History

Goldman Sachs Gives Epitomizes Culture of Giving Back

ThemeS: Service | Culture

In 2007, Goldman Sachs launches a donor advised fund, Goldman Sachs Gives, to which partners recommend nonprofit organizations to receive grants. 

In keeping with the firm’s long tradition of philanthropy among its people, in 2007 Goldman Sachs formed a donor advised fund, Goldman Sachs Gives. Through this fund, the firm’s current and retired senior-level employees work together to recommend grants to qualifying nonprofit organizations.

Since its inception, Goldman Sachs Gives has made more than US$1.5 billion in grants and partnered with 6,000 nonprofits in 90 countries around the world. In selecting grant recipients, the firm encourages employees to prioritize those that foster innovative ideas, solve economic and social issues, and enable progress in underserved communities globally.

Through the fund, the firm has lent support to causes including the Syrian refugee crisis, research for childhood brain cancer, providing summer employment opportunities to underserved youth in urban areas in the United States, social welfare programs in Asia, and innovative microfinance platforms globally.

In an effort to involve more junior employees in the activities of Goldman Sachs Gives, in 2016 the firm launched the Analyst Impact Fund. In this global competition, teams of Goldman Sachs analysts collaborate with peers across the firm to secure a grant for a nonprofit organization of the team’s choosing. This competition, since held annually, is sponsored by senior leaders on the firm’s Partnership Committee, to whom finalists present their proposals.

Goldman Sachs Gives underscores Goldman Sachs’ commitment to the communities around the world in which its employees live and work through diversified and impactful giving, harnessing the collaborative spirit of the firm’s partnership and inspiring the firm’s next generation of philanthropists.

 

This article was originally published as part of a series commemorating the 150th anniversary of Goldman Sachs' founding in 1869.