Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has committed to spending $45 million toward ending mass incarceration and affordable housing.
Though the 33-year-old has not committed to a presidential run in 2020, he has vowed to influence American politics in other ways.
Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, formed the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) in order to advance social causes in areas such as health care and education.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan (pictured together) have committed to spending $45 million toward ending mass incarceration and affordable housing
Zuckerberg and his wife formed the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) in order to advance social causes in areas such as health care and education. Zuckerberg committed most of the $45 million to groups aligned with fixing the affordable housing (file image) crisis in America
Zuckerberg committed most of the $45 million to groups aligned with ending mass incarceration and fixing the affordable housing crisis in America, according to Vice.
Within the past few weeks, the initiative has given money to Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Alliance for Safety and Justice, TechEquity Collaborative, and The American Conservative Union Foundation’s Center for Criminal Justice Reform.
Over the past year, Zuckerberg has been building a team of political veterans that includes David Plouffe, Barack Obama’s former campaign manager.
Plouffe, who is now the head of CZI’s political work, told Vice that when it comes to criminal justice, the initiative has ‘an amazing window right now’.
He said CZI has a political opportunity to reform the system that has 2.2 million people – disproportionately people of color – behind bars.
Because CZI isn’t registered as a nonprofit, it’s not required to regularly disclose its spending.
Zuckerberg’s initiative will also fight to end end mass incarceration (file image). Within the past few weeks, the initiative has given money to Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Alliance for Safety and Justice and the Center for Criminal Justice Reform
Zuckerberg has said he intends to cash in up to $12.8 billion in Facebook shares in the next year and a half to fund his endeavors.
Over the summer, Facebook – which is headquartered in Menlo Park, California – announced their plans to build employee housing and a small village at its corporate campus this because the company’s support struggled to find affordable housing within commuting distance.
CZI continues to look for ways to fix the housing crisis. Recently, the organization gave $3.6 million to UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation to generate more ideas and research.
Zuckerberg’s organization also donated money to successful ballot initiatives in the Bay Area and lobbied for California’s recent housing package, according to Vice.
Democratic Gov Jerry Brown signed 15 separate bills at the end of September.
The package contained a $4 billion housing bond on the state’s 2018 ballot, permanent funding for affordable housing units, among others.