In This Newsletter

Global Conference Highlights
Program Updates
Reports and Resources
MI Philanthropy and Partners in the News

MI Philanthropy’s Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC) and our partners have deployed $30 million toward major research initiatives this year, advancing the trajectory of biomedical research to advance human health for the long term.

Tambourine, together with SPARC, announced the first cohort of awardees for the ALS Breakthrough Research Fund; the Biswas Family Foundation, in collaboration with SPARC, announced $14 million in funding to teams using AI for translational research; and Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD²), an initiative launched and led by MI Philanthropy in partnership with a consortium of philanthropists, convened all of the scientists, researchers, and clinicians who have thus far received funding. One of SPARC’s major efforts over the next few months is to build a cohort of funders who wish to use AI tools intentionally to transform human health. Learn more here.

Among the milestones since our last update: The Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize Program announced the winners of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy and launched the Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech. Congratulations to the winners and finalists.

Global Conference Highlights

MI Philanthropy’s 19 public and private sessions at this year’s conference featured 59 speakers who participated in thought-provoking discussions about breakthroughs in scientific discovery, corporate philanthropy, and collaborations for improved mental health. AI and its increasing prevalence across all areas of research and clinical care featured prominently. All sessions can be streamed from the MI website.

Announcing the Winners of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy
And the winner is… Aftrak! Congratulations to this UK- and Malawi-based company that took home the $1 million Grand Prize for its easily assembled solar microgrid and custom-designed tractors. Its innovation helps farmers triple their agricultural yield, increase incomes, and provide electricity to remote communities. The Runner-Up award of $250,000 was presented to South Africa-based OMNIVAT for its containerized electricity generation and storage system, which provides clean water, clean energy, and Wi-Fi enriched by virtual reality support for remote communities. Last year’s winner, Diana Orembe of NovFeed, presented the award. Want to know more about the winners and finalists? Our YouTube series highlights the finalist companies and their innovations.

Dr. Patrice Motsepe, (left) with Milken Motsepe Prize in Green Energy Grand Prize Winners Carl Telford, PhD, and Jonathan Wilson, PhD, from Aftrak, Runner-Up winners Randy Kabuya and Deney van Rooyen from OMNIVAT, Milken Institute Chairman Mike Milken, and Emily Musil Church, PhD, senior director, MI Philanthropy (right) at the Milken Institute Global Conference

Pathways to Curing Neurodegenerative Disease
Philanthropists are working across disciplines in the science and health ecosystem to drive awareness and bolster resources to manage neurodegenerative diseases. This panel brought together philanthropic leaders poised to take action and invest in tools to prevent and treat devastating brain illnesses.

From left, MI Philanthropy’s Emily Baxi, with Patrick Brannelly, CEO, The 10,000 Brains Project, Kristin Holloway, Board of Directors, Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, Ali Rezai, executive chair, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University, and Ari Simon, president, Tambourine Philanthropies

Preventing Gun Violence
Continuing the Institute’s effort to advance action to prevent gun violence, CEO Rich Ditizio moderated a discussion featuring philanthropic, governmental, tech, and nonprofit leaders whose tireless work is leading to marked progress. In addition, a private session at Global Conference examined the role of philanthropic and private capital to drive progress on gun violence prevention. These events came on the heels of the first-ever Milken Institute Innovation Forum on Preventing Gun Violence, which was held in October 2023 in San Francisco. The Milken Institute Gun Violence Prevention Initiative will continue its work with further convenings, programs, and thought leadership in 2024, including the publication of a report highlighting high-impact, evidence-based opportunities for philanthropic, financial, and corporate action to prevent gun violence in the US, in partnership with the Joyce Foundation.

Milken Institute CEO Richard Ditizio (left) in conversation with Ellen Alberding, president and CEO, The Joyce Foundation (center), and Ralph Clark, president and CEO, SoundThinking, Inc. (left)

The Philanthropic Investors’ Forum
The third Philanthropic Investors’ Forum at the Milken Institute Global Conference brought together 80+ philanthropy leaders for a day of learning and connection to foster greater collaboration across the sector. In the plenaries, individuals told the stories of their philanthropic journeys and how they chose their areas of investment. Breakout sessions delved deep into approaches to improve lives and livelihoods in communities being served, paradigms of giving to enhance impact, and the value of place-based philanthropy. Speakers included Jeffrey Katzenberg, former chairman, Walt Disney Studio, founding partner, WndrCo; Toyin Saraki, founder and president, The Wellbeing Foundation Africa; Justin Rockefeller, chairman and co-founder, The ImPact; and David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman, Carlyle Group.

Toyin Saraki, founder and president, The Wellbeing Foundation Africa (left), and Jeffrey Katzenberg, former chairman, Walt Disney Studio, at the Philanthropic Investors Forum opening plenary

Philanthropy Leadership Collective
Two MI Philanthropy Leadership Collective (PLC) groups convened for private sessions at this year’s Global Conference. The SPARC PLC examined AI’s current and future role in philanthropic endeavors focused on medical research and care, and the corporate PLC featured a provocative discussion on how companies align their business and philanthropy models to meet challenging moments.

Be Sure to Watch

• Transformative Philanthropy and Innovation: MI Philanthropy Executive Vice President Melissa Stevens spoke with Pablo Legoretta, CEO and founder, Royalty Pharma; Strive Masiyiwa, founder and executive chairman, Econet Group, and co-founder, Higherlife Foundation; Louise Richardson, president, The Carnegie Corporation of New York; and Mark Walter, CEO, Guggenheim Partners about what brought them to philanthropy and the models they’ve used to achieve their vision.

• Genes, Galaxies, and Groundbreaking Discoveries: Engineering New Advances in Modern Science: Fast Company’s Susan Karlin spoke with Steve Altemus, president and CEO, Intuitive Machines, LLC; Cara Altimus, managing director, MI Philanthropy SPARC; Josh Denny, CEO, All of Us Research Program, National Institutes of Health; Reed Jobs, founder, Yosemite; Kathryn North, director, Murdoch Children's Research Institute; and David Danks professor of child health research, University of Melbourne about high-profile historical scientific breakthroughs and the focused research that is making future breakthroughs possible.

• Is AI Paving the Way for the Next Scientific Revolution? Rick Berke, co-founder and executive editor, STAT, spoke with Ramin Bastani, CEO, Healthvana; Sanjit Biswas, founder, Biswas Family Foundation; Caroline Chung, vice president and chief data officer, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; and Beth Meagher, vice chair, US Federal Health Sector Leader, Deloitte about the ways in which AI is being used to streamline medical research and care and the need for intentional investment for such tools to achieve the intended impact.

• How Corporate Philanthropy Meets the Moment: Alex Witt of NBC News moderated a discussion among Michelle Armstrong, president, Ares Charitable Foundation; Tia Hodges, president and CEO, MetLife Foundation; Justin Steele, director, Google.org Americas; and Dalila Wilson-Scott, executive vice president and chief diversity officer, Comcast Corporation, and president, Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation about how today’s corporate leaders deal with increased scrutiny and potential backlash, and shape their strategies to meet the challenges at hand.

• Collaborating for Improved Mental Health: Alice Park, senior health correspondent, TIME, spoke with Katherine Burdick, scientific director, Integrated Network, BD²; Doug Drysdale, CEO, Cybin; Todd Golub, director and founding core member, Broad Institute; Alaa Halawa, head of health care and executive director, US Ventures, Mubadala Capital; and Katya Hancock, founding executive director, Young Futures, about how partnerships are facilitating rapid progress for mental health.

Program Updates

Open for Registration: The Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech
The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation officially launched the next Milken-Motsepe Prize at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference on May 6, 2024. The Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech will award innovative companies that best demonstrate the use of cutting-edge technologies to expand access to capital and financial services for small businesses in emerging and frontier markets. The prize purse is $2 million, with a $1 million Grand Prize for the winning company. Registration is free and open to anyone around the world.

This is the third Milken-Motsepe Prize, launched in partnership between the Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation. The program incentivizes the development of technological solutions that accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa.

Inaugural Cohort of ALS Breakthrough Awardees Announced
Tambourine Philanthropies and MI Philanthropy SPARC announced eight research teams selected to receive funding through Tambourine’s ALS Breakthrough Research Fund. Tambourine has committed over $5 million to teams from around the world to conduct basic and discovery-focused research aiming to change how we understand and treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This fund was designed to support creative, bold ideas that hold the potential to generate breakthrough insights and attract new talent, tools, and ideas to tackle ALS.

New Frontiers in Health: Transformative Computational Biology Awardees Announced
The Biswas Family Foundation and MI Philanthropy SPARC announced the research teams selected to receive funding in the first cycle of the Transformative Computational Biology Grant Program. Almost $14 million has been awarded to teams using computational tools across a range of focus areas, including cardiovascular disease diagnosis, precision oncology therapies, enhancement of clinical datasets, and drug repurposing systems.

Breakthrough Discoveries for thriving with Bipolar Disorder

Two years ago, philanthropic leaders united with the Milken Institute, embarked on a journey, and launched BD², a first-of-its-kind initiative focused on bipolar disorder. In March, BD² convened all the inaugural funded scientists, researchers, and clinicians who are working toward therapeutics and improved care for bipolar disorder. In early May, recognizing the need for a strong workforce and the effect of increasing childcare costs on retention in the research space, BD² also launched a new Care & Career Program. The program will reimburse up to $10,000 per household per year to cover childcare expenses for researchers within the BD² network.

Reports and Resources

Transformative Computational Biology: A Giving Smarter Guide: Vast amounts of data are continually being generated, and the application of computational tools such as AI and machine learning could revolutionize how to study, prevent, and treat disease. However, specific challenges must be overcome before the promise of these tools to help people live longer and healthier lives can be fully realized. In 2023, the Biswas Family Foundation partnered with MI Philanthropy SPARC to review the computational biology field and identify areas where philanthropy could advance the integration of computational tools in biomedical research and clinical care. This guide synthesized the findings and is the basis of the Biswas Family Foundation’s Transformative Computational Biology Grant Program, which is focused on accelerating the use of computational approaches in translational research and clinical settings to improve the well-being and health of the global community.

Philanthropic Mechanisms: A Guidebook for Donors: This resource offers an overview of a variety of available philanthropic vehicles and funding tools and offers practical considerations on how to get started and what to know when engaging with various modalities. Knowledge is power—and a deeper understanding of the available philanthropic options can remove the mystery and confusion around putting philanthropic capital to work.

Electricity Access in Africa: Why a Green Energy Competition? There are many challenges surrounding access to reliable, affordable energy in Africa. While much progress has been made, nearly 600 million people experience recurrent outages, and many others rely on costly and often dangerous generators to meet their daily needs. The market is ripe for disruption, which is why the Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation partnered to launch the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy. This report synthesizes the challenges and opportunities surrounding access to electricity and lays out the process behind the design of the prize.

The Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech Impact Review: This web page highlights the measurable results of the Institute’s first innovation competition. During the rigorous competition, teams received 900 hours of mentoring and data evaluation support and participated in a tuition-free entrepreneurship course from Stanford Online and Global Innovation Catalyst. Since the winners were announced at Global Conference in 2023, teams have grown their companies, won awards, and secured more than $5 million in additional funding.

MI Philanthropy and Our Partners in the News

• STAT News published an article following the Global Conference panel on AI’s role in research and medical care.

• The Kenya Times published an article highlighting the winners of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy. For a full list of coverage, visit https://milkenmotsepeprize.org/news/.

• Executive Vice President Melissa Stevens and Director John Schellhase authored an article for the Milken Institute Review about the important value corporate capital adds to the philanthropic ecosystem.

• BD² scientific steering committee member Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD, wrote a moving STAT editorial calling on researchers, clinicians, and society at large to pay attention to people who experience bipolar disorder to help shape research and care.

• Melissa Stevens and Visa Foundation President Graham McMillan spoke with Alberto Lidji for the Do One Better podcast. The discussion focused on the nuanced challenges corporate philanthropy faces and how to work with other sectors to meet the needs of the communities they wish to serve.

• Stevens authored a Giving Compass article about the need to set aside funding for conservation philanthropy.

• MI Philanthropy Associate Director Quinton Banks, PhD, authored a Giving Compass article about how research progress in rare disease fields builds and can advance other research areas.