MasterClass Announces Melinda French Gates to Teach Impactful Giving

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Aug 18, 2022, 09:00 ET

Philanthropist, businesswoman and global advocate for women and girls teaches members how to develop an individualized framework for philanthropic giving that best matches their resources, values and needs

Shares never-before-heard journal entries from her travels in Tanzania, India and across the U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MasterClass, the streaming platform where anyone can learn from the world's best across a wide range of subjects, today announced that Melinda French Gates will teach a class on impactful giving. French Gates will guide members in examining their own beliefs and personal values to help them create meaningful change in the world by identifying the causes they care about and creating a plan that will have a lasting impact. French Gates' class is now available exclusively on MasterClass, where subscribers get unlimited access to all 150+ instructors with an annual membership.

"Melinda is one of the most prolific givers in the world. Over the last 20 years, her contributions as a philanthropist and advocate have helped cut childhood death rates in half, reduce worldwide polio cases by 99% and expand access to contraceptives for millions of women in low- and middle-income countries—accomplishments that require strategic planning and execution," said David Rogier, founder and CEO of MasterClass. "In her class, she will share how her analytical background has influenced her giving and inspire members to start their own journey of enacting positive change, whether that's through giving their time or using their voice, expertise or money."

Sharing never-before-heard personal stories and insights from more than two decades in philanthropy, French Gates will teach members how to identify and unlock their personal power through giving. She will first help members take stock of their resources and think about how they can use them to make an impact—including giving their time, donating their money, tapping into an area of expertise or using their voice. French Gates will draw from her personal story to talk about the core values that guide her own giving and offer a road map for members to use their personal values to find causes that align with their goals and beliefs. She'll also discuss the different ways one can give in philanthropy, how to create measurable giving goals and how to follow a "think, test, do" research framework that her company Pivotal Ventures uses to drive sustainable impact.

French Gates will discuss why qualitative and quantitative data are both equally important in measuring progress toward giving goals and why she believes there is no "hard data." She will also share why partnerships are essential in any giving journey; in journal entries from her travels, she will reflect on the people she's met from around the world and the lessons they taught her about listening to community needs and breaking down barriers. Lastly, French Gates will stress that failure is inevitable, encouraging members to approach this work with humility and a learning mindset. Members will leave the class understanding that anyone can be a giver, equipped with the tools to get started on their philanthropic journey.

"The most generous people in the world are not philanthropists writing big checks," French Gates said. "Rather, it's the everyday givers who use whatever resources they have available to improve the lives of those around them. Those are the people who inspire me, and I hope that this class inspires them."

In partnership with French Gates, MasterClass will be distributing free annual memberships to eight organizations in the U.S. and abroad championing issues that range from empowering young women to enter health and engineering fields to achieving gender equality in global health leadership.

French Gates is a philanthropist, businesswoman and global advocate for women and girls. As co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she sets the direction and priorities of one of the world's largest philanthropies. In 2015, French Gates founded Pivotal Ventures, a company working to accelerate the pace of social progress in the U.S. She is also the author of the bestselling book The Moment of Lift.

French Gates grew up in Dallas. She received both a bachelor's degree in computer science and economics and an MBA from Duke University. She spent the first decade of her career developing multimedia products at Microsoft before leaving the company to focus on her family and her philanthropic work. She has three children—Jenn, Rory and Phoebe—and lives in Seattle.

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Facebook: @melindagates
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Media Contact:
Alyssa Bergerson, MasterClass
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SOURCE MasterClass