The Bezos Day One Fund may be new to some folks. It was launched by Amazon’s MacKenzie and Jeff Bezos in November 2018 focusing on two areas: funding local nonprofits to help homeless families, and creating a network of new, nonprofit tier-one preschools in low-income communities.
To achieve this mission, a commitment of $2B was made.
It was just announced that North Texas’ Family Gateway was awarded a $2.75M grant “to continue to expand its efforts to help families stay stabilized and avoid needing shelter. Family Gateway also plans to use the investment to support families experiencing homelessness by launching a pilot program to provide first-time homeless families with short-term deposit and rental assistance, and to pay for hotel stays for families with children when all area shelters are full. ”
Founded by the late Mayor Annette Strauss, Family Gateway is one of 32 nonprofits in the country to share in $98.5M in grants awarded by the Bezos Day One Fund this year.
According to Family Gateway CEO Ellen Magnis, “We are so humbled and honored to be recognized as a leader in our struggle to do what is best in our community, and are excited to continue to scale our services to help the most vulnerable families with children who are experiencing a homelessness crisis. We have worked diligently over the past three years to align all that we do with national best practices, letting go of the ‘old ways’ of how things have ‘always been done.’ It is both our honor and privilege to serve. We are deeply grateful.”
Congratulations to Family Gateway for being in the national spotlight for its efforts and receiving some very nice support from the Bezos Day One Fund.
* Graphic provided by Family Gateway