Despite the fact that many people have a downer of Bill Gates, there is little doubt that his companies have played a central role in driving human progress forward in the last three decades. But what many people fail to take into consideration is that Microsoft Inc represents just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Gates’ value to humanity. Whatever you think about Gates and his wife Melinda, the brilliance of their philanthropic work cannot be denied.

Formed in 2000, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest private foundation in the world. It was set up to help some world’s most impoverished and vulnerable people find ways to improve their standard of living. To date, Bill Gates has given away a staggering $50 billion channeled through the foundation to projects dealing with issues ranging from health and sanitation to education and literacy.

Here are a few initiatives that the foundation has gained praise for.

Global Citizen

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Citizen is an initiative that provides a space for activists to take actions to aid a number of causes. It is a form of an online community that anyone can join designed to foment learning on global issues and the best ways to resolve some of the most important challenges facing the world today. If you are wondering how to sign up for the Gates Foundation, the best way to do it is by becoming a Global Citizen.

Global Health Division

One of the most important pieces of work that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has done is in the area of malaria research. Malaria killed approximately 435,000 people in 2017. Many of these deaths occurred in the developing world and could have been prevented if only the communities had had access to adequate means of preventing and treating infection. While the number of malaria deaths has more than halved since 2000 in no small part due to the work of the foundation’s Global Health Division, the work is not finished yet.

Global Development Division

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is focused on helping people whose personal circumstances are dictated by the impoverished situations that they are born into. The Global Development Division of the foundation works to identify issues and bankroll the institution of high-impact solutions with the aim of reducing inequities in health and education to give disadvantaged groups the opportunity to live healthy and productive lives. The Global Development Division works by supporting and expanding innovative approaches to emergency response, family planning, literacy, integrated health service delivery, nutrition and maternal care, so they get to the neediest people.

Volunteering Opportunities

If you are wondering how to become a Gates Foundation volunteer, you should know that foundation does not currently offer its own volunteer programs. If you are desperate to help out, the best way of getting involved is to sign up for positions with the organizations that receive funding to carry out the aims of the foundation.