Napster co-founder and former Facebook President Sean Parker formally announces plans and strategies for his new $600 Million foundation, The Parker Foundation.
Based in San Francisco, The Parker Foundation will focus its giving to three areas: Life Sciences, Global Public Health and Civic Engagement. The foundation will operate as a platform for philanthropic investment, public policy expertise, science and technology to intersect in order to achieve the greatest impact.
"The Parker Foundation will apply the lessons learned from Silicon Valley start-ups to our philanthropic initiatives: we must move fast, make concentrated bets based on our convictions, have the courage to make mistakes and learn from them," Mr. Parker added.
Mr. Parker will serve as chairman and play an active role in developing the foundation's programs and partnerships. Recently, he pledged $24 million to create the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy Research at Stanford and made a $4.5 million grant to support the Malaria Elimination Initiative at the University of California San Francisco's Global Health Group.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy also notes that Parker has been donating to the foundation as well as his donor-advised fund behind-the-scenes for years in preparation and was ranked No. 5 on its Philanthropy 50 list of most generous donors for 2014.
“If you’re going to be granted tax-exempt status and your income is going to be tax-exempted in a particular vehicle, then I think you should be obligated to consume those resources within your own lifetime, barring any unforeseen tragedy, if you can,” he said. “So you’ll see me at least meeting or exceeding the totals of the Giving Pledge within my lifetime.”