Year 2020 - Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Annual Letter

Annual Letter 2020 - Chan Zuckerberg Initiative 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
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 2020 Annual Letter 
 What We’re Learning

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
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 Dear Friends,

 Our daughter Max turned five years old just a few days ago. And so did the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

 We didn’t know it back in 2015 but becoming new parents and starting a philanthropy actually have a lot in common. You’re simultaneously exhausted, overjoyed, and full of adrenaline. You stress over every little detail and decision. When you’re up in the middle of the night, you’re filled with both hope and concern for the future—their future.

 Five years later, Max and her sister, August, have grown so much. So has CZI—and so have the tremendous challenges facing our communities, from the longstanding inequities caused by systemic racism to new hardships inflicted by a global pandemic and economic crisis.

 In crisis there are always silver linings—and lessons learned. If there was a silver lining in 2020, it was the extraordinary people and organizations who came together to fight this virus and the scourge of racial injustice—and the inequitable impacts of both on communities of color. We’ve been inspired by grant partners who have responded in countless ways—from scientists and researchers fighting the spread of the virus, to those working to support people disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system, to educators helping students navigate challenging times, to county election officials working to ensure we had a safe, free election process in the midst of a pandemic. We are humbled by their work—and their example.

 2020 taught us many lessons, too. We have a responsibility to engage with a spirit of learning, a commitment to accountability, and space for growth. Now more than ever, we feel the urgent call to step up, do better, and help accelerate change. And today, as we reflect on what we’ve learned over the last five years, and the values at the heart of our work, we’d like to focus there.

 Lesson one: Build the right infrastructure

 Over the last five years, we have invested in the long-term in a big way. CZI is now one of the largest funders of scientific innovation in the world, criminal justice reform in the country, and housing affordability efforts in California. We have also made significant education investments aimed at helping every student reach their full potential—regardless of background or zip code.

 
 Five years by the numbers 
 
 
 But these investments are not just targeted to achieve far-off goals. They are helping to create the infrastructure needed to tackle the here and now.

 In 2016, we founded the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, a collaboration between CZI, Stanford, University of California, San Francisco, and University of California, Berkeley. Our vision was to bring scientists and eng

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