time, partnerships challenge depends on leaders between governments and who are willing to face up to reality businesses have made possible the and tell the truth, even if it’s not unprecedented speed of coronavirus what people want to hear, and vaccine development. Just think who act decisively and do what’s of what we could accomplish if we right, even when it’s not popular. brought that same spirit of urgency and partnership to the fight against Promote public-private climate change. One important partnerships. way to do that is to increase From the beginning of the government funding for research pandemic, public health experts and development, including toward made clear that an important tool clean energy and other technology to contain the spread of the virus aimed at reducing carbon emissions. would be the practice called contact The Trump administration called its tracing. It’s a way to gather contact support for vaccine development information for, and then inform, Operation Warp Speed. The people who may have been exposed Biden administration should to an infected person — and it has develop, in partnership with been used successfully for years industry leaders, its own warp to fight tuberculosis, SARS, Ebola, speed R&D plan for clean energy. and other diseases. In the absence of The coronavirus has also federal leadership and support, the highlighted the importance of work of building and implementing international partnerships. Like contact tracing programs largely climate change, the pandemic is a fell to cities and states. But many global challenge that requires global lacked the resources or expertise to cooperation. No one country can do it effectively, and so we stepped defeat it alone, and we all benefit in to help. from one another’s success. The During the first wave of more that we work together — across the pandemic, Bloomberg the public, private, and nonprofit Philanthropies teamed up with sectors, and across borders — the Governor Cuomo and New York faster we can make progress. 9 Empower local leaders. In the early days of March, Mayors are among the first Bloomberg Philanthropies created to see problems as they arise. the COVID-19 Local Response This year, mayors often learned Initiative, which has provided mayors before state or federal officials with regular briefings by leaders in when hospitals were approaching public health and management — capacity or local transmission including three former presidents was increasing. And they often and our newly elected president. learn first when neighborhoods We teamed up with the National are flooding from coastal storms League of Cities to create an online or threatened by wildfires fueled database of policies mayors have by climate change. They are the adopted to protect people and officials that residents turn to first support local economies that other for answers and for help — and mayors can reference and learn mayors’ decisions tend to be guided from. We worked with the United by pragmatism, not partisanship. States Conference of Mayors to In the absence of a coordinated provide fiscal counseling and national strategy to defeat the resources to help mayors deal with pandemic, the role of local the devastating budget shortfalls governments became even more caused by the pandemic, including important, and they responded. assistance accessing federal aid. And Mayors from both parties acted through our global Partnership for quickly and boldly to confront the Healthy Cities network, we gave local pandemic — embracing science, leaders across the globe a way to studying data, and supporting share strategies for fighting the virus. safety measures like mask-wearing City networks are a powerful tool and social distancing. At the same for spurring progress, and not only time, local government budgets when it comes to public health. The around the country took a major same kind of information-sharing blow from the pandemic as that has aided mayors during the business closures decimated local pandemic is also essential in the fight revenue streams that support city against climate change. Bloomberg services people depend on. Philanthropies has invested heavily Helping local governments in local climate networks, through both fight the virus and bridge efforts including C40, the American budget gaps should have been a top Cities Climate Challenge, and the priority for the federal government. Global Covenant of Mayors. By Instead, the administration largely joining, cities learn what works and left cities and states to fend for what doesn’t and get access to themselves — and, to make matters valuable resources and expertise worse, many cities were left that may not be available locally. handcuffed or undermined by state Here in the United States, while the leaders who took their cues from the Trump administration tried to roll White House and its strategy of see back standards that cut emissions no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. and protect the environment and
10 Credit: Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University Credit:
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are on the cutting edge of COVID-19 treatment research with Bloomberg Philanthropies� support. Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Professor Sabra Klein goes over research data in her office at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
public health, cities (often with Data is a guiding principle for crucial support from their states) Bloomberg Philanthropies — we have been able to help our country go by the mantra: In God we trust; continue reducing pollution everyone else bring data. We and emissions in key areas. helped to provide essential data during the pandemic in a number Follow the data. of ways: through our contact tracing In the heat of the pandemic, partnership with New York State, the Trump administration ordered by sharing it with mayors in the hospitals to bypass the Centers for United States and around the world, Disease Control and Prevention and by helping low- and middle-income send virus data directly to a private countries measure the effectiveness management company contracted and public acceptance of virus by the federal government. There safety measures, and much more. was an uproar among scientists, One of our foundation’s closest public health experts, and elected partners — my alma mater, Johns officials about whether that data Hopkins University — created, could be used to support a political with our support, one of the most position rather than scientific fact — important tools of the pandemic: and rightly so. Leaders need reliable, an online dashboard that tracks non-biased data in order to make case numbers and trends from the decisions and allocate resources. country level down to the local In a pandemic, it can mean the level. Governments and business difference between life and death. leaders across the world have used 11 Credit: Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University Credit:
Named a Time magazine top innovation of 2020, the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center has become a global go-to resource with Bloomberg Philanthropies� support. the dashboard to make important We lead a number of efforts to decisions, including where and when improve the climate data available to recommend safety measures. to decision-makers — including During our regular briefings for the Task Force on Climate-related mayors, public health experts — Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which including Director of the National helps companies measure and Institute of Allergy and Infectious report the climate-related financial Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci and risks and opportunities they face. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg This information helps inform better School of Public Health Vice Dean decision-making by lenders, insurers, Dr. Josh Sharfstein, who also and investors, ultimately increasing leads the Bloomberg American the flow of capital to investments Health Initiative — walked through that can mitigate the effects of the latest data and offered climate change. In 2020, the global guidance for how mayors could group of organizations supporting put it to use and save lives. the TCFD guidelines continued Data is critical in preventing to grow: There are now more than the spread of a deadly virus 1,700 companies and organizations and also in preventing the worst in almost 80 countries supporting impacts of climate change. But the TCFD guidelines. In addition, right now, we don’t have the data a number of countries announced we need to do that as quickly they will make climate risk disclosure and effectively as possible. mandatory, including New Zealand Bloomberg Philanthropies is and the United Kingdom. working to close that data gap.
12 Racial inequality kills. coal plants closed at an even faster The harms from climate change, rate under President Trump than like those from COVID-19, often fall they did under President Obama. heaviest on low-income areas and The four crises that shaped 2020 communities of color, including are far from over: 2021 tragically diseases linked to air and water began with daily COVID-19 cases pollution, such as cancer, asthma, and deaths at all-time highs in the and heart disease. Around the United States. Last year was officially world, disadvantaged communities the second hottest on record and are often the most vulnerable to brought harrowing evidence of the the effects of climate change, from growing impacts of climate change, coastal flooding and violent storms including devastating wildfires in that damage homes to severe the American West. The storming droughts that threaten crops and of the U.S. Capitol by a violent mob access to clean water. Investing goaded on by President Trump was in more clean energy won’t only a stain on our country and showed protect the planet; it will also how much work must be done to reduce racial health disparities repair the chaos, anger, and division and help to fight inequality. of the last four years. And Black For a long time, air pollution people in the United States continue was accepted as an unfortunate to be hit hardest by the health and but unavoidable cost of powering economic fallout from the virus. the planet — and the communities But the rollout of vaccines, and the that were worst hit often lacked beginning of a new administration in the resources to go toe-to-toe with the White House, are reasons to be the biggest polluters and demand hopeful about what lies ahead. I’ve change. For the past decade, always believed that there is far more Bloomberg Philanthropies has that unites us than divides us. And been leading the charge to close despite all that we faced in 2020, I’m coal-fired power plants, which are more optimistic than ever about our the single largest source of carbon ability to work together to tackle the emissions globally and pollute the air big challenges we face, including and water with toxic chemicals. That climate change. To succeed, it’s pollution — and the serious health imperative that we apply what we problems it causes — is often most have learned during the pandemic — acute in low-income communities and, if we do, we will be able to of color. Working with local and do more than leave the tragedy of national organizations across 2020 behind us. We’ll be able to the country, we reached another build a safer, healthier, and stronger milestone in 2020: More than 60 future for generations to come. percent of U.S. coal plants have now closed since 2011 and the number Sincerely, of deaths from coal pollution has plummeted. In fact: Despite his false promises to save the coal industry, Michael R. Bloomberg 13 C EO Le t ter Early morning on Tuesday, March 10th, after our Public Health and Government Innovation teams had spent days working around the clock with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, Mike went to Washington, D.C., to address the National League of Cities. He was set to announce a new program to help mayors deal with what would soon become every city’s number one challenge: the deadly and devastating spread of COVID-19. It was just the first of many efforts we would launch in 2020 to fight the virus and help people in need. Later that week, before any U.S. city had issued a lockdown order, Mike and I talked through ways the Bloomberg Philanthropies team could make the biggest “Despite the pandemic’s impact possible. It was a discussion that we continued throughout the disruptions, Bloomberg course of the year, and every team Philanthropies� work has at Bloomberg Philanthropies was deeply involved in it. continued forward. It’s Across all our work all year long, a real tribute to the we continually looked for ways to address the crisis. We supported expertise and experience local government leaders on the of the entire Bloomberg front lines, researchers working to team both at our develop treatments, health care workers risking their lives to save foundation and the others, international organizations company, Bloomberg L.P.” containing the spread of the disease, and nonprofits suffering from the fallout — and, as 2021 began, our work on the pandemic was still 14 growing in new ways, including a Early in the pandemic, with the virus partnership with the United States dramatically increasing demand for Conference of Mayors to help cities social services, decreasing revenues navigate the challenges of vaccine for arts and cultural institutions, distribution. and posing an existential threat The pandemic tested what we to organizations in both fields, have always believed to be one of we brainstormed about how we our core strengths: our flexibility could make the most immediate and ability to move quickly as impact. The result was a plan for a needs arise. Every one of our teams fund that would rapidly distribute adapted their work in the span of much-needed grants and loans days. Without walking away from to struggling organizations — and all the vitally important work we we knew that support from other had been doing before the virus foundations and donors would struck, we expanded our ambitions be key to its success. We reached — and, with them, we extended our out to two long-standing partners: partnerships, formed new ones, and Darren Walker, President of the doubled down on existing financial Ford Foundation, and Vartan commitments. Gregorian, President of the Carnegie In this report, you will read about Corporation of New York. Both were the many efforts we undertook eager to help and both contacted to confront the most devastating other potential funders to expand public health crisis of our lifetime — our reach. We brought in The New including an immediate focus on York Community Trust to manage helping critical nonprofits right in the grant program and the Nonprofit our backyard, in New York City. Finance Fund to administer loans.
Locations of COVID-19 Response Efforts
In 2020, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ COVID-19 response support reached 480 cities and 90 countries around the world. 15 Convening these and other curriculum free to the entire world. partners — trusted organizations As we launched these programs, with the ability to move quickly we also looked to address needs in response to the growing crisis globally, especially in areas that — allowed us to deliver critical could be most vulnerable to the support rapidly and at scale. The disease. We provided $40 million NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact to support Vital Strategies’ work Fund launched just a week later, on in Africa, led by former CDC March 20th, with an initial $75 million Director Dr. Tom Frieden. We from 18 major funders. Over the offered guidance and support for next five months, the fund grew and mayors around the world as they ultimately distributed more than $110 led their cities through the public million in grants and loans, providing health crisis and its socioeconomic a lifeline to nearly 800 New York fallout. We also adapted existing City-based nonprofits, which provide programs to tackle the virus. For vital services like food, housing, instance, Data for Health, which and child care, as well as enriching, we designed to help governments remote cultural programming. target their resources by improving This impact only reaffirmed birth and death records, refocused our belief in strong partnerships its efforts to help countries track and cross-sector collaboration, and analyze deaths from COVID-19. and we quickly helped to set up And we helped provide more than a similar fund in London. These 2.4 million meals to communities funds were just the first steps in in need around the world through rallying our incredible partners and Bloomberg L.P. the Bloomberg team to meet the We also determined that our growing, unprecedented need. COVID-19 response would not be Here are just a few more examples: complete without addressing an In the early days of inequity thrown into stark relief the pandemic, deaths and by the pandemic: Black people in hospitalizations were especially the United States suffer far worse concentrated in New York City. health outcomes than white people We teamed up with Chef José and are dying from COVID-19 at a Andrés’ World Central Kitchen to rate nearly three times greater. As provide more than one million meals Mike described in his letter, our to 30,000 health care workers on $100 million gift to help increase the front lines of the pandemic in the number of Black doctors is the New York City. And working with first part of our larger commitment Governor Andrew Cuomo and New to closing health and wealth gaps York State, we enlisted several of across the United States. our long-standing public health Despite the pandemic’s partners — including Vital Strategies disruptions, the work across and the Bloomberg School of Public our five key program areas — Health — to launch the nation’s first The Arts, Education, Environment, statewide contact tracing program, Government Innovation, and along with a contact tracing Public Health — as well as our pro bono consulting arm for 16 Frontline health care workers in New York City being served food by World Central Kitchen, with Bloomberg Philanthropies� support, in the spring of 2020. cities, Bloomberg Associates, has essential step that will help ensure continued to grow and expand. It’s the economic recovery from the a real tribute to the expertise and pandemic also speeds up our experience of the entire Bloomberg progress in fighting climate change. team, both at our foundation and We are enormously grateful to at Bloomberg L.P. For example, our all our partners for their efforts and Bloomberg Connects app, designed support in the face of the incredible by Bloomberg L.P. engineers, is challenges this year presented. Most helping cultural organizations of all, we are grateful for the support keep audiences engaged with and engagement of our colleagues virtual exhibitions and other digital at Bloomberg L.P. With the vast content at a time when so many majority of the company’s profits are operating at reduced capacity going to Bloomberg Philanthropies, and hours. And as Bloomberg their hard work and success are what Philanthropies expanded support make all our efforts possible. for remote advising programs to There is still so much uncertainty help high school seniors around that lies ahead, but I have never the United States transition to been more certain of the urgency college, the company increased of our mission — saving and virtual mentoring for students improving lives — and of our team’s by Bloomberg L.P. employees. commitment to fulfilling it. Meanwhile, as Bloomberg Philanthropies has helped cities Sincerely, around the world continue cutting carbon emissions even as they battle the pandemic, Bloomberg L.P. has helped lead a global effort to Patricia E. Harris improve how companies measure Chief Executive Officer and report climate risks, an Bloomberg Philanthropies 17 Responding Globally, Nationally, and Locally to COVID-19
Frontline health care workers in New York City receiving meals through a partnership with World Central Kitchen, May 2020.
18 Beginning in early 2020, devastating economic and as COVID-19 developed into a social harm. These efforts, global pandemic, Bloomberg which involved adapting current Philanthropies launched several programs and creating new response efforts focused on ones, have built on Bloomberg saving lives, stopping the spread Philanthropies’ existing of the virus, and mitigating its partnerships and expertise.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are on the cutting edge of COVID-19 treatment research. Credit: Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University, Tewodros Emiru/Resolve to Save Lives Emiru/Resolve Tewodros Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University, Credit:
Contact tracer in Ethiopia who received training from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partner Vital Strategies.
19 Global Reinforcing Public Health Systems in African and Low- and Middle-Income Countries Around the World
Low- and middle-income Organization as it bought and countries, many with underfunded shipped personal protective public health systems, are especially equipment to 135 countries, vulnerable to pandemics like supplied 1.5 million diagnostic kits COVID-19. Bloomberg Philanthropies to 129 countries, and released 90+ provided immediate support of technical guidance documents. $40 million to help many of these Vital Strategies’ efforts are countries together with two long- focused on 35 countries in Africa, term partners: the World Health providing rapid-response funds Organization and Vital Strategies’ for governments to hire staff and Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative buy equipment; training frontline run by former CDC Director Tom health care workers on infection Frieden. Their rapid-response prevention and control; supporting efforts provided critical protective governments’ risk communications equipment, training, and funding. and community engagement efforts; Bloomberg Philanthropies and more. joined the international community For example, Bloomberg to support the World Health Philanthropies and Vital Strategies
Personal protective equipment training in Ethiopia run by partner Vital Strategies. 20 helped Nigeria train lab scientists, Supporting Vulnerable create a national strategic Refugee Populations plan for labs, develop contact tracing guidelines, and draft Refugees, who often live in guidance on implementing densely populated conditions social distancing measures. where social distancing and proper In Sierra Leone, which hygiene can be difficult, are also experienced a spike in cases particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. in early June, Bloomberg As part of Mike Bloomberg’s Philanthropies supported long-standing support of the training for approximately 400 International Rescue Committee, frontline health care workers from Bloomberg Philanthropies seven hospitals. These sessions contributed $10 million to support covered topics such as identifying the organization and the 25 million potential cases, protecting health refugees and migrants it serves care workers and preventing across 40 countries. The funds transmission between patients, provided infection control training, and communicating effectively new telemedicine services, and about the risks of COVID-19. upgraded health facilities.
“These trainings are critical to protecting our health workforce and their patients from COVID-19 infection and lead to a more resilient response to COVID-19 and pandemics to come.” The International Rescue Committee has taken precautions to ensure the safety Dr. Mame Toure of its activities in northwest Syria and to
Credit: Tewodros Emiru/Resolve to Save Lives, International Rescue Committee Rescue International to Save Lives, Emiru/Resolve Tewodros Credit: Partner in Sierra Leone prevent the spread of COVID-19 while continuing to assist the most vulnerable families in rebuilding their lives. 21 National Supporting Response and Recovery: The COVID-19 Local Response Initiative
Through the Bloomberg convenings to support mayors Harvard City Leadership Initiative, around the world. These convenings Bloomberg Philanthropies provide mayors and city leaders provides leadership training and access to the most up-to-date public management tools to help mayors health information and expert and other local leaders address their coaching on a range of challenges, cities’ most pressing challenges. from effective communications to When COVID-19 emerged as an how to encourage mask usage. unprecedented global challenge, City officials also heard from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the prominent leaders from different Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership fields, including the newly elected Initiative, along with the Johns U.S. president and three of his Hopkins Bloomberg School of predecessors. Public Health, began hosting virtual
Be sure to watch examples of how cities involved in the COVID-19 Local Response Initiative took action at bloomberg.org
Grand Rapids, Michigan St. Paul, Minnesota Helping small businesses adapt Providing food to those in need
More than 1,000 mayors and city leaders from 435 cities have participated in COVID-19
Local Response Initiative sessions Department Police Saint Paul City of Rapids; Saint Paul, Experience Grand Credits:
22 First COVID-19 Local Response Initiative session in March 2020.
Beyond these sessions, pandemic, including: navigating Bloomberg Philanthropies and federal funding streams and Bloomberg Associates have maximizing reimbursements; provided guidance, online addressing COVID-19–related tools, a daily email of COVID-19 transportation challenges; providing response and recovery resources, resources to cities to help address and technical assistance to homelessness; and prioritizing and help city governments address implementing programs to support the operational and economic local economic recovery. challenges presented by the
“Attending the Bloomberg Philanthropies Local Response Initiative sessions is the most valuable thing I do all week.”
Mayor Stephen Benjamin Columbia, South Carolina
May 2020 Initiative City Leadership Harvard Bloomberg Credit:
23 Local Supporting Communities in New York and London
Financial losses, coupled with a These funds have distributed need for protective equipment grants to more than 2,000 and technology to enable working nonprofit social service and in person or remotely, left many social cultural organizations and over service and cultural organizations at 100 for-profit cultural venues risk of shutting down. Bloomberg and organizations at risk of Philanthropies helped establish three closing due to the pandemic, separate funds to assist these critical including small music venues, sources of care, culture, and creativity independent cinemas, and in New York and London: LGBTQ+ venues.
The NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund, launched together with a group of foundations, including the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and The New York Community Trust, raised more than $110 million from more than 1,300 donors to distribute more than 800 grants and no-interest loans to small and mid-sized organizations throughout New York City.
Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies partnered with London Mayor Sadiq Khan to support the launch of two COVID-19 emergency response funds: the nearly £42 million London Community Response Fund and the £2.3 million Culture at Risk Business Support Fund.
Kids safely playing at Fresh Air Fund site in Jackson Heights, New York. 24 As the pandemic limited options communities across the city with for safe outdoor activity during the safe, supervised recreational activity summer, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and employed more than 200 the Ford Foundation, and The JPB young adults as activity specialists, Foundation provided a $1.2 million coaches, and counselors. grant to support The Fresh Air Together with global partners, Fund’s Summer Spaces and Youth Bloomberg Philanthropies and Employment programs in New York Bloomberg L.P. also contributed City. Summer Spaces provided nearly three and a half million meals 26,000 children from low-income to COVID-19 frontline workers and
On eos voluptatem quidis dest qui rectur Ihilloresti officto et ratem as ut plaborerunt.
25 Frontline workers in New York City who received some of the over one million meals served by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partner World Central Kitchen. communities in need. Bloomberg The pandemic — and the Philanthropies partnered with World resulting shift to remote learning — Central Kitchen to serve more than also increased the likelihood that one million of those meals to more low-income students would not than 30,000 NYC Health + Hospitals graduate from high school or would employees, supporting their abandon plans to attend college in extraordinary efforts on the front the fall. Funding from Bloomberg lines of the pandemic in New York Philanthropies allowed College City. This effort also helped put back Bridge, a partnership between to work 400 food service employees the New York City Department of across the city. Bloomberg L.P. Education and The City University provided nearly two and a half million of New York (CUNY), to make their meals to over 150 nonprofit partners program available to all 2020 and food banks in nearly 100 cities graduating seniors from New York around the world, including by City public high schools. Ultimately, working with existing food vendors the program supported nearly and nonprofit partners to distribute 40,000 students from 315 schools in meals and food from the company’s their successful transition from high pantries in 18 cities, such as Dubai, school to college. Bloomberg L.P. London, New York, Princeton, also moved its mentoring programs San Francisco, and Tokyo. online, so that employees could continue to advise students globally.
2626 Reducing the Rate of COVID-19 Infections Through Contact Tracing
In late April, at the request the training for the New York State of Governor Andrew Cuomo, contact tracing program. This online Bloomberg Philanthropies and Vital training is also available for free to the Strategies’ Resolve to Save Lives public. More than one million people partnered with the New York State have enrolled in the introductory Department of Health to launch an course. unprecedented, large-scale contact Bloomberg Philanthropies tracing program to help reduce and its partners are providing the infection rate of COVID-19 guidance to several other states and support safe reopening across and cities implementing their the state. own contact tracing programs, As part of this effort, the Johns including Connecticut, New Jersey, Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Pennsylvania, and Detroit, Michigan. Health designed and disseminated
New York readers can download COVID Alert NY, New York State’s app that provides COVID-19 exposure alerts and helps protect your community.
Investing in COVID-19 Treatment Research
As doctors, public health committed $3 million to support officials, and other medical experts Bloomberg Distinguished Professor learn more about COVID-19, Dr. Arturo Casadevall’s research into Bloomberg Philanthropies is the use of plasma from recovered funding two promising medical COVID-19 patients. research studies. Bloomberg Philanthropies is also Building on years of deep supporting NYU Langone Health’s commitment to Johns Hopkins research into the connection University and the Bloomberg between COVID-19, autoimmune School of Public Health, diseases, and common medications Bloomberg Philanthropies used to treat autoimmune diseases.
27 A health care worker in Ethiopia being trained with personal protective equipment with Bloomberg Philanthropies’ support. Credit: Tewodros Emiru/Resolve to Save Lives
28 Ensuring Safer, Longer, Healthier Lives
For decades, the Public Bloomberg Philanthropies Health program has combated works to reduce preventable noncommunicable diseases deaths from tobacco use, and injuries and shared obesity, road traffic crashes, solutions proven to save lives. and other leading causes. By following the data and Bloomberg Philanthropies’ forming partnerships with both longtime partners in protecting national and local governments global public health proved to and organizations around be natural allies in responding the world, such as the Bill & to the COVID-19 pandemic. Melinda Gates Foundation,
“An unprecedented global health crisis demands unprecedented global solidarity. I appreciate this support from Bloomberg Philanthropies to WHO and the global response effort, which will help to prevent infections and save lives.”
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Director-General World Health Organization
29 Mobilizing Cities to Take Action to Save Lives
Partnership for Healthy Cities that also worsen the outcomes of COVID-19. Each Partnership city Through his role as World Health has agreed to implement at least Organization Global Ambassador one proven policy to fight NCDs for Noncommunicable Diseases and injuries. For example, Accra, and Injuries, Mike Bloomberg Ghana, redesigned one of its most launched the Partnership for Healthy dangerous intersections to improve Cities in 2017. Membership has pedestrian safety, and Quito, since expanded to nearly 70 cities Ecuador, implemented a nutrition representing more than 300 million program to provide healthier meal people. options to 13,000 schoolchildren. Each year, 45 million people die In 2020, the Partnership for Healthy from preventable causes such as Cities quickly pivoted and expanded injuries, as well as from cardiovascular its work, responding to member disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic cities’ needs as they mobilized to respiratory diseases, and other combat COVID-19. noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)
A partnership between the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and Mural Arts Philadelphia — with support from the Partnership for Healthy Cities — successfully launched a public art
campaign that promotes safe physical distancing and other COVID-19 prevention measures. Health of Philadelphia Department Public Credit:
30 COVID-19 Response Spotlight: Partnership for Healthy Cities Expands Focus
The Partnership for Healthy Cities moved quickly to expand beyond its original focus and support cities around the world with their COVID-19 responses. The initiative has provided more than $2 million in mini-grants to more than 50 cities, funding communications campaigns on hand washing and social distancing, the development of surveillance systems to track COVID-19 cases and related data, and surveys to understand public perceptions of COVID-19. For example, in São Paulo, Brazil, Bloomberg Philanthropies enabled the city to send three separate text messages to approximately one million residents as part of a campaign encouraging adherence to social distancing and other measures to prevent the spread of the virus. In Yangon, Myanmar, the Partnership for Healthy Cities helped the city launch a social media campaign reaching 3.5 million people. In October 2020, the initiative virtually brought together 1,000 participants from 110 countries to share lessons from cities’ COVID-19 responses.
Leading Through Crisis: Reducing the Impact of COVID-19 in Latin America and Africa
In collaboration with the Partnership for Healthy Cities, the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative hosted a six-part virtual learning series featuring Harvard faculty and leading public health experts to provide mayors in Latin America and Africa with science- based guidance, crisis leadership tools, and resources to combat the devastating health, social, and economic impacts of the pandemic.
To learn more about the Partnership for Healthy Cities, visit bloomberg.org
31 31 Investing $1 Billion in Tobacco Control to Save 35 Million Lives and Counting
Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use Amid a pandemic from a as package warnings that explain disease that attacks the lungs, health risks and taxes on tobacco people with underlying health products. This work now spans more issues who smoke tobacco or use than 110 countries and focuses on the e-cigarettes may be at increased world’s largest smoking populations, risk for serious complications. including in China, India, Indonesia, One in ten deaths around the and Bangladesh. world is already caused by tobacco These efforts are helping make use. If left unchecked, tobacco progress around the world. The is expected to claim one billion number of cigarettes sold globally lives this century. Bloomberg peaked in 2012 and has been Philanthropies has invested more than declining ever since. The most recent $1 billion in tobacco control over the data show a 1.5 percent decline in past decade. Efforts have centered global sales in 2019 compared with on working with national and local 2018. In 2019 and 2020, 16 Chinese governments to enact a package of cities and one province enacted policies that are proven to reduce 100 percent smoke-free laws, tobacco use and save lives, such increasing the total to 29 such
Global Cigarette Sales Continue to Decline
Billions of Cigarette Sticks Percentage change from previous year
6100
6000 0.2% 0.4% 5900 -1.5% 1.7% 1.7% 0.7% 5800 -0.3% -0.7% 5700 -2.0% 1.1% 1.9% 5600 1.1% 5500 1.1% Bloomberg -3.5% -2.0% 5400 0.5% 5300 Initiative -1.0% 5200 started -1.5% 5100 5000 ’01 ’02 ’03 ’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08 ’09 ’10 ’11 ’12 ’13 ’14 ’15 ’16 ’17 ’18 ’19 Sources: Euromonitor and Bloomberg Terminal®
32 Chinese cities covering over 170 million people. Today, 65 percent of the world’s population is protected by at least one comprehensive tobacco control measure, up from 15 percent when the Bloomberg Initiative began in 2007. Taking the fight directly to the tobacco industry, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched a new global watchdog called Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products (STOP) in 2018. During the pandemic, the industry has ramped up its “social responsibility” efforts and pushed
its policy priorities — and STOP Ding Genhou/AP Images Credit: continues to expose these attempts to undermine public health. Students in China participate in a World No Tobacco Day gathering in May 2020. Fighting the Youth Vaping Epidemic Protect Kids: Fight Flavored E-Cigarettes
In the United States, the health latest data, it is making encouraging of millions of children is at stake. progress. In the initiative’s first year, While teen smoking has fallen eight U.S. cities and states, home to drastically over the last 20 years, a nearly 40 million people, banned new generation is at risk of becoming flavored e-cigarettes. While youth addicted to nicotine. With more than e-cigarette use is still alarmingly high, 3.6 million high school youth using it is declining. In fact, the most recent e-cigarettes — most of them with kid- CDC data show that the percentage friendly flavorings that lure and addict of high schoolers using e-cigarettes young people — youth vaping has dropped from 27.5 percent in 2019 become an epidemic. to 19.6 percent in early 2020. But To combat this epidemic, more needs to be done, and city Bloomberg Philanthropies teamed up and state leaders will continue to with longtime partner Campaign for push for measures that protect Tobacco-Free Kids to launch a new children’s health — and Bloomberg campaign in 2019. The campaign is Philanthropies will continue to called Protect Kids: Fight Flavored support them. E-Cigarettes and, based on the
33 Advocating for Healthier Food Options
Global Food Policy which passed a landmark tax on sugary beverages in 2014. A poor diet is associated with After studies showed the tax was 11 million deaths annually, making effective in reducing consumption, it the leading risk factor for death governments around the world globally. Obesity rates are rising— followed suit. Today, more than two and people with diet-related billion people worldwide live in a city conditions such as obesity and or country that has adopted a sugary diabetes are more vulnerable to beverage tax. COVID-19. Food insecurity is also The next global food policy on the rise as people cope with job movement began in Chile, where losses and the economic fallout the implementation of bold front- from the pandemic. of-package labeling and marketing Bloomberg Philanthropies restrictions is making a positive supports governments around impact. Chile requires warning labels the world in enacting policies on packaged foods and beverages that improve the food system and that exceed certain thresholds encourage healthier food choices. for sugar, salt, saturated fat, and An early success story is in Mexico,
The bus displays a mass media campaign that Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partners developed in Mexico to increase public support for front-of-package warning labels to help people make healthy food choices. Credit: Alianza por la Salud Alimentaria Alianza por la Salud Credit:
34 34 calories. The first major evaluation 2 billion+ people of these labels, published in 2020 with Bloomberg Philanthropies’ now covered by a support, found a 24 percent drop sugary beverage tax in sugary drink purchases after the policy was implemented. And, just as Mexico’s success convinced other jurisdictions to Cardiovascular Health Initiative pass sugary beverage taxes, Chile’s evaluations are doing the same Together with the Chan for front-of-package labeling, Zuckerberg Initiative and the Bill including in Mexico and Brazil, & Melinda Gates Foundation, both focus countries of Bloomberg Bloomberg Philanthropies Philanthropies’ program. Over the supports Vital Strategies� initiative past year, Mexico implemented a Resolve to Save Lives� efforts warning label regulation and Brazil’s to prevent millions of deaths regulatory agency approved front- from cardiovascular disease of-package labeling. and epidemics, with a focus on To further this movement, accelerating action in low- and Bloomberg Philanthropies has middle-income countries. In committed an additional $250 million 2020, Bloomberg Philanthropies to encourage more governments expanded its support of the around the world to enact policies that organization’s cardiovascular create healthier food environments. work to also include Resolve to A new partnership with Georgetown Save Lives’ epidemic experts’ University Law Center will train immediate COVID-19 response lawyers in global food policy, while efforts across Africa. a new scholarship fund will support 35 Ph.D. students in relevant disciplines at universities across the globe. In Over 1.3 million addition, a new legal defense fund people with high blood will help governments defend strong food policy laws against challenges pressure registered for in court. Bloomberg Philanthropies treatment in Bangladesh, has also added the United States as China, Ethiopia, India, a focus geography to address high rates of obesity. and Vietnam
35 Following the Data to Save Lives
Data for Health
The Data for Health initiative — which helps low- and middle-income countries collect better birth, death, and other data to improve public health outcomes — gained a new urgency during the pandemic. Bloomberg Philanthropies provided technical assistance to 32 national governments, improving their use of data and thus their understanding of COVID-19’s impact. Partner countries also accessed timely webinars on a Dana/AP Images Felipe Credit: A goverment health care worker in Rwanda range of topics related to COVID-19, trained by the Data for Health initiative to from the proper ways to complete take a verbal autopsy to record causes of death and improve health records. death certificates and report cause of death to what legal actions are necessary to improve the data Nearly 5 million death collection process. records newly collected Every year, half of all deaths or improved in the world — nearly 30 million — go unrecorded, and too many implemented improvements to their health policy decisions are based health data systems, including using on inadequate or incomplete national hospital administrators to information. Data for Health seeks register births and deaths (Rwanda), to close those gaps. Thanks to establishing new technical units for co-funding from the Australian data analyses (Maharashtra, India), government as well as support from adopting ongoing trainings to use data the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to inform policy-making (Zambia), and to date, countries representing more building electronic death registration than four billion people have worked systems (Peru). with Bloomberg Philanthropies to receive technical assistance to More than 30,000 health improve their public health data — professionals have been including by collecting data on deaths in rural areas for the first time trained to better collect or ever. Governments have successfully analyze data 36 COVID-19 Response Spotlight: Data for Health Detects and Measures the Extent of COVID-19 Transmission
Amid the pandemic and in numerous existing partner countries, the Data for Health initiative has provided direct data tracking and analysis support and technical assistance to speed up death registration systems. Efforts in Peru have been especially successful after previous work moved the country from a paper-based to an electronic system.
”Thanks to the rapid mortality surveillance tools developed by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Data for Health initiative and the improved availability of our death registry data, we have new useful information on the pandemic every day. This data allows us to identify the places where excess mortality is occurring and direct resources to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
Dr. Luis Suárez Ognio Vice Minister of Public Health Peru
Reach of the Data for Health Initiative
37 Promoting Road Safety to Prevent Nearly 312,000 Traffic Deaths and Counting
Initiative for Global Road Safety In 2020, the initiative expanded to 30 cities and 15 countries, Each year, road traffic crashes focusing on five major strategies: kill approximately 1.35 million changing people’s behavior, people and injure up to 50 million including increasing seat belt and more around the world. To avoid helmet use and reducing speeding these preventable deaths and and drinking and driving; improving injuries, Bloomberg Philanthropies road infrastructure to make streets works to improve road safety in safer; promoting sustainable urban low- and middle-income countries transit options; strengthening road across Africa, Asia, Europe, and safety policies; and advocating for Latin America. These efforts help improved vehicle safety standards. to protect everyone on the road, With streets emptying during including pedestrians, bicyclists, COVID-19 lockdowns and rates motorcyclists, and car occupants.
38 38 of speeding going up around the people with media campaigns world, this work has become more promoting road safety, trained more important than ever. than 80,000 professionals in road Since the initiative began in safety strategies, and crash-tested 2007, Bloomberg Philanthropies nearly 70 vehicle models across the and its partners have helped Americas, Asia, and Africa. save nearly 312,000 lives through strengthened legislation, increased 3.3 billion enforcement, and improvements people now covered to high-risk roads. In 2019, India passed a law that increased by life-saving road safety penalties on key risk factors like policies since 2007 speeding and drinking and driving. Bloomberg Philanthropies grantees had been advocating for this law Córdoba Avenue bike lanes in Buenos Aires, since 2013. In addition, partners Argentina, were redesigned with expert advice from the Initiative for Global Road Safety. have reached nearly 100 million Aires del Gobierno de la Ciudad Buenos Públicas y Obras Transporte de Secretaría Credit:
39 Tackling the Opioid Epidemic
Bloomberg Opioids and implemented more than 20 Prevention Network interventions and helped increase access to medication. It has also When the COVID-19 pandemic provided policy guidance and reached communities across the technical support in Maine, New United States, it not only contributed to Jersey, New Mexico, Washington, increased stress and isolation, but also D.C., and West Virginia. disrupted drug treatment programs In response to the pandemic’s and harm reduction services. The compounding effects on the opioid disturbing result is that U.S. opioid crisis, Bloomberg Philanthropies has overdose deaths are expected to reach accelerated its targeted interventions, an all-time high in 2020. working closely with its partners at More Americans now die from the state and local levels. Some of opioid overdoses than from car these interventions have focused on crashes. Many states, cities, and communicating to states about the towns lack the technical expertise relaxation of federal regulations to and knowledge to implement life- help increase access to medications saving, evidence-based policies and to treat opioid use disorder and to programs to tackle the challenge. expand distribution of clean syringes That is why in 2018, Bloomberg and naloxone through mail order. Philanthropies launched its $50 million initiative to help states craft effective opioid policies and interventions that can be shared across the country, such as increased access to naloxone and ensuring prisons, jails, and emergency departments are implementing medications to treat opioid use disorder. In both Michigan and Pennsylvania, among the hardest hit by the opioid crisis, the initiative has developed
A team member of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partner Prevention Point Pittsburgh explaining the need for and usage of fentanyl test strips in
their overdose prevention work. Pittsburgh Point Prevention Credit:
40 Advancing the Future of U.S. Public Health at Johns Hopkins University
Bloomberg American It seeks to address five of the biggest Health Initiative public health challenges facing the United States: addiction and Even before the pandemic, overdose; environmental challenges; the United States recorded an obesity and the food system; risks to alarming three-year decline in life adolescent health; and violence. expectancy — a trend it had not In 2020, the annual Bloomberg experienced in a century. The United American Health Summit went States now ranks 34th in the world in virtual. More than 1,000 people life expectancy, behind most leading attended the online convening industrialized countries. and heard from Mike Bloomberg, In response, Bloomberg prominent public health experts, Philanthropies established the elected officials, top U.S. journalists, Bloomberg American Health and advocates from across the Initiative at Johns Hopkins University country. Together, participants in 2016. The initiative supports examined the impact of COVID-19 mid-career fellows in Master of on the five health challenges that the Public Health and Doctor of Public initiative was created to tackle — and Health programs, endowed faculty reimagined a safer, more equitable positions, public health research, future for American public health. and an annual national summit.
A commitment to tackling five critical health threats facing the United States:
Addiction Violence Risks to Obesity Environmental and Overdose (including Adolescent and the Challenges gun violence) Health Food System
41 Dr. Tom Frieden Dr. Lisa Cooper
President Bill Clinton
Dr. Anthony Fauci
Jorrit de Jong Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo Mike Bloomberg
Darren Walker Dr. Josh Sharfstein
Governor Larry Hogan President Barack Obama Juliette Kayyem
Ambassador Susan Rice President Joe Biden
42 42 General Colin Powell, Ret. Chef José Andrés Improving the Way City Governments Work
The Government Innovation and worsened systemic program works to push the inequities. By expanding boundaries of civic innovation local governments’ creative and help city halls build the capacity, Bloomberg teams and develop the skills Philanthropies bolsters the needed to creatively tackle ability of mayors and other city their most urgent challenges. leaders to set bold agendas, This support proved especially bring the experiences of critical when the COVID-19 residents into their work, and pandemic struck cities first, partner with the private and leaving mayors on the front nonprofit sectors. In the midst lines of an unprecedented of multiple intersecting crises, public health crisis that has this work has never been more devastated local economies important.
“When we all look back at this moment in American history, I do believe the mayors, who are on the front lines, are going to be instrumental in helping us recover.”
George W. Bush 43rd President United States of America
Speakers at COVID-19 Local Response Initiative virtual convenings.
43 Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative hosting its first COVID-19 Local Response Initiative session in March 2020.
Investing in Mayors and City Leaders
The Bloomberg Harvard City support, including from graduate Leadership Initiative student fellows; executive education scholarships; and access to the A signature program of latest research and cutting-edge Bloomberg Philanthropies is the strategies. The current 2020–2021 Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership class of the Bloomberg Harvard Initiative, which provides mayors City Leadership Initiative is virtually around the world with the resources receiving the same hands-on and expertise they need to grow support and access to resources as leaders and to solve their as past classes, with special cities’ biggest problems. Through attention paid to responding to the partnerships with the Harvard COVID-19 pandemic. These mayors Business School and the Harvard also participate in Bloomberg Kennedy School of Government, Philanthropies’ COVID-19 Local this yearlong program for mayors Response Initiative convenings, and their senior teams includes in- which are open to a wider group of person and virtual training; in-city
mayors from around the world. Initiative City Leadership Harvard Bloomberg Credit:
44 COVID-19 Response Spotlight: COVID-19 Local Response Initiative Strengthens Cities’ Recovery Efforts
The COVID-19 Local Response Initiative has equipped city leaders around the world with timely and accurate public health information, delivered crisis communications and leadership training, and provided ongoing guidance, online tools, and technical assistance on a range of specific challenges, from encouraging social distancing and other behaviors to reduce the spread of the virus to implementing programs to bolster local businesses to navigating federal funding streams and maximizing reimbursements. Bloomberg Philanthropies partnered with the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and other leading organizations to provide these resources. In addition, Bloomberg Associates’ experts have been instrumental in supporting cities’ responses to residents’ needs.
“This initiative armed me with tools that were crucial for leading my city through the COVID-19 crisis.”
Kathy Sheehan Mayor Albany, New York
Since March 2020, the COVID-19 Local Response Initiative regularly provided crisis leadership expertise and the latest public health facts to 344 mayors and 716 other officials from 435 cities in 40 countries
Read more in the next chapter and online at bloomberg.org
45 45 More than 1,000 new ideas generated across the past four Mayors Challenge competitions
Denver, Colorado’s winning idea is aimed at improving air quality by installing air quality sensors at schools throughout the city.
Spurring Innovation Through Competition
Mayors Challenge $1 to $5 million to implement their bold solutions. The COVID-19 pandemic has For example, Huntington, West highlighted the need for cities to Virginia, a 2018 winner, is supporting address deep-seated challenges first responders on the front lines with innovative solutions. Bloomberg of the opioid crisis by embedding Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge mental health care professionals within is a competition designed to spark emergency response departments, innovative, replicable ideas for ensuring that first responders are improving cities and the lives of provided with mental health support people living in them. so that they are able to give the best More than 100 cities are care possible to opioid users. implementing winning ideas from The pandemic has forced cities to the first four challenges, which were try new things and innovate at rapid held in the United States (2013), speed in order to survive. To help Europe (2014), Latin America and the elevate — and replicate — the best Caribbean (2016), and in the United ideas emerging from the COVID-19 States again (2018). The competition crisis, Bloomberg Philanthropies supports a cohort of selected launched its first Global Mayors “champion cities” with funding and Challenge in early 2021, open to cities guidance to develop and test local around the world with populations responses to challenges around greater than 100,000. climate change, health, and other critical issues. A handful of winning To learn more about the 2021 cities are then selected from this pool Global Mayors Challenge, visit of “champion cities,” receiving bloomberg.org 46 Using Data to Improve Lives Strengthening Economic Mobility
What Works Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities program has Launched in 2015, the What partnered with the Bill & Melinda Works Cities program provides cities Gates Foundation and Ballmer with robust technical support, access Group to help nine cities test to expertise, and peer-to-peer new ways to improve economic learning to help local leaders use opportunity by using data to data to more effectively engage the tackle systemic barriers. For public, fund and improve services, example, the program is helping and evaluate progress. The program Lansing, Michigan, Mayor Andy also runs a certification effort that Schor bring together previously measures the extent to which cities disconnected educational and have the right people, policies, financial aid resources to help and practices in place to use data residents better plan and pay for decision-making, and inspires for college. many more cities to improve their practices. What Works Cities is run in collaboration with four partners: Results for America, The Behavioural 11 cities to test their messaging on Insights Team, Harvard Kennedy critical public health information and School’s Government Performance increase adoption of public health Lab, and Johns Hopkins University’s guidelines. In Paterson, New Jersey, Center for Government Excellence. using skills and expertise gained During the pandemic, from the program, Mayor André Bloomberg Philanthropies worked Sayegh asked the city’s first-ever with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Chief Data Officer to identify which School of Public Health to develop neighborhoods would struggle to a set of COVID-19 management access food. Now, the city and its metrics to help mayors decide partners are using this information which business and public spaces to deliver targeted support to more could remain open and make than 11,000 families since the start of other key decisions. What Works the pandemic. Cities partners also worked with
Trained 10,000+ civil servants since 2018 to better use data to improve city services
47 Volunteers helping to clean up their neighborhood in Huntington, West Virginia, as part of Cities of Service’s Love Your Block program. Building Stronger Communities Through Volunteering
Cities of Service efforts. Through the program Love Your Block, cities distributed In 2009, Mike Bloomberg and targeted grants of a few hundred 16 mayors from around the country dollars to support residents’ founded Cities of Service, a coalition efforts to help their neighbors. For of cities dedicated to finding new example, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, ways to engage their residents in grants supported the distribution crucial volunteer work. Today, this of personal protective equipment network of more than 280 cities to elderly homebound residents across the Americas and Europe and crafts projects for kids stuck at helps mayors build stronger cities by home. In South Bend, Indiana, grants changing the way local government supported community gardens and and citizens work together. In 2020, assistance for elderly residents. And Cities of Service found a new home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, support at Johns Hopkins University. went to buy material to sew masks, This network of cities helped arts kits, and books to help people engage local communities across the
cope with quarantine. Virginia West City ofCredit: Huntington, United States in COVID-19 response
48 Transforming Cities with Creativity
Innovation Teams cities across four countries working Inspired by the Bloomberg on solutions to improve city services, administration�s success in creating reduce crime, redesign public spaces, cross-departmental solutions to and other top priorities for mayors. tackle challenges in New York The i-teams’ creative approach City, Bloomberg Philanthropies proved to be critical as the pandemic has led a movement to help other forced cities to reimagine how to cities develop the skills needed safely deliver services to residents for innovative problem-solving. In and address emerging challenges. 2012, the foundation began funding Several cities relied on i-teams to innovation teams — or “i-teams” — in launch entirely new programs, such city halls around the world. These as the Baltimore Health Corps, a i-teams, which are composed public-private partnership that of highly skilled individuals with trained hundreds of unemployed expertise in topics like data analysis, residents to support contact tracing design, and project management, efforts, conduct public education help mayors work across sectors and outreach, and coordinate care for silos and with residents to creatively older adults, the uninsured, and other tackle top priorities. When that work vulnerable residents. began, just five U.S. cities had Chief Innovation Officers. Now, more Supported i-teams than 80 U.S. cities have adopted the staff in 39 cities across position. Bloomberg Philanthropies has supported i-teams staff in 39 4 countries
In Be’er Sheva, Israel, the i-team helped encourage community volunteering. Thanks to a new partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Interior and the Peres Center for Peace & Innovation, Sheva i-team Be’er Credit: 12 new cities are expanding the i-teams model nationally. 49 Former client city Kansas City, Missouri, participated in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative, which is helping to engage communities and make streets safer through the creative use of paint on road surfaces.
50 50 Bloomberg Associates is the make cities stronger, safer, philanthropic consulting arm more equitable, and more of Bloomberg Philanthropies. efficient. This team of globally Founded in 2014, Bloomberg recognized experts and Associates works side by industry leaders has worked side with client cities to with cities across the globe on improve the quality of life hundreds of projects in order for residents, taking a to ignite change and transform strategic, collaborative, and cities’ visions into reality. results-oriented approach to
Current partner cities: Past partner cities: • Atlanta, Georgia • Athens, Greece • Chicago, Illinois • Bogotá, Colombia • Detroit, Michigan • Kansas City, Missouri • Houston, Texas • Los Angeles, California • Lima, Peru • Mexico City, Mexico • London, United Kingdom • Nashville, Tennessee • Milan, Italy • Oakland, California • Newark, New Jersey • Paris, France • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
51 COVID-19 Response Spotlight: Bloomberg Associates Creates Resources to Help Cities Respond
As the pandemic swept across the globe, cities struggled with the unprecedented damage it caused. In addition to their ongoing intensive client city consultation, Bloomberg Associates’ team created numerous resources, as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies COVID-19 Local Response Initiative, to help mayors and their teams from all over the world with their response.
To find these resources, go to bloomberg.org; highlights include:
• Streets for Pandemic Response and Recovery, a joint initiative with the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) that offers first-of-its-kind guidance for converting streets into public polling sites and relocating classroom and other school activities to streets. • The COVID-19 Municipal Resource Guide, published in partnership with the United States Conference of Mayors, helps U.S. cities better understand how to access and track federal funding available to them. • The development of guides to equip local economic development leaders with best practices and tools to support workers, small businesses, and cultural organizations facing significant financial challenges. • A webinar series, Cities Addressing Homelessness, and resources for cities to help better care for unhoused communities. • The COVID-19 Communications Module, including a crisis communications and digital engagement guide.
Cities around the world have seen a dramatic increase in cycling during the
pandemic. Former client city Paris is one such city growing its cycling infrastructure. Credit: Kiran Ridley/Getty Images
52 52 Spotlight: Client Cities
Atlanta, Georgia parks, ActivateATL: Parks and Recreation for All. This plan ensures In Atlanta, Mayor Keisha Lance that all Atlantans will have equitable Bottoms has made affordable access to Atlanta’s green spaces housing, criminal justice reform, and recreational activities, which government transparency, and have become especially important equitable infrastructure and services during COVID-19 as residents look top priorities for her administration — for safe ways to engage in physical priorities that COVID-19 made even activities and socialize. Additionally, more critical. Before and throughout Bloomberg Associates supported the pandemic, the Bloomberg the creation of the city’s first-ever Associates team worked with the city Office of Transportation and Strategy to create strategic plans, road maps, and first-ever affordable housing and initiatives. Published in August plan. The team also was a part of the 2020, the One Atlanta: Economic Atlanta City Detention Center Task Mobility, Recovery, and Resiliency Force, whose mission is to repurpose Plan establishes clear objectives the detention center into a hub for and pathways to achieve better social support services. Finally, as the economic and social outcomes for city wrestled with COVID-19 policies Atlanta’s residents, primarily Black and response, the Bloomberg and brown communities with high Associates team was asked to lend rates of poverty and unemployment. their expertise and help Atlanta The team also worked with the develop a multi-phased reopening Department of Parks and Recreation plan with guidelines for business and to create a new master plan for individuals.
“Over the last two years, Bloomberg Associates has become an invaluable advisor and partner for the City of Atlanta, and their support and commitment grew deeper this past year when we needed them most. Working together, we have been able to deliver on our vision for One Atlanta and our core priorities, while responding to the unforeseen impacts of COVID-19.”
Keisha Lance Bottoms Mayor Atlanta, Georgia 53 London, United Kingdom
Bloomberg Associates has infection rates and other factors. worked with London Mayor Sadiq As one of the sectors most affected Khan to advance his priorities by COVID-19, small businesses around vulnerable populations, were also in need of support more small business, and sustainability. than ever. Mayor Khan’s team and Prior to COVID-19, Bloomberg Bloomberg Associates worked Associates was working to address together to provide London’s small homelessness in the city and businesses with access to an array create a plan that would enhance of support, including one-on-one services for those in need alongside sessions with business advisors, colleagues at Bloomberg L.P. city funding, and an online business who supported the launch of the portal. Other efforts in London StreetLink London Advice Line to include an energy reduction pilot encourage self-referral for homeless for commercial buildings to help individuals. This work continued meet the city’s goal of reducing through the pandemic with the emissions, and continuing team sharing best practices for work with the London Office of immediate response while also Technology and Innovation to providing the city with models for further collaboration and cohesion possible scenarios based on rising among London’s 33 boroughs.
Bloomberg Associates helped London support small businesses as they faced lockdowns and other COVID-19 restrictions. Credit: Neil Hall/EPA - EFE/Shutterstock
54 54 Newark, New Jersey
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka asked the Bloomberg Associates team for help furthering his Newark Forward initiative. After announcing a broad vision in January 2020 to support the city’s arts and culture industry as part of this effort, Newark’s creative sector began experiencing the health and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bloomberg Associates assisted the city to create its first arts grant program to help artists and institutions survive and thrive through the pandemic. The Creative Catalyst Fund promotes equitable financial support for Newark’s arts sector by providing grants to artists and small and mid-sized nonprofits working in Bloomberg Associates supported Newark any artistic discipline. As Newark in communicating important public health messages to its residents. continues to grow, Mayor Baraka is committed to sustainable and “This year has truly been inclusive development. Along with the Department of Planning, a test of our humanity Bloomberg Associates is creating a and our ability to address plan for a mixed-use development prevalent systemic of a critical nine-acre area that is challenges. I am thankful within one of the city’s Opportunity for Bloomberg Associates Zones. In addition, to help the city being there with us every better respond to residents’ needs, step of the way to help Bloomberg Associates assisted in the creation of a program that accelerate our progress assesses how requests to the city and to also help as we are handled and how they might tackle the tests and trials be improved. of 2020.”
Ras Baraka Mayor
Newark, New Jersey 55 Artist Ricardo Moody painting a mural as part of Jackson,
Mississippi’s Public Art Challenge–winning project Fertile Ground. Dempsey/Fertile Ground Drew Credit:
56 56 Harnessing the Power of the Arts to Enhance Communities
Bloomberg Philanthropies vibrant places to live has never believes in the power of been more important. That arts and culture to inspire is why the Arts program has creativity, spark collaboration, been focused on helping the and build community. While creative sector survive and the COVID-19 pandemic has thrive during this crisis — from changed how people view and deepening existing support experience art, the role artists to providing organizations and cultural organizations with up-to-date public health play in making cities more guidance.
“As we continue to deal with the devastating impact of the pandemic, it’s more important than ever that we work together to improve life in our cities. Culture and creativity have the power to accelerate our economic recovery and to unite our communities during these challenging times.”
Justine Simons OBE Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries London, United Kingdom
57 Strengthening Digital Support for Cultural Institutions
Bloomberg Connects Through the Bloomberg Connects program, Bloomberg Philanthropies supports the development of state-of-the- art technology, including a new mobile app and other dynamic tools, to enhance the experience of cultural institutions on- and off-site. Bloomberg Philanthropies has long supported this work in partnership with cultural organizations, and it has only become more important as the pandemic has forced them to adapt and develop new digital programming. In November 2019, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched the Bloomberg Connects app, a philanthropic product developed in collaboration with engineers and designers at Bloomberg L.P. Today, the digital guide is helping innovative cultural institutions in the United States and United Kingdom, including art and history museums, parks, and botanical gardens, provide safer and more engaging experiences for on-site visitors, while also helping them deliver dynamic content to audiences at home. Expanding to many more noteworthy institutions throughout Download the the world in 2021, the app is Free Bloomberg available for free in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Connects App
58 Visitors at The Drawing Center in New York City using the Bloomberg Connects app on-site are now able to take the experience with them and enjoy exhibits from home.
More than 145,000 downloads of the Bloomberg Connects app, which features over 2,000 works of art, almost 200 plant and tree varieties, over 20 historical aircrafts, and one unearthed Roman temple 59 COVID-19 Response Spotlight: Bloomberg Connects Helps Reimagine How We Experience the Arts
When cultural institutions were forced to close in response to the pandemic, the Bloomberg Connects app offered a vital platform for delivering safe at-home cultural interactions. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ cultural partners worked quickly and creatively to present engaging virtual experiences on the app — allowing users to access everything from oral histories and fun family content to multilingual podcasts and sensory experiences. App users have had access to artists and experts from home and have been able to connect to opportunities to support cultural institutions via membership, gift shop purchases, and fundraisers. Even as institutions reopened, they did so with very limited capacity, and the app has remained critical for bringing in more visitors virtually.
Guggenheim Museum, New York City
The Guggenheim Museum in New York, a Bloomberg Connects partner from inception, quickly pivoted to building the platform into a virtual portal to the entire museum. The Guggenheim tripled the number of exhibitions featured within the app and added new audio and video content. Recognizing the increased access the app provides, the museum translated their award-winning guide to the Frank Lloyd Wright building into 12 languages, for both local and global audiences. They also built out an audio guide to the museum featuring New Yorkers like Maggie Gyllenhaal using evocative language, originally created for the blind or visually impaired, so that users could visualize moving through the spiral museum in person and feel more connected. Once the museum reopened at limited capacity, the Guggenheim added new features to the app to support socially distant and contactless in-person viewing experiences, such as guidance on safety precautions and descriptive labels for different collection items to avoid visitors huddling around the physical labels.
60 60 Cultural Sponsorships
Bloomberg Philanthropies has programming to reach audiences long supported hundreds of arts online and at home. and cultural organizations around For example, with Bloomberg the world, including by sponsoring Philanthropies’ support, Dance innovative experiences such as Theatre of Harlem created a digital the Met Museum’s Roof Garden platform, DTH on Demand, to Commission series — sponsored engage audiences in their homes. since 2007 — and the Serpentine DTH on Demand includes full-length Galleries’ Back to Earth project, a archival performances, conversations new collaborative, multiyear project with artists, instructional videos highlighting the climate crisis. As for children and adults, and online many cultural organizations were classes for all levels taught by forced to shut their doors because DTH company members, faculty, of the pandemic, Bloomberg and alumni. These programs have Philanthropies worked to accelerate received over 200,000 views financial support and helped many and counting. organizations launch new virtual
Donmar Warehouse, a London-based nonprofit theater that Bloomberg Philanthropies has supported since 2001, hosted the socially distanced sound installation Blindness, adhering to government COVID-19 guidelines. Credit: Helen Maybanks
61 Supporting Public Art
Public Art Challenge encourage action to address them. Recognizing that public art The five projects selected in the 2018 has the power to help drive civic Public Art Challenge tackle issues progress, Bloomberg Philanthropies including food equity, racial justice, launched the Public Art Challenge neighborhood blight, healing after in 2014. The program invites gun violence, and climate change. mayors, community leaders, artists, While the pandemic has and residents to collaborate on altered the speed at which these temporary public art projects that projects move forward, Bloomberg shine a light on critical issues and Philanthropies has been working
Artist Sabrina Howard with her mural Sowing the Seeds of Love at the Jackson State University Blackburn Learning Garden. Dempsey/Fertile Ground Drew Credit:
62 62 Jackson, Mississippi: 2018 Public Art Challenge Winner closely with cities to ensure they Jackson’s Fertile Ground continue to make progress, project received $1 million to safely — including by offering support a series of efforts — from additional virtual community a documentary to exhibitions, programming, opening performances, and other events — public art installations that focused on improving nutrition and allow for social distancing, food access in the city, an issue that and supporting artists’ efforts is more important than ever with to complete their work in a food insecurity on the rise due to different time frame. the pandemic. Though the city had to delay its opening “EXPO” event, the project has continued with a number of exciting installations, including: • An urban farm supplying organic food to markets and restaurants • Outdoor murals about food access and equity painted by local artists • Bags and apparel highlighting the project in local markets • An outdoor gathering space and garden • A socially distanced viewing of Kara Walker’s FIGA, a room- sized fist made from sugar and polystyrene, which was a segment from her larger piece built inside Brooklyn’s Domino Sugar Factory The project also launched Fertile Ground, a documentary on PBS that features Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, state representatives, and leaders of the project discussing barriers to healthy food access in Jackson.
Watch at pbs.org. 63 Asphalt Art Initiative projects in 16 small and mid-sized The Asphalt Art Initiative, U.S. cities, engaging community launched in October 2019, helps members and bringing vibrant cities create visual art projects on public art to neighborhoods across streets, pedestrian areas, and public the country. The other element of infrastructure that make them safer the initiative, the Asphalt Art Guide, and more vibrant for residents shares tools, tactics, and case studies and visitors to enjoy. This work has to help more cities around the become all the more important as world implement their own projects. COVID-19 has caused many cities Produced by Bloomberg Associates, to reclaim outdoor spaces like the guide provides specific tips roadways as places for people to and best practices to help city enjoy while social distancing. agencies, artists, and community One element of the initiative, members create successful public the grant program, is supporting art installations.
After
Before Credit: City of Saginaw, Michigan (Before)
6464 64 Saginaw, Michigan of artwork spread across three The initiative’s first project intersections, the four lead artists launched in September 2020 in brought in roughly 20 supporting Saginaw, Michigan, where the artists to help complete the regional transit authority worked installations in a single weekend. with a community art collective On the first day of installation, Saginaw to paint large ground murals on also hosted a “paint-a-thon” event three intersections along a major that invited community volunteers downtown corridor. By using art to use stencils to paint butterflies to tie these intersections together, on the sidewalks connecting the project aimed to draw visitors the intersections, allowing many downtown and support local volunteers to get involved while businesses, while also celebrating remaining socially distanced. the city’s diversity. All of the designs incorporate a butterfly as a unifying theme and a symbol of hope. With Visit bloomberg.org to watch a video plans for over 13,000 square feet of the community coming together
Before and after images of an intersection in Saginaw, Michigan, transformed by the community as part of the Asphalt Art Initiative. Mural designed by artist Stephen Hargash.
65 Strengthening Local Arts Organizations
Arts Innovation and Management support, as well as management (AIM) training to enhance strategic The pandemic and resulting planning, board development, economic crisis have created fundraising, and marketing. major challenges for small and The current program cycle, mid-sized arts and cultural begun in 2018, is working with 229 organizations — from dramatic small and mid-sized organizations revenue losses to diminished in seven cities. In response to the public and private support. As it pandemic, Bloomberg Philanthropies has done for many years, the Arts developed a special virtual webinar Innovation and Management (AIM) on strategies for creating digital program is helping leaders of programming, which spurred 75 these organizations by sharing best percent of participating organizations practices for managing operations to adopt new digital strategies. and accessing new funding sources. AIM is providing many of these Piloted in New York City in 2011 and organizations with intensive planning expanded nationally in 2015, the support so they can continue playing program seeks to build the capacity a vital role in their communities and of these essential institutions cities well into the future. by providing general operating
A performance from the Make Music NOLA 10th anniversary virtual gala hosted in November 2020. NOLACredit: Patrick Music Niddrie/Make
66 66 In October 2020, Bloomberg Bloomberg Arts Internship Philanthropies announced a new The pandemic made it more collaboration with the Flamboyan difficult for teens to find the kinds of Arts Fund, a partnership between skills-rich summer internships that the Flamboyan Foundation, are essential to future employment. composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, his First launched in 2012, the family, and the Broadway musical Bloomberg Arts Internship program Hamilton. Through the collaboration, continued to give young people Bloomberg Philanthropies is meaningful paid work experience bringing the AIM program model at cultural organizations in New to Puerto Rico. York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, In a related effort to provide and Boston in 2020, along management training to cultural with job readiness training and organizations, Bloomberg college preparation. Bloomberg Philanthropies is also collaborating Philanthropies transitioned the with the Ford Foundation on program to operate virtually during their America’s Cultural Treasures the pandemic, allowing 110 rising initiative, which has committed public high school seniors to more than $156 million from 16 participate in paid internships at 65 foundations and donors to support different cultural organizations. Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous arts organizations.
“The Bloomberg AIM program supported Make Music NOLA during a crucial board transition, providing numerous opportunities for board engagement, fundraising support, and overall capacity building. Additionally, the AIM program provided Make Music NOLA with the guidance needed to establish yearly fundraisers and increase our individual donor base.”
Laura Patterson Executive Director
Make Music NOLA 67 68 68 Supporting Student Success
The COVID-19 pandemic even greater importance. not only disrupted the school By putting students’ needs year — it also cut off access to first and broadening resources that help students, educational opportunities particularly students from for young people, whether low-income families, stay through a college degree or on track. With young people career and technical training, and their families facing so Bloomberg Philanthropies much uncertainty about focuses on giving more the future, the Education students a chance to pursue program’s work has taken on their dreams.
“For far too long, zip code and skin color have determined a child’s education. That is wrong — tragically wrong. And I believe fixing it must be a top priority for our country.”
Mike Bloomberg
Harvard freshman, and CollegePoint alumna, Penelope Alegria catches up on her work on the lawn in Harvard Yard.
69 Connecting High-Achieving Students to College College Access and Success
CollegePoint lack access to the right information and guidance to navigate what can CollegePoint provides virtual be a complex application process. college advising to help students CollegePoint, with the expertise successfully transition from high of partners including the College school to college. Every year, tens of Board and ACT, helps students thousands of talented students from apply to and enroll in top schools. low- and middle-income families It especially benefits first-generation do not apply to leading colleges or students who sign up for the universities that they are qualified program in their junior year. to attend. The reason: Students often
70 Class of 2020 CollegePoint students showing off their chosen school.
CollegePoint advisors reach students through phone, text, and email and assist them throughout the end of their junior and senior years More than 70,000 as they complete applications for students advised by both admission and financial aid. So far, CollegePoint has provided virtual CollegePoint since 2014 college advising to over 70,000 students — free of cost.
71 CollegePoint Solutions
Virtual advising made the CollegePoint program not only sustainable, but also effective throughout 2020. Here is what CollegePoint advisors delivered this past year to students across different high school graduating classes:
• Class of 2020: More intensive summer advising was provided to ensure students ultimately enrolled in and attended college in the fall, despite disruptions.
• Class of 2021: More than 7,600 students (and counting) are enrolled and working with 800 advisors — along with new support for laptops and Internet hotspots, so that students can connect with advisors and complete applications while away from technology resources at their high schools.
Student Profiles: CollegePoint helped match Gina and Logan with their dream schools.
Gina Coque Yale University “I had so many questions and I didn’t know where to find answers… I could just text my CollegePoint advisor and then she would respond in a couple of minutes.”
Logan Balfantz University of Notre Dame “Having CollegePoint was kind of perfect for me… That’s really what I felt like benefitted me so much.”
To hear them share their stories, visit bloomberg.org
72 72 COVID-19 Response Spotlight: CollegePoint Supports Students in the Face of Great Uncertainty
CollegePoint was well-positioned to scale up during the pandemic and provide extra guidance to students during a time of heightened uncertainty. The program worked with key partners College Advising Corps, College Possible, ScholarMatch, and Matriculate to add advisors and provide two additional months of services to more than 8,700 students.
"CollegePoint gave me someone who had been through the same application process I had... and succeeded. Having a mentor helped me realize that my goals were attainable and kept me focused.” Jay Lawrence Johns Hopkins University 73 Expanding Opportunity at Top U.S. Colleges College Access and Success
American Talent Initiative This effort is a Bloomberg Philanthropies–supported The mission of the American collaboration between the Aspen Talent Initiative became even more Institute and Ithaka S+R. urgent as students, families, and To date, over 130 colleges institutions alike navigated both and universities — including state an unprecedented school year flagship universities, small liberal and the economic pressures of the arts colleges, and the entire Ivy pandemic. The initiative is a coalition League — have joined the American of top colleges and universities Talent Initiative. A 2020 report shows working together to expand college that participating colleges have access and opportunity. Its goal increased enrollment of students is to recruit, enroll, and graduate who receive Federal Pell Grants by 50,000 additional talented students more than 12,000 since 2016. from lower-income families by 2025.
74 130+ colleges Helping N.Y.C. High Schoolers and universities Transition to College working together to expand College Bridge Studies show that even in the best of times, access to their as many as 40 percent of low-income students institutions accepted to college can experience challenges that prevent them from matriculating. In 2020, Joanne Berger-Sweeney, COVID-19 threatened to send that percentage president of Trinity College even higher. Bloomberg Philanthropies in Connecticut, discusses responded by increasing its support for how colleges are continuing to expand access despite College Bridge, a program that helps New York the pandemic with Mike City public high schoolers make a successful Bloomberg and fellow transition to college. This support increased college presidents from Haverford College, Franklin the number of trained, paid City University & Marshall College, of New York (CUNY) students who served as Susquehanna University, Hobart and William Smith college coaches for graduating seniors over Colleges, and others in the summer. The program reached nearly October 2020. 40,000 students from over 300 high schools, and initial data show nearly 70 percent of the participating students enrolled in college, breaking previous program records.
Going Virtual in the U.K. The Sutton Trust In the United Kingdom, the pandemic prevented most in-person university access programs from taking place. Building on the success of CollegePoint, Bloomberg L.P. and the Sutton Trust launched a new online platform called Sutton Trust Online to support over 6,000 students from lower-income families with their university choices and applications. The new platform incorporated all the features of the Trust’s flagship program, including advice and guidance on applications and student finance. Engineers and product developers from Bloomberg L.P. advised on the launch of the platform, and employee volunteers participated in a range of virtual mentoring and networking activities. 75 Putting Students First
K–12 Education Reform graduation and college enrollment rates as well as improving academic COVID-19 is having seismic and achievement. The work has been lasting impacts on K–12 education. focused in states like Tennessee Millions of students across the and Louisiana, cities like Washington, United States are learning in remote D.C., and Indianapolis, Indiana, or hybrid environments, with many and other communities across the families facing ongoing financial country. hardship and child care challenges. During this unprecedented time, In many cases, this only exacerbates Mike’s support has helped launch existing disparities. a COVID-19 re-entry planning tool Mike Bloomberg has a long for districts to help guide school history of supporting education reopening; supported 50 virtual reform throughout the United conversations with 2,200 participants States. He personally backs pro- from educational organizations across reform public officials who work to the country covering student needs, enact meaningful policy changes federal stimulus, and state budget that ensure accountability and decisions; and launched a free, virtual high standards in schools. This summer camp for 42,000 families work is grounded in the belief that nationwide, called Camp Kinda, the solutions required to improve which morphed into a daily guide full education need broad coalitions of resources to support weary parents that put students’ interests first. in fall 2020. To measure progress, this effort focuses on increasing high school
Camp Kinda was launched in 2020 by partner EdNavigator to help parents across the country continue to spur curiosity and encourage learning during ongoing summer lockdowns. The effort was so successful that it has continued through The Kinda Guide: Parenting for the Pandemic. Sign up for tips and ideas at kindaguide.org.
76 Building 21st-Century Skills
Career and Technical Education leadership and support from a variety of industries, leading the way for other Bloomberg Philanthropies cities to adopt proven strategies. invests in efforts across the country to For example, through locally improve skills- and jobs-based training led programs in Colorado and in high schools. By participating in New Orleans, hundreds of students innovative apprenticeship programs have completed internships or and industry-specific skills training apprenticeships in fields such as in high school, students are gaining insurance, information technology, greater access to middle- and high- and advanced manufacturing. skilled 21st-century jobs. Central to Additionally, programs in Baltimore this approach are partnerships among and Delaware work with local local industries, schools, and post- employers to train high school secondary institutions, which create students and assist recent graduates opportunities for students to develop in gaining skills and credentials for skills that will lead to careers with jobs, including in computer coding many opportunities. These promising and medical office and research work. models are backed by strong local
Learning to Work Remotely
Across Colorado, high school apprentices are working with local businesses and gaining skills, credentials, and college credits to prepare for well-paying, skilled jobs thanks to Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partner CareerWise. Despite the pandemic, students continued to gain valuable work experience, with almost half shifting to remote work.
My Best Work from Home Advice: “It is crucial to keep yourself on a schedule and to structure your day as if you were going into the office. This is important because when you work from home, you act as Victoria Long your own manager in a way, CareerWise project management it’s essential to know how to apprentice on the finance team prioritize and stay on track
at Arrow Electronics in Denver, while not in the office.” Colorado CareerWise Credit: Colorado 77 Heavy smog conditions at the India Gate, New Delhi, India, on December 6, 2019. Credit: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images Credit: Pallava Bagla Corbis/Getty Bagla Credit: Pallava Images The view of the India Gate on June 11, 2020, following a period of lockdown 78 due to the pandemic. 78 Bloomberg Philanthropies’ to accelerate the transition Environment program fights to clean energy and build a climate change and protects more sustainable, resilient, the environment across a key and equitable economy. array of issues, from retiring In this pivotal moment, coal plants to supporting the Environment program’s action in cities. long-standing global work The COVID-19 pandemic with governments, businesses, has been devastating to public and grassroots partners to health and the global financial tackle the climate crisis and system — but as governments protect the environment is work to recover, they have a more critical than ever. once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
“Bloomberg Philanthropies is helping cities navigate emerging challenges caused by the pandemic — from traffic surging to public transit ridership plummeting — while advancing bold action that will continue to deliver health, equity, and economic benefits for communities.”
Gina McCarthy Former President and CEO Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) National Climate Advisor, Biden Administration
In India, shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to dramatically cleaner air. Bloomberg Philanthropies is working in India and around the world to permanently improve air quality.
79 Transitioning to Clean Energy Around the World
Coal produces 30 percent of 2017. That success inspired the launch global carbon emissions, and ending of new campaigns in Australia in 2019 its use is a crucial step in the fight and in South Korea and Japan in against climate change. Investing in 2020. These campaigns, which rally clean energy is also good for public grassroots support to fight existing health and for the economy. and proposed coal plants, are making important progress. For example, Beyond Carbon Europe Beyond Coal has now helped Launched in 2019, Beyond retire more than 45 percent of all coal Carbon is the largest coordinated plants across the continent. campaign to fight climate change Air Pollution in U.S. history. The effort builds on the success of the U.S. Beyond Coal Air pollution is a major threat campaign, led by the Sierra Club and to public health around the world, backed by Bloomberg Philanthropies, including contributing to health that has helped to retire more than problems that put people at 60 percent of all U.S. coal plants in greater risk from COVID-19, and it less than a decade. Beyond Carbon is often caused by major sources is working to retire all U.S. coal plants of greenhouse gas emissions. by 2030, stop the construction of Bloomberg Philanthropies supports proposed gas plants, and — through pilot projects in Brussels, Jakarta, Mike’s personal political support — London, and Paris, and key help win policy changes at the state partnerships at the national level to and local levels. gather data and better manage In addition to retiring the air pollution. majority of U.S. coal plants, these In India, as the pandemic shut efforts have helped pass key laws down the country’s economy, air in states across the country. Nine pollution dropped so dramatically states, as well as Puerto Rico and that residents in some northern cities Washington, D.C., now have laws were able to see the Himalayas for requiring 100 percent clean energy. the first time in decades. To improve air quality permanently, Bloomberg Global Beyond Coal Campaigns Philanthropies has built on its work Building on the success of as a technical knowledge partner on the U.S. Beyond Coal campaign, India’s National Clean Air Program, Bloomberg Philanthropies helped which aims to reduce pollution by expand the campaign to Europe in 20–30 percent by 2024.
80 More than 60% of U.S. coal plants retired since 2011
Capacity More than 45% of European coal in megawatts plants retired since 2016 2,500 1,500 500 50 RetiredRemaining
Guadeloupe, France
As of January 19, 2021. 81 Mobilizing Cities to Reduce Emissions
Around the world, cities are assistance, and implementation leading the fight against climate expertise. change. Now, with help from The Climate Challenge has Bloomberg Philanthropies, cities are adapted its work to continue seizing this opportunity to lead a making progress despite green recovery from the pandemic. the pandemic. For example, Honolulu, Hawaii, accelerated the American Cities Climate Challenge installation of bus-only lanes on In 2018, Bloomberg major routes to improve public Philanthropies launched the transit for essential workers, and American Cities Climate Challenge, Seattle, Washington, closed 20 a program that works closely with miles of roads for pedestrians to 25 major U.S. cities to develop enjoy — an initiative that the city and implement climate policies. has now made permanent. Focused on reducing emissions from buildings and transportation — Columbus, Ohio, passed a the two largest emissions sources in ballot initiative enabling all most cities — the program provides powerful resources and support, electricity in the city to be including embedded staff, technical renewable by 2022
Minneapolis, Minnesota’s bike share program is helping to improve mobility options and reduce carbon emissions in the city. Credit: Caroline Yang/NRDC
82 82 COVID-19 Response Spotlight: American Cities Climate Challenge Advances Local Climate Action Despite Pandemic
Bloomberg Philanthropies is helping cities make climate progress and take new steps to drive a green recovery, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic and by the lack of federal climate leadership from the Trump administration. In Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Vi Lyles launched a Renewable Energy and Efficiency Workforce (RENEW) Training Program to provide new career pathways for local workers — including those who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. It aims to achieve the sustainable workforce development goals that Charlotte set through the American Cities Climate Challenge. The program provides residents with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning training that emphasizes improving building energy efficiency, and electrical training that includes solar panel installation and maintenance and electric vehicle maintenance and charging. Thanks to strong commitments and initiatives like this one — championed by states, cities, businesses, universities, and cultural organizations across the country — the United States can meet the Paris Agreement goals with federal re-engagement beginning in 2021.
“We can’t wait to act on climate until the pandemic is over, as both issues are innately linked and vital to building a greener, healthier, more equitable, and resilient city.”
Vi Lyles Mayor Charlotte, North Carolina
83 12 tribal associations
Delivering on representing hundreds of tribes, 25 states, 500+ cities, Achieving Climate Progress 350+ colleges, and in 2020 2,275 businesses committed to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement
The fourth America’s Pledge report found that local leaders have continued to drive climate progress across the United States.
America’s Pledge U.S. progress toward the Paris Launched by Mike Bloomberg Agreement goals. The report and then-Governor of California found that even the disruptions Jerry Brown in the wake of caused by COVID-19 have not President Trump’s decision to slowed climate progress at the local withdraw the United States from level. In fact, strong, dedicated the Paris Agreement, America’s progress from local leaders despite Pledge measures and reports the these challenges — coupled with efforts of more than 4,000 cities, market forces and demand from states, businesses, and other local constituents — has ensured that groups that are committed to the United States passed a tipping achieving the country’s original point in its transition to clean emissions reduction targets. energy. With additional leadership In September 2020, America’s at the federal level, the country Pledge released its fourth and can move back on track to meet final annual report on continued its Paris Agreement goals.
84 C40 Cities Climate Global Covenant of Mayors Leadership Group for Climate & Energy
Mike Bloomberg serves as board Along with Frans Timmermans president of the C40 Cities Climate of the European Commission, Leadership Group, a global network Mike co-chairs the Global Covenant of 97 major cities whose mayors of Mayors for Climate & Energy, a have committed to cutting emissions network of more than 10,000 cities and becoming more resilient to the and local governments that works to effects of climate change. create ambitious, measurable targets In response to the pandemic, to reduce and limit greenhouse C40 released a detailed road map gas emissions. It measures and that lays out a series of bold measures reports on progress to hold cities to help cities achieve a sustainable accountable and helps share best and equitable recovery from the practices across the network. The COVID-19 crisis. The group has also Global Covenant has advocated for published research and advocated for a green and sustainable recovery governments to make sustainability through initiatives focused on and climate solutions a core pillar of developing the next generation of their economic stimulus efforts. data, tools, and technology to tackle sustainability challenges.
C40 recognizes city climate progress through the C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Credit: Subrata Biswas/AP Images Awards. In 2019, Kolkata, India, won for its plans to launch a new fleet of electric buses. 85 Facing the Financial Risks of Climate Change
Task Force on Climate-related upon companies to use SASB Financial Disclosures Standards. Mike served as chair of SASB from 2014 to 2018 and remains The Task Force on Climate-related chair emeritus. Financial Disclosures (TCFD), chaired by Mike, develops recommendations Climate Finance Leadership Initiative to help firms voluntarily disclose information on the climate-related Launched by Mike in January risks and opportunities they face. 2019 to support global Paris Since the TCFD first released its Agreement goals, the Climate recommendations in June 2017, they Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) have been endorsed by more than works to increase private-sector 1,700 organizations, representing over investment in clean energy and $17.3 trillion in market capitalization. climate solutions in emerging Hong Kong, New Zealand, Switzerland, markets. As chair, Mike convened and the United Kingdom have all seven founding members to lead announced plans to make TCFD the work, including executives at implementation mandatory, and Allianz Global Investors, AXA, Enel, the European Union has aligned its Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Japan’s own disclosure requirements with Government Pension Investment the recommendations. Sustainable Fund, and Macquarie. finance and TCFD guidelines are a The initiative’s first report, pillar of COP26, which is set to be released in September 2019, focused held in November 2021 in the United on building partnerships and helping Kingdom in Glasgow, Scotland. carbon-intensive industries transition to cleaner alternatives. The CFLI Sustainability Accounting also announced a new partnership Standards Board with the Association of European Development Finance Institutions The Sustainability Accounting (EDFI) to advance climate finance Standards Board (SASB) provides efforts in emerging markets. detailed, industry-specific standards to help companies assess and disclose sustainability-related information. 1,700+ SASB has published the first-ever sustainability accounting standards organizations for 77 different industries and made them freely available online. In 2020, with $17.3 trillion leading global investors — including in market capitalization SASB’s 55-member Investor Advisory Group who represent $41 trillion endorsed TCFD assets under management — called recommendations
86 Standard assessment of climate impacts
Better alignment Availability of investments of comparable with 1.5°C climate information change target
Climate Finance
More overall Increased market demand for transparency robust data
Data continues to be developed and reported
Develops recommendations to guide companies’ disclosures of climate-related risks and opportunities
Provides industry-specific standards to help companies assess and disclose sustainability-related information
Directs new private-sector investments to clean energy and climate solutions in emerging markets
87 Preserving and Protecting Ocean Ecosystems
Vibrant Oceans Initiative Around the world, more than three billion people rely on the ocean for food or their livelihood, making local fishers essential workers during the pandemic. With a focus on ten countries that produce more than 80 percent of all fish caught worldwide, the Vibrant Oceans Initiative advocates for policy changes to protect reefs and fisheries, shares data to inform policymaking, and builds partnerships with governments and other philanthropic funders. Nine countries have passed national marine protective policies, like fishing quotas, and nearly 6.5 million square miles of oceans have been protected thanks to Bloomberg Philanthropies’ support. As part of the global effort to improve transparency, Bloomberg Philanthropies has worked with partner Global Fishing Watch to make fishing data available on the Bloomberg Terminal. In the Philippines, one of the initiative’s focus countries, 1.9 million people are small-scale fishers, catching nearly half of the country’s fish — an important food source. Bloomberg Philanthropies works with partners, including local governments, to set aside protected areas and adopt sustainable fishing practices that protect the environment and sustain the fish population. As the pandemic has caused greater food insecurity around the world, this work to protect ocean ecosystems is
more essential than ever. Almarza/OceanaCredit: Claudio
88 A fisher in Chile, where Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partner Oceana worked to secure a national law against illegal fishing, helping ensure that local communities have continued access to sustainable food sources. 89 Kirsten Littlefield conducts research on a possible treatment for COVID-19 in the lab of
Dr. Andrew Pekosz at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University Credit:
9090 Improving Lives Worldwide
Founder’s Projects are opportunity and gun safety — unique efforts led by issues the COVID-19 pandemic Bloomberg Philanthropies has only magnified and to address national and made worse. These initiatives international issues that fall emerge from Mike’s personal outside the five core program experiences in business, areas. These include economic government, and philanthropy.
“Our world is facing big, complex challenges. But I’m a big believer that if we follow the data and work in partnership, we can make enormous progress.”
Mike Bloomberg
91 Reducing Wealth Disparities in Black Communities
The Greenwood Initiative Black individuals and their families. Named the Greenwood Initiative in In 2018, Mike Bloomberg remembrance of the hundreds killed traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the massacre, Mike’s proposals to announce that the city had aimed to address the reality that won Bloomberg Philanthropies’ the average Black family in America Public Art Challenge. The today owns about one-tenth of winning proposal honored the the wealth of the average white neighborhood of Greenwood — family — a disparity that is only once known as Black Wall Street, being exacerbated by the economic and the site of one of America’s fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. worst tragedies: the 1921 Tulsa Bloomberg Philanthropies has taken Race Massacre. up the plan’s objectives, which aim During his presidential to help increase intergenerational campaign, Mike returned to Tulsa wealth among Black families, in January 2020 to announce an working with partners that have a ambitious plan to accelerate the proven track record of increasing pace of wealth accumulation for economic and social mobility.
Easing the Debt Burden of Students at Historically Black Medical Schools to Help Save Black Lives
In September 2020, amid a Meharry Medical College in pandemic in which Black patients Nashville, Tennessee; Morehouse in the United States are dying School of Medicine in Atlanta, from COVID-19 at a rate nearly Georgia; and Howard University three times that of white patients, College of Medicine in Washington, Bloomberg Philanthropies D.C. — to provide debt relief of up announced the launch of the to $100,000 to approximately 800 Greenwood Initiative with a four- students currently enrolled and year, $100 million commitment to receiving financial aid. America’s four historically Black This investment will help save medical schools. This funding lives and reduce the inequities in enables the four schools — Charles the U.S. health care system that R. Drew University of Medicine and limit economic opportunity in the Science in Los Angeles, California; Black community. These inequities
92 Students at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Meharry Medical College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Howard University College of Medicine celebrating the announcement.
“Many times you’ll find that people will choose a profession because of the debt they are carrying. So the ability to reduce that debt gives you more choices and the opportunity to give back to a community.”
Hugh E. Mighty, M.D. Dean Howard University College of Medicine
in both health and economic outcomes have been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to several factors, Black patients typically have better health outcomes when they are treated by Black doctors. By reducing the debt burden of Black medical students, the Greenwood Initiative investment gives students more flexibility to choose their specialty and where they will practice, strengthening the pipeline of Black doctors able to serve the needs of Black communities. 93 93 Investing in Women’s Economic Independence
Women’s Economic Development Committed to the core belief that women are central to economic growth, the Women’s Economic Development program partners with governments, nonprofits, and the private sector to engage women with skills-based training to increase their economic opportunities. The initiative’s work became even more essential as COVID-19 and its global economic aftershocks affected the lives and livelihoods of people around the world. Building on Bloomberg Philanthropies’ approach, including flexibility, the program and its partners were ready to respond. An important aspect of this work and the initiative’s work in general is connecting women and their products to markets through strategic partnerships with global companies, creating more opportunities for female entrepreneurs. Since the inception of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partnership with Women for Women International in Africa 14 years ago, the program has grown and, with multiple partners, has enrolled over 475,500 women in training programs around the world, directly benefiting more than two million people. These investments have resulted in a training portfolio of 12 vocational tracks, such as
Women from around the world are working with Bloomberg Philanthropies’ partners to bring their goods to the international market. 94 94 agriculture, tourism, brickmaking, Center in Kigali, Rwanda, which is and textiles, that are based on run by women in the program. The market demand and government café received a 2020 Travelers’ priorities. The Women’s Opportunity Choice Award from Tripadvisor, Center in Rwanda, with 12 active placing it in the top 10 percent of classrooms built by graduates of the listings, and remained open with program in 2013, serves as a model COVID-19 restrictions in place. Coffee of centralized employment training. production continued through At the height of the pandemic, the pandemic as farmers became graduates of the program began essential workers, growing both producing more than 1,000 masks coffee and much-needed produce. per day, providing personal At rural farms, coffee washing stations protective equipment for the have been repurposed to also region. To the west, in the Congo, serve as sanitation stations for the women enrolled in the program community to slow the spread who were trained to share public of COVID-19. health information during the Ebola As part of the initiative’s global epidemic were mobilized to apply work, it invests in nonprofit partner these skills to the COVID-19 crisis, Nest’s business development reaching over 300,000 community training program for artisans who members. make goods by hand in their homes, Through partnerships with an industry that has become even national governments and more important during COVID-19 Sustainable Harvest, which provides lockdowns. With Bloomberg agricultural training to women Philanthropies’ investment, Nest farmers in Rwanda and the Congo, created the first-ever industry-wide the program continues to bring certification for artisan goods that specialty coffee to the international are made outside of regulated market. Today, coffee produced factories. This certification aims by these female farmers is served to increase the consumer goods at hotels across Rwanda, including industry’s ability to responsibly Serena Hotels, Park Inn by Radisson source from artisan partners and Kigali, and the Kigali Marriott. It is increase consumer demand for also available on RwandAir, served ethically produced handcrafts. Nest’s in Bloomberg L.P. offices around work has improved access to markets the world, and sold online. In for more than 1,110 businesses addition, the coffee is brewed at the representing nearly 250,000 workers Question Coffee Café and Training in over 110 countries. Credits: Nest, Clay Enos, Nest, Sustainable Growers Nest, Clay Enos, Nest, Credits:
95 Strengthening a University and Its Home City Johns Hopkins University and Baltimore
Johns Hopkins University United States according to U.S. News & World Report — not just a In 1964, the year he graduated, pioneering force in public health Mike Bloomberg donated $5 to research and scholarship, but also an Johns Hopkins University. Ever since, indispensable leader in the global he has demonstrated a special response to COVID-19. Johns Hopkins commitment to his alma mater and is known as the go-to resource its home city of Baltimore, Maryland, for the latest data and expertise. serving as chair of the Board of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ support Trustees and supporting efforts has been key in the development across the university, including of the widely cited Johns Hopkins major capital projects, endowed Coronavirus Resource Center. professorships, and undergraduate Bloomberg Philanthropies need-based scholarships. has supported the Charlotte R. Mike’s commitment has helped Bloomberg Children’s Center, the make the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Johns Hopkins Malaria Research School of Public Health — the Institute, and the Bloomberg~Kimmel #1 school of public health in the Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.
A New State-of-the-Art Facility in the Heart of Washington, D.C.
Johns Hopkins completed its purchase of the former Newseum building at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., thanks, in part, to support from Bloomberg Philanthropies. The iconic building will provide a new, high-visibility home for the university’s D.C.-based academic programs, anchored by the School of Advanced International Studies, and provide Baltimore-based students with greater access to experiences in the nation’s capital, fostering new collaboration opportunities.
96 96 The Bloomberg Distinguished Class of 2024 — the most diverse Professors program was also created class ever. The percentage of first- to fund 50 endowed professorships generation college students in the to work across disciplines at Johns freshman class is 16 percent. Hopkins. Bloomberg Distinguished Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Professors have appointments in at historic $1.8 billion gift in 2018 made least two different schools across the Johns Hopkins need-blind and loan- university to increase cross-discipline free — and deepened Mike’s long- collaboration and lead to new standing commitment to scholarship breakthroughs. funding through the Bloomberg The Bloomberg commitment Scholars Program and beyond. to Johns Hopkins has eased the burden of debt for graduates Almost 21% of and helped make the university community more socioeconomically the Johns Hopkins diverse. Over the past two decades, with Mike’s support, the share of Class of 2024 is Pell- students in the freshman class from underrepresented minorities has eligible, up from increased from fewer than seven percent to nearly 33 percent in the 15.4% in 2018
A rendering of the transformed 555 Pennsylvania Avenue by Ennead Architects, Rockwell Group, and SmithGroup.
97 COVID-19 Response Spotlight: Johns Hopkins Applies a 20th-Century Treatment to Meet an Urgent Need
Early in the pandemic, Bloomberg Philanthropies supported research into the use of an established 20th-century disease prevention therapy, convalescent plasma, as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Prior to the development of antibiotics, doctors used the blood plasma of patients recovered from infectious diseases like smallpox and measles to help minimize the risk and severity of infection among individuals exposed to the same pathogens. Convalescent plasma, typically rich in antibodies, has also been applied more recently to treat patients with Ebola, SARS, and MERS. As doctors around the world worked hard to identify and develop effective treatments for the virus, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Dr. Arturo Casadevall helped ramp up a national outpatient study to determine the efficacy and safety of using convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19 patients before they need hospitalization. While the trials are ongoing, there is hope that this could be an effective early treatment for COVID-19 patients and an infection protection measure for health care workers and household members who are exposed to the coronavirus. Credit: Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University Credit:
98 9898 Baltimore In addition, Bloomberg Philanthropies Bloomberg Philanthropies has worked directly with Baltimore continues to expand its philanthropic city leaders to use data to improve engagement in Baltimore with a decision-making and government focus on education, small businesses, services for residents through job creation, and workforce the What Works Cities program; development programs, especially to improve public safety with for the city’s youth. creative solutions from a dedicated In 2017, Bloomberg innovation team (i-team); and to Philanthropies partnered with hone leadership and management Goldman Sachs to expand the skills through the Bloomberg successful 10,000 Small Businesses Harvard City Leadership Initiative. program to Baltimore to help local entrepreneurs grow their companies. Three hundred and Supporting Baltimore’s Youth seventeen Baltimore program Joni Holifield, a native alumni have a combined annual of West Baltimore, founded revenue of more than $340 million HeartSmiles in 2015, after and 7,000 employees. the death of Freddie Gray Baltimore is also one of four in police custody. Moved by cities that hosts a Bloomberg the outpouring of grief from Philanthropies program that the city’s young people, Joni connects high school students created a platform for Baltimore with summer internships at youth to cultivate their talents — arts organizations. Bloomberg and to break multi-generational Philanthropies worked closely with cycles of poverty — through the organizations to ensure that enrichment and leadership this year’s participants were still development opportunities. able to have meaningful internships In partnership with the Johns virtually. Baltimore-based arts Hopkins Bloomberg School of organizations also participated Public Health, Joni oversees the in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ school’s Youth Advisory Board management training for small with the Center of Adolescent and mid-sized arts organizations Health. Since the pandemic, through the Arts Innovation and HeartSmiles has shifted more Management program. of its programming online and expanded to youth beyond Baltimore. A Bloomberg School of Public Health faculty member and physician, Dr. David Sullivan is leading a clinical trial focused To hear Joni share the on using outpatient convalescent plasma to prevent COVID-19 positive patients HeartSmiles story, visit from being hospitalized. bloomberg.org 99 99 Rebuilding and Remembering in New York City
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum & Museum, which bears solemn witness to the terrorist attacks of Elected mayor just weeks after September 11, 2001 and February the 9/11 attacks, Mike Bloomberg led 26, 1993. It has become one of the New York City through the aftermath most visited sites in New York City, of this national tragedy, including serving as the country’s principal the work of rebuilding the World institution to honor the thousands Trade Center site and reviving Lower of victims and recovery workers Manhattan. The resilient spirit, hard who risked their lives to save others, work, and courage of countless preserve the history, and explore the New Yorkers enabled the city to complex ongoing impact of 9/11. make a remarkable recovery. After the COVID-19 pandemic In 2006, Mike began his forced their closures, the memorial chairmanship of the 9/11 Memorial
100 2020 Tribute in Light, a commemorative annual public art installation honoring those killed and celebrating the unbreakable spirit of New York. plaza reopened on July 4th with appropriate social distancing restrictions and the museum reopened on September 11th, in coordination with the 19th commemoration ceremony. Even as its on-site programs were disrupted in 2020, the museum continued to provide a host of educational resources, including virtual programming such as online field trips and lessons for students. Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Santiago/Getty Michael M. Credit:
The 9/11 Memorial with the Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center rising in the background. 101 Supporting Culture in Lower Manhattan
The Ronald O. Perelman Inside, the Perelman’s state-of-the- Performing Arts Center art performance spaces will house exhilarating productions in theater, Conceived as part of the World film, dance, music, and chamber Trade Center Master Plan in 2003 opera. Designed to change layouts and chaired by Mike, the Ronald with innovative technology, these O. Perelman Performing Arts performance spaces will give Center is now under construction artists new opportunities to create and scheduled to open in 2023. and engage with audiences from The Perelman will be a cultural around the world. The Perelman anchor for Lower Manhattan — will also serve as a prominent and a symbol of renewal as New community space for Lower York City rebuilds again. Clad in Manhattan’s residents, workers, marble, the building will glow at and visitors. night, reflecting the vitality and importance of the performing arts.
To learn more about the Perelman Performing Arts Center, visit bloomberg.org
A rendering of the Perelman Performing Arts Center.
102 102 Honoring Family, and a Love of Reading and Learning, in Mike’s Hometown The Charlotte and William and their mother joined one of the Bloomberg Medford Public Library library’s first reading groups — and returned to the library for clubs and In 2020, Bloomberg programs throughout her life. Philanthropies and the Medford Mike made a gift toward the Public Library Foundation announced construction of the new public library that the new public library in his hometown, recognizing the being constructed in Medford, essential role it continues to play in Massachusetts, will be named the the Massachusetts community where Charlotte and William Bloomberg he and his sister grew up. Medford Public Library in honor of Mike Bloomberg and Marjorie To hear Mike and Marjorie talk Bloomberg Tiven’s parents. Their about the Medford Public Library, father was passionate about books visit bloomberg.org
A rendering of the new Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library (above) and a family photograph of Mike and Marjorie Credits: Design Architect REX, Executive Architect Davis Brody Bond, Image Luxigon/ Bond, Davis Brody Architect Executive REX, Architect Design Credits: with their parents of Schwartz/Silver/City Medford Center; Arts Performing Perelman O. Ronald The (left). 103 Fighting for Common-Sense Reforms to Prevent U.S. Gun Violence
Everytown for Gun Safety public safety, such as mandatory background checks for all handgun In 2006, Mike co-founded sales, and advances gun safety Mayors Against Illegal Guns to through other channels such as advocate for common-sense gun the court system. Electing gun- safety laws in Washington, D.C. sense candidates is a key part of In 2014, the group merged with Everytown’s advocacy strategy, Moms Demand Action, a network and, in 2020, Everytown worked of grassroots volunteer activists, hard to help elect Joe Biden, to form Everytown for Gun Safety. protect the Gun-Sense Majority in Today, Everytown is the largest gun the U.S. House of Representatives, violence prevention organization in and advance efforts to classify the United States, with a network homemade guns, which are of over 1,000 current and former untraceable and increasingly mayors, more than 1,500 gun showing up at crime scenes, as violence survivors, and millions firearms under federal law. Mike of other supporters. Everytown supported this work with his advocates for laws and policies that personal funds. make a demonstrable difference in
Moms Demand Action volunteers working to get out the vote for the November 2020 election.
104 104 COVID-19 Response Spotlight: Everytown Organizes to Protect Lives While in Quarantine
Everytown mirrors Bloomberg Philanthropies’ approach of leading from the front and not being afraid to utilize advocacy and lobbying when government action is necessary to effect change. Everytown’s grassroots movement, Moms Demand Action, was born online, and the organization was able to seamlessly pivot its traditional in-person advocacy to remote advocacy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the 2020 election, Everytown volunteers reached out to millions of voters virtually regarding gun-sense candidates and registered new voters through ”virtual campaign offices.” Everytown also released research reports, launched public education campaigns, and provided guidance to mayors and governors to address the increased risk of gun violence during the pandemic. Research shows that the pandemic has heightened the risk of three types of gun violence — suicide, domestic violence, and unintentional shootings — due to economic and psychological stress, stay-at-home orders and social isolation, and panic buying. Following the tragic death of George Floyd, Everytown also developed and released a policy platform for police reform and accountability. The organization has helped pass police reform bills in several states and supported the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Gun-Sense Candidate Virtual Rally in April 2020. 105 A Bloomberg L.P. employee in São Paulo, Brazil, participates in a mask-making project, while Bloomberg L.P. employees in Singapore and Hong Kong package toiletries and household cleaning products to be delivered to essential workers and others.
106 Harnessing the Talents of Team Bloomberg to Have a Transformative Impact
Founded by Mike Corporate Philanthropy Bloomberg in 1981 to bring program that uses the time greater transparency and and talents of employees fairness to the financial system, and company resources Bloomberg L.P. has become to create lasting impact the global leader in business in the communities where and financial data, news, and Bloomberg employees live and insight. Mike dedicates the work. This work has vast majority of its profits to never been more important Bloomberg Philanthropies to than in the face of a global support its work transforming pandemic, a changing climate, lives around the world. economic turmoil, and Bloomberg L.P. has a ongoing racial injustice. long-standing and robust
“Bloomberg helped me navigate the limitations of 2020 and made it possible for me to continue to contribute to my favorite nonprofit organizations, making an impact in my community.”
Ana Picolli Legal São Paulo, Brazil
107 COVID-19 Response Spotlight: Supporting COVID-19 Response, Locally and Globally
Bloomberg L.P. quickly responded when the COVID-19 pandemic began, providing additional resources to nonprofit partners around the world so they could continue their critical work at a time of heightened demand, supporting new COVID-19 response efforts, and adapting employee volunteering programs to the new virtual environment. Here are just a few highlights:
Bloomberg L.P. helped set up an emergency fund for civil society and cultural nonprofits in London, the home of the company’s European headquarters. The London Community Response Fund grew to 65 funders and distributed nearly £42 million to over 2,000 nonprofits across the city. Employees across the company shared expertise to assess applications and amplify fundraising efforts.
Through volunteering, grants, and pro bono support to over 150 nonprofit partners and food banks, the company contributed over 2.4 million meals to those most in need in nearly 100 cities around the world.
Bloomberg L.P. also contributed over 51,000 masks — usually reserved for employees during periods of poor air quality — to help protect medical workers in New York City; Frankfurt, Germany; and across the United Kingdom.
108 108 2020 by the Numbers
15,750+ 383 Employees Engaged in Cities Engaged Volunteer, Giving, and Cultural Access Programs
24,200+ Student Mentoring 61 Interactions Countries Reached
2.4 Million+ Meals Contributed
Mentoring Remotely with Partners Across Asia
As COVID-19 disrupted the education of millions of young people globally, Bloomberg L.P. pivoted its mentoring programs to be delivered virtually. Through nonprofit partners Junior Achievement Asia Pacific and Teach For India, members of the Women’s Buyside Community mentored over 200 female high school and university students across Hong Kong, India, Japan, and Singapore about succeeding in finance as women.
109 Employees Join Together to Support Communities in Need
Over 11,600 employees from missing from existing maps of more than 100 cities around the remote areas around the world in world volunteered to support their order to help relief workers serve communities during this challenging these areas. This work was done time. As the pandemic swept the through the company’s ongoing world, Bloomberg L.P. quickly partnership with the Humanitarian pivoted its employee volunteer OpenStreetMap Team, which opportunities from in-person to works with organizations on virtual programs and launched new “open mapping” for disaster projects to address emerging needs. response efforts and community For example, Bloomberg L.P. development around the world. launched a volunteer project In addition, employees were where over 600 employees from able to continue to mentor young 16 Asia-Pacific offices assembled people and others in need in their over 2,600 kits with toiletries and local communities virtually. These household cleaning products to be opportunities ranged from teaching delivered to essential workers and English to students across China the vulnerable in their communities. to providing career readiness As another example of cross- mentorship to young refugees office collaboration, over 2,100 in London and U.S. veterans employees across 68 cities used transitioning out of the military their skills to add roads, buildings, and into the job market during this and other key logistical data time of record unemployment.
Bloomberg L.P. employees working together to improve maps of remote districts around the world, such as in Botswana and Yemen.
110 A Full-Team Response
Every part of the company came together for an all-hands-on-deck response to this unprecedented crisis. Here are just a few examples:
Financial Products Engineering Employees supported students A Python coding workshop through the Girls Who Invest built to inspire students who Summer Bootcamp with Bloomberg are typically underrepresented Terminal access and training as in STEM expanded from well as mentorship to ensure their biannual sessions in New York education continued uninterrupted to three multi-week, virtual by the pandemic as part of the programs with students in Bloomberg commitment to New York; Frankfurt, Germany; making the world of finance more and São Paulo, Brazil. accessible to young women and other underrepresented groups.
News Legal Team members hosted webinars The Legal teams in New York on COVID-19 in Africa for alumni and London provided pro bono of the Bloomberg Media Initiative support to nonprofits, small Africa, a financial journalism businesses, and individuals, training program. The initiative including helping them navigate also helped share accurate data pandemic-related financial and public health guidance with challenges and applying for alumni and other stakeholders government aid, such as through across 38 African countries to the City Bar Justice Center’s combat misinformation. COVID-19 Small Business Initiative in New York City.
Human Resources Marketing and The team worked around the Communications clock to expand the resources Team members created and available for the global presented a crisis communications Bloomberg community to remain curriculum focused on improving safe, healthy, and connected — public relations and community and lent their expertise to outreach during the pandemic support nonprofit partners’ to more than 500 small COVID-19 response efforts. business owners enrolled in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative helps cities to improve street safety, beautify public spaces, and engage communities. This intersection in Saginaw, Michigan, was painted by artists and local volunteers, bringing together diverse neighborhoods in the city and bridging the river that divides it. This mural, at the intersection of Court and Hamilton Streets, was designed by Nyesha Clark-Young.
Founder
Michael R. Bloomberg
Board of Directors
Dr. Tenley E. Albright Mellody Hobson Jamie Niven Emma Bloomberg Robert A. Iger Honorable Sam Nunn Georgina Bloomberg Walter Isaacson Samuel J. Palmisano Mark Carney Maya Lin Secretary Henry “Hank” M. Paulson, Jr. Kenneth I. Chenault John J. Mack Dr. Alfred Sommer D. Ronald Daniel The Reverend Joseph M. McShane, S.J. Sir Martin Sorrell Manny Diaz Admiral Michael G. Anne M. Tatlock Daniel L. Doctoroff Mullen, USN (Ret.) Dennis M. Walcott Patricia E. Harris
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Cover Credits: Korea Beyond Coal, Secretaría de Transporte y Obras Públicas del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, The Ocean Agency, The Drawing Center, Johns Hopkins University, Tewodros Emiru/Resolve to Save Lives
Front Inside Cover Credits: Subrata Biswas/AP Images, Claudio Almarza/Oceana, Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University, Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter, Be’er Sheva i-team, Prevention Point Pittsburgh, International Rescue Committee, NEST, Madaha Kinsey-Lamb/Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center, Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, Alianza por la Salud Alimentaria, Drew Dempsey/Fertile Ground, CareerWise Colorado 112 Bloomberg.org “We can overcome any challenge if we follow the data, work in partnership, test bold ideas, and share what works.”
Michael R. Bloomberg Approach
Bloomberg Philanthropies‘ unique approach is grounded in Mike Bloomberg‘s experience in business, government, and philanthropy. In every challenge that the Bloomberg team takes on, applying this approach allows us to make progress saving and improving lives around the world.
Remain flexible to Look for unmet Rely on data invest boldly and needs that can be and continually quickly in order to addressed with measure maximize impact proven solutions progress
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