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Category: CEO Fund: Technology and Society

Heising-Simons Foundation Awards $25.6M to Systems Change Efforts in Second Quarter of 2024

Heising-Simons Foundation awarded $25.6 million to systems change efforts across 57 grants during the second quarter of 2024. This latest round of funding supports advancing climate and clean energy policies, ensuring that AI does not disrupt the 2024 election, and developing a clearer understanding of the causes of underrepresentation of women in math and physical …

Heising-Simons Foundation Awards Over $3.1M to Technology and Society Organizations Ahead of Summit

The Heising-Simons Foundation has awarded $3.19 million this year, to address the ongoing impact of technology on society in advance of Wednesday’s Technology and Society Summit at the Foundation. The Foundation has awarded $7.88 million to address issues in this space since Sushma Raman joined as the Foundation’s president and CEO in 2023. The Foundation’s …

Foundation President and CEO Sushma Raman to Speak as Part of Stanford’s Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative

Heising-Simons Foundation President and CEO Sushma Raman will speak at the Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative (EPLI), hosted by the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS), from May 1-3, followed by a virtual component May 8-10. EPLI is a 6-day executive-style learning course for philanthropy professionals. The course will cover: Donors’ values and focus …

Podcast: Sushma Raman on Leading Social Justice and Philanthropic Initiatives

What types of skills are necessary to lead social justice and philanthropic initiatives? What does it mean to plan and design a career path in the social impact sector, and how can leaders best manage change and challenges? On March 12 at 9 AM EST, Sushma Raman, President and CEO of Heising-Simons Foundation, will be sharing insights and tips on these questions during a live conversation with Craig Zelizer for the Social Change Career Podcast.

One Year Into My Role as President and CEO

Dear Colleagues and Friends, “My work as a journalist seeks to connect silenced histories to our present day,” says Dara T. Mathis, one of two recipients of the Heising-Simons Foundation’s 2024 American Mosaic Journalism Prize. The Prize is awarded to freelance journalists for excellence in long-form, narrative, or deep reporting about underrepresented communities in the …

President’s Year-End Letter

Dear Grantees and Partners: When the Heising-Simons Foundation welcomed me as its new leader in February 2023, we as a staff and Board embarked on a shared journey to reflect on the many changes taking place within the Foundation and in the world. The nature of the problems we are tackling—whether the scale of climate …

Heising-Simons Foundation Joins the Democracy Frontlines Fund in Support of Racial Justice Groups

Heising-Simons Foundation has joined the Democracy Frontlines Fund (DFF), an initiative of the Libra Foundation to support racial justice organizing. The initiative was launched in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, in solidarity with the historic civil rights uprising. Heising-Simons joins 13 other funders who are collectively committing $35.5 million over three years.

Philanthropies Launch $200 Million Initiative to Support Responsible Use and Innovation of Artificial Intelligence

As part of its grantmaking seeking to address the impact of technology on society, Heising-Simons Foundation has joined a new coalition of ten philanthropies to support public interest efforts that mitigate artificial intelligence’s (AI) harms and promote responsible use and innovation, as outlined by Vice President Kamala Harris earlier today. Other partners include the David …

Sushma Raman Moderates Panel on Addressing Gender Bias in Artificial Intelligence

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to become more ubiquitous in all aspects of our everyday lives, more sectors of our society, business, and government are reckoning with the myriad ways in which these tools can be misused or weaponized against marginalized groups. While they may appear neutral, the uncomfortable truth is that AI models are …