With an unprecedented spiralling emergency triggered by COVID-19, a major concern of the World health Organization (WHO) was attainment of fast and flexible resources. WHO’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan estimated response costs at US $1.7 billion for overall 2020 needs and UN Foundation was asked to create a new type of fund that would tap the generosity of non-traditional donors. Within the first two weeks $100 million was raised and fund close, SRF had raised over $250 million. More than 140 companies and 660,000 individual donors from over 190 countries came forward to give a helping hand. It was a remarkable effort connecting the global philanthropy community which laid the early foundation of critical COVID-19 preparedness work. The SRF has proven that actively working in partnership is essential to tackle global issues.
With this climate crisis, there is the need for quick, scalable cost correction and philanthropic funding was critical in catalysing efforts in two of WEF’s programmes. “A Trillion Trees” challenge focuses on mobilising corporates to pledge towards large scale land restoration, tree planting and tree conservation efforts. Launched two years ago, there are now chapters in various countries such as Africa, China and India and pledges are worth 100 billion trees.
The other big focus is industry decarbonisation. WEF focuses on sectors that contribute to 30% of global emissions (such as mobility and material sectors), to help them translate net zero ambitions into action. Catalytic funding support and financing were indispensable, to put together the experts and industry peer groups needed to map out the pathway forward. WEF is forming a marketplace to help scale and accelerate progress towards climate mitigation and climate agenda.
Pathlight School, the Purple Parade and the Purple Symphony are three cornerstone projects that were built from the ground up to focus on inclusivity and to bring about awareness for the disabled, allowing them to be accepted into mainstream society. Today Pathlight School has close to 2,000 students; the Purple Parade is a collaborative effort of close to 50 disability organisations supported by 200 business corporations, and the Purple Symphony is Singapore’s largest inclusive orchestra with over 100 musicians. The Centre has identified the integration gaps and developed the Autism Enabling Masterplan, a strategic plan to uplift the autistic group through life, in hope of garnering more public awareness, philanthropic and governmental support to empower people on the spectrum in Singapore. Regardless of population size, typically approximately 5% of the population is disabled and it is therefore critical to maximise the potential of the disabled.
“Your network shouldn’t determine your net worth.”
Regardless of birthplace, Mastercard believes that individuals should be provided with access to possibilities. One example of how Mastercard looks at leveraging the assets of the firm (i.e., global network, technology, data, human and financial capital) to create social and environmental impact is Mastercard Academy 2.0. This is a partnership programme with the Indonesian government to upskill 100,000 Indonesians for the digital economy. A certification system on cybersecurity as well as skills training for small businesses and entrepreneurs were developed and the programme has now surpassed its original target, on path to 150% of goal by year end. More importantly, 85% of graduates found employment in the IT space and 20% earn more than those who have not gone through the programme. The programme has been so successful the local government is now looking to scale it up in perpetuity and sustain long term change. As a corporate, Mastercard aims to move philanthropy from transaction oriented programmatic efforts to transformation at a systemic level.