Jeff Bezos announced the latest recipients of donations from his Bezos Day 1 Families Fund on Wednesday, listing 42 organizations across 24 states that will receive $105.9 million to continue their work assisting families in need of shelter.
This is the third year that the Amazon CEO has made such a gift after first establishing his $2 billion philanthropic initiative, called the Bezos Day One Fund, in 2018. The endeavor was created to help in two areas: fund existing non-profits that help families experiencing homelessness, and create a network of new, non-profit tier-one preschools in low-income communities.
The 2020 list includes one Washington state recipient — the Refugee Women’s Alliance in Seattle, which was granted $2.5 million. The non-profit received the same amount in 2018.
Here is the complete list of organizations receiving funding this year:
- Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness, Anchorage, Alaska, $450,000
- The Cathedral Center, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisc., $1.25 million
- Catholic Charities of Acadiana, Lafayette, La., $5 million
- Coalition for Homelessness Intervention & Prevention, Indianapolis, Ind., $1.25 million
- Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida, Orlando, Fla., $2.5 million
- Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, Columbus, Ohio, $2.5 million
- Community Action Council for Lexington-Fayette, Bourbon, Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Inc., Lexington, Ky., $5 million
- Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Philadelphia, $5 million
- Denver Indian Family Resource Center, Denver, $450,000
- East Los Angeles Women’s Center, Los Angeles, $2.5 million
- East Oakland Community Project, Oakland, Calif., $2.5 million
- Facing Forward to End Homelessness, Chicago, $1.25 million
- Families Together, Raleigh, N.C., $1.25 million
- Family Life Center, Kahului, Hawaii, $1.25 million
- Friendship Place, Washington, D.C., $2.5 million
- HELP of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, $5 million
- The Homeless Families Foundation, Columbus, Ohio, $1.25 million
- Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System, Los Angeles, $5 million
- HOPE Atlanta, Atlanta, $2.5 million
- House of Ruth, Washington, D.C., $2.5 million
- Housing Matters, Santa Cruz, Calif., $2.5 million
- Housing Up, Washington, D.C., $2.5 million
- Kahumana, Waianae, Hawaii, $2.5 million
- MAHUBE-OTWA Community Action Partnership, Inc., Detroit Lakes, Minn., $2.5 million
- Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, Denver, $1.25 million
- MUST Ministries, Marietta, Ga., $5 million
- The National Center for Children and Families, Bethesda, Md., $2.5 million
- Native American Youth and Family Center, Portland, $5 million
- North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness, Raleigh, N.C., $1.25 million
- One80 Place, Charleston, S.C., $5 million
- Poverello House, Fresno, Calif., $2.5 million
- Rainbow Services, San Pedro, Calif., $1.25 million
- Refugee Women’s Alliance, Seattle, $2.5 million
- Safe Haven Family Shelter, Nashville, Tenn., $1.25 million
- The Salvation Army Austin Area Command, Austin, $2.5 million
- Samaritan House, Virginia Beach, Va., $1.25 million
- Solid Ground, White Bear Lake, Minn., $1.25 million
- St. Vincent de Paul CARES, St. Petersburg, Fla., $5 million
- Su Casa – Ending Domestic Violence, Long Beach, Calif., $1.25 million
- Time for Change Foundation, San Bernardino, Calif., $1.25 million
- United American Indian Involvement, Inc., Los Angeles, $2.5 million
- WestCare California, Fresno, Calif., $2.5 million
In 2019, 32 recipients from 23 states received donations totaling $98.5 million. In 2018, 24 recipients 16 states received donations totaling $97.5 million.
“Day One” is a reference to Bezos’ mantra at Amazon, that it’s essential to approach every day with the enthusiasm and energy of a new venture because it’s “always Day One.”
“We’ll use the same set of principles that have driven Amazon,” Bezos tweeted when he first set up the fund. “Most important among those will be genuine, intense customer obsession. “The child will be the customer.”
