Clinton Gathering Closes In New York
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
September 24, 2010
By Caroline Preston
Former President Bill Clinton’s annual philanthropy meeting wrapped up Thursday, with appearances from President Obama, Michelle Obama, and Bill Gates.
Ms. Obama, who was introduced by her husband, spoke about helping America’s veterans find jobs. Mr. Clinton interviewed Mr. Gates, who expressed concern about governments cutting back on their aid budgets amid the global economic crisis.
And Haiti’s president, Rene Preval, spoke about helping his country recover from the devastating earthquake in January that left an estimated 1.5 million people homeless.
Mr. Clinton said nearly 300 commitments of money and other resources, totaling an estimated $6 billion, were announced during the three days of the Clinton Global Initiative conference.
Pledges announced on the final day included:
- TrustAfrica, a grant maker with headquarters in Dakar, Senegal, pledged to invest $2.7 million in research to improve Africa’s investment climate and help businesspeople on the continent succeed.
- Mercy Corps, with help from the telecommunications company Trilogy International Partners, Unibank, and the Haitian mobile-phone company Voila, pledged to start a pilot effort to use cell phones to help 100,000 Haitians access financial services and participate in a cash-for-work program.
- Members of CGI Lead, a new program of the Clinton event designed to engage young leaders in solving social problems, pledged to start Rethink Refugees, a program to help refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The goal is to evaluate the program and share results with groups helping refugees around the globe.
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