A year ago, a call went out to Americans to join a simple yet powerful pledge: Share the American Dream. The pledge asked participants to support organizations effectively helping those in need today, and within five years, to dedicate time or funds toward longer-term efforts to keep the American Dream fair and attainable for future generations.
The Inspiration Behind the Pledge
The driving force behind this initiative is a deep-seated belief in a quote from Mary Gates: “From those to whom much is given, much is expected.” Those ten words have guided a family’s philanthropic journey. As one partner, Betsy, recently explained, “We have everything we need. How do we make sure everybody has what they need? Because that’s the basic thing — a comfortable place to live, enough to eat, healthcare. If you have the basics, you’re in a good place in life, and everybody should have that opportunity.”
Since 2021, the question “When, exactly, is enough?” has been a recurring theme. The answer: when everyone shares in the basics.
Immediate Donations: $21 Million in Action
In January 2025, the pledge made headlines with $1 million donations to eight nonprofit charities. But the urgency of immediate needs soon became overwhelming, prompting an additional $13 million in contributions within just a few months — bringing the total to $21 million. Below is the full breakdown of these immediate donations.
Donation Recipients and Amounts
- Team Rubicon — $1,000,000
- Children’s Hunger Fund — $1,000,000
- PEN America — $1,000,000
- The Trevor Project — $1,000,000
- NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund — $1,000,000 + $100,000
- First Generation Investors — $1,000,000
- Global Refuge — $1,000,000
- Planned Parenthood — $1,000,000
- VoteVets — $2,000,000
- Mastodon — $1,500,000
- 404 Media — $1,100,000
- Ryan Broderick / Garbage Day — $1,000,000
- Internet Archive — $1,000,000
- Common Crawl Foundation — $1,000,000
- Wikipedia / Wikimedia Foundation — $1,000,000
- Internet Security Research Group — $1,000,000
- DNA Lounge — $1,000,000
- Murena — $500,000
- Sharewell — $300,000
- Precious Plastic — $100,000
- Economic Security Project — $100,000
- Rural Democracy Initiative — $100,000
- Civic Nation — $100,000
- Sojourn Project — $750,000
- Alameda Food Bank — $150,000
- Urban Compassion Project — $75,000
Beyond Firefighting: A Long-Term Vision
Reactive, short-term giving alone cannot address systemic challenges. As one advocate put it, “You can’t take a completely short-term view and fight each individual fire reactively, as it comes. You’ll never stop firefighting.” That’s why the Share the American Dream pledge also emphasizes long-term commitments — fire abatement, not just firefighting. The next five years will see public dedications of time or funds toward sustainable solutions that keep the dream alive for all children.
How to Join the Movement
The pledge remains open to every American. To participate, simply commit to two actions: support organizations you believe are effectively helping those most in need right now, and within the next five years, contribute public dedications of time or funds toward longer-term efforts. As the original call concluded, “Stay gold, America.”