Founders Pledge is a London-based charitable initiative where entrepreneurs commit to donate a portion of their personal proceeds to charity when they sell their business.[3][4][5] The mission of Founders Pledge is to "empower entrepreneurs to do immense good".[6]
By October 2024, 1,970 entrepreneurs across 30 countries[3] have signed up to Founders Pledge. Collectively, they have pledged to donate $10.3 billion in share value (of which $1.4 billion in donations have been completed to date).[7]
Founders Pledge was initially launched in 2015 by the Founders Forum for Good, which focuses on helping social entrepreneurs build and scale businesses.[8] David Goldberg, co-founder and CEO of Founders Pledge, stated that80,000 Hours' work has influenced the organization's trajectory.[9]
Founders Pledge was named one of the New Radicals 2016, "innovative projects chosen by The Observer and Nesta as making a real difference to society".[10]
Starting in London, Founders Pledge has since expanded and opened multiple new offices in cities such as Berlin,[11] New York and San Francisco.[3] In addition, Founders Pledge has launched partnerships with organisations includingY Combinator,[12]MassChallenge, and Forward Partners.[13] In September 2016,Sam Altman, president of Y Combinator, wrote on the Y Combinator blog: "Many of our founders ask us about how they can donate part of their equity or post-exit proceeds, and now we have an answer: Founders Pledge."[14]
In 2023, Founders Pledge moved $168 million to the charitable sector on a budget of $8.2 million, implying an ROI of over 20:1.[15][16]
Founders Pledge runs three main types of activities, all free of charge for its members.[3][7]
First, they aim to build a community of impact-driven entrepreneurs by organizing events to educate members on evidence-backed impact strategies.[17]
Second, they provide administrative support with donations and offer adonor-advised fund.[18]
Third, Founders Pledge conducts research on high-leverage giving opportunities and advises its members on where to give based on their personal values.[3][19]
Founders Pledge partners withGiveWell for its research on cost-effective global health and development charities. In addition, Founders Pledge has written research reports on various topics, including:
Entrepreneurs signing up to Founders Pledge enter a commitment to donate a portion of their personal proceeds upon liquidity to charity. The minimum commitment is 2%, though entrepreneurs commit around 7% on average.[26] Comparing several donation pledging initiatives,Vox writes that Founders Pledge forcesThe Giving Pledge "to compete for the mindshare of today’s tech community".[27]
A complete list of members is available on the Founders Pledge website.[28] Notable members of Founders Pledge include the following:
