Omidyar Network
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Impact Investor, Non-profit organization | |
Founded | 2004 |
Founder | Pierre Omidyar |
Website |
www |
Omidyar Network is a self-styled "philanthropic investment firm," composed of a foundation and an impact investment firm.[1] Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, Omidyar Network reports it has committed more than $992 million to nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies across multiple investment areas, including Consumer Internet & Mobile, Education, Financial Inclusion, Governance & Citizen Engagement, and Property Rights. [2]
Omidyar Network was founded on the fundamental belief that every person has the power to make a difference. The foundation believes that they create opportunity for people to realize that power and improve the quality of their lives. In addition, they advocate that when people take the initiative to make life better for themselves, they can share the benefits with their families, become more active in their communities, and be a more positive force in society.[3]
In 2009, the Omidyar Network donated $2 million over two years to the Wikimedia Foundation, and at the same time, Matt Halpin of Omidyar Network was appointed to Wikimedia's board of directors.[4]
Structure
Composed of a 501(c)(3) and a Limited Liability Company (LLC), Omidyar Network is structured to work across the social, business, and government sectors. Like a traditional foundation, it makes grants through its 501(c)(3) entity; through its LLC, it invests in for-profit entities.[5]
People
The managing partner of Omidyar Network is Matt Bannick, the former general manager of eBay International. Tilman Ehrbeck, former CEO of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, Sal Giambanco, formerly of eBay and PayPal, Stephen King, ex-BBC World Trust, Amy Klement, formerly of eBay and PayPal, Arjuna Costa, Roopa Kudva, Shripriya Mahesh, Scott Wu, and Mike Kubzansky, formerly of Monitor Group, are also partners.
The organization has offices in Redwood City, Johannesburg, London, Mumbai, and Washington D.C.[6]
Partners
As of April 2009, Omidyar Network counts the following organizations as partners: Ashoka, Comat Technologies, Creative Commons, Digg, DonorsChoose, Endeavor, Federated Media Publishing, GlobalGiving, Goodmail, GuideStar, Linden Lab (developer of Second Life global virtual community), Meetup, Metaweb, ModestNeeds, Opportunity International, PRBC, Prosper, SeaChange Capital Partners, Seesmic, Socialtext, Sunlight Foundation, Virgin Money, Wikia, World of Good.
In 2017, Omidyar Network together with AVINA Americas and Avina Foundation founded the Latin American Alliance for Civic Technology (ALTEC) to invest in and support the development in Latin America of civic technology platforms and related scalable technologies.[7]
Awards
In 2010, the Omidyar Network presented Sumazi with the award for "Startup Most Likely to Change the World" at the TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield competition in San Francisco, California.[8]
Similar resources
- Acumen Fund
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- Blue Haven Initiative
- Jasmine Social Investments
- Mulago Foundation
- Peery Foundation
- Skoll Foundation
References
- ↑ "The Omidyar way of giving" (October 26, 2013). October 26, 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ "Omidyar Network". Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ↑ "Investment Approach". Retrieved 27 December 2015.
- ↑ "Press releases/Omidyar Network Grant August 2009 - Wikimedia Foundation". wikimediafoundation.org. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
- ↑ Guth, Robert A. (October 22, 2008). "EBay Founder's Philanthropic Firm to Donate More". The Wall Street Journal. pp. A4.
- ↑ "Omidyar Network". Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ↑ "Omidyar Network Invests $2.9 Million in Civic Tech Alliance". Philanthropy News Digest (PND). 19 February 2017. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017.
- ↑ "Qwiki Wins TechCrunch Disrupt: Information Consumption To Be Disrupted". September 29, 2010.