Interactive: The Gates Foundation’s top 20 grant winners

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest private foundation, has been in the spotlight lately amid the divorce of its founders. Despite the personal turmoil, the foundation committed over half a billion dollars in grants since the start of 2021. According to its own reported data, the 231 grants awarded this year ranged in value from $1,000 to $122 million. While 2020 recorded $4.4 billion in grants — a 26% increase compared to 2019. The global health sector has dominated Gates grants since the beginning of 2020, accounting for 38% of funds awarded. The next priority for grants in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is global development, followed by global policy and advocacy. Out of the 2,350 grants committed in this period, 18% include “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in their title. This subset amounts to $609 million. Despite the pandemic fueling the need for large investments in a range of global needs, 2020 was not the year that Gates made its largest grant-making commitment, according to the data. Rather, it reached $6.3 billion in grants in 2016. But the period from January 2020 to the present has seen the U.S. and Switzerland continue to dominate as the top locations for grant recipients. To provide insights into emerging trends among grants awarded by the Gates Foundation, Devex delved into the data to identify the partners that received significant grant financing in the 16 months from January 2020 to April 2021, which were dominated by the pandemic. The Swiss-based multilaterals Among the top 10 Gates grantees are four multilateral organizations, three of which are based in Geneva: 1. The Global Fund The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria received $732 million through one grant in 2020. To support the fund’s advocacy and resource mobilization efforts, the U.S.-based nonprofit Fund for the Global Fund also got $11.8 million. 2. WHO The World Health Organization received $282 million for 40 different grants. Additional funding received by WHO country and regional offices increases this to a $331 million total. 3. Gavi Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance received a single grant commitment of $150 million in 2020 to scale up COVID-19 vaccines and minimize the impact of the pandemic in low- and middle-income countries. Based in the U.S., the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — the lending branch of the World Bank Group — is the other top multilateral institution grantee, receiving $73.4 million across 19 grants in 2020. These covered not only global health issues but also financial inclusion, gender equality, and agriculture development. US-based nonprofits From January 2020 to April 2021, almost 50% of Gates grant-making has been directed to organizations based in over 220 U.S. cities across 42 states. Organizations in Washington, D.C.; Seattle; and New York got a little over a quarter of the total funding committed in this period. Out of the top 10 grantees, five are nonprofit organizations, and four are based in the United States: 1. University of Washington Foundation Set up as the fundraiser for the University of Washington, the University of Washington Foundation received a sum of $189 million for 40 grants in 2020 and two grants in 2021. In addition, two grants totaling $343,000 were awarded directly to the university. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, an independent research center at the university, also received funds through a $99,000 grant. 2. Clinton Health Access Initiative Inc. Based in Boston, the Clinton Health Access Initiative Inc. got $120 million for 27 grants, all for global health projects mostly focused on Africa. 3. PATH A key Gates grantee since the early days of the foundation, PATH received a total of $115 million for 38 grants — three of which were awarded in 2021. Additionally, $105,000 was allocated in 2020 to open a PATH representative office in Shanghai for fostering research and development partnerships. 4. U.S. Fund for UNICEF Most commonly known as UNICEF USA, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF is also a key long-term grantee of the foundation. The group got $90 million across 20 grants, six of which were awarded in 2021 as part of programs related to polio, global health, and water, sanitation, and hygiene. Special mention: The ONE Campaign The ONE Campaign almost made it into the list of the top 10 grantees, with three grants worth a total of $49 million awarded in 2020 — the group’s largest annual total from the Gates Foundation since 2013, when it received $52 million. Its biggest grant in 2020 was for $40 million, directed to general operational support for the coming four years. Institutes and research centers A focus on R&D is one of the main features of Gates’ grant-making, so it is no surprise to see universities and research institutions among its top grantees. 1. Imperial College London The Imperial College London received $91.5 million for 10 grants in 2020, with no new grants so far for 2021. Funded projects relate to malaria tracking, TB control, developing biodegradable contraceptives implants, and vaccine or rapid test evaluations supporting COVID-19 knowledge and responses. 2. El Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo Among the top 10 grantees in this time period was El Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo, a Mexican nonprofit that received $57 million in 2020 for three grants focused on agriculture advancements. The highest-value grant was worth $45.9 million, aiming to support sustainable agriculture by fostering the development of maize and wheat varieties in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Special mentions The top 20 grantees for this period include other U.S.-based research centers, with Georgetown University receiving $30 million and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health seeing $28.5 million in 2020. While the majority of Gates grants to the Bloomberg School and its sister institutions, such as the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine or the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, come from the foundation’s global health and global development divisions, half of the grants to Georgetown University come from the foundation’s U.S. programs and are focused on education and social and economic mobility. Closely following the U.S. institutions is Nigeria’s International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, with $28.4 million for five grants focused on agriculture development in 2020. Private companies: Pharma and vaccine manufacturing Among the top 20 grantees are five private corporations working on global health. In total, they received $207 million for the development of diagnostics and vaccine manufacturing. 1. Bio Farma With headquarters in Bandung, Indonesia, Bio Farma received one grant in 2020 to support the manufacturing of a polio vaccine. Grant value: $45,758,365. 2. Merck & Co. With headquarters in Kenilworth, New Jersey, Merck & Co received one grant in 2021 to develop a monthly pill for HIV prevention. Grant value: $45,549,976. 3. Biological E Ltd. With headquarters in Hyderabad, India, Biological E Ltd. received two grants: A $4 million grant in 2020 for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, and a $37 million grant in 2021 for the production of a novel oral polio vaccine. Grant value: $41,581,405. 4. Inventprise LLC With headquarters in Redmond, Washington, Inventprise LLC received four grants: A $612,000 grant in 2021 to support vaccine production for the international COVAX initiative, and three grants in 2020 to develop vaccines for various conditions. Grant value: $37,257,867. 5. LumiraDX UK Ltd. With headquarters in London, LumiraDX UK Ltd. received two grants in 2020 for the development and manufacture of COVID-19 test strips in low- and middle-income countries. Grant value: $36,995,000. Additional funding The Gates Foundation also engages in activities not related to grant-making through its Strategic Investment Fund and charitable contributions that are not accounted for in these figures. In December, the foundation’s COVID-19 response pledge reached $1.75 billion, and some of that is likely not reflected in the data. For example, commitments to the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator can’t be found in the grants data set. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free 5-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850+ sources in addition to our analysis and news content.