MNN - Mother Nature Network

Mark Zuckerberg is making waves yet again in the world of philanthropy, announcing a donation of $500 million worth of stock to causes focused on health and education. 

 

The 28-year-old Facebook CEO transferred the shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works with donors to allocate funds according to their interests. Not surprisingly, it's the largest gift ever received by the charity — and one that CEO Emmett Carson says will change lives all around the world. "We are pleased and honored that he has chosen to continue to partner with us to help him achieve his philanthropic goals," Carson said in a statement. 

 

The $500 million is the second big gift that Zuckerberg, worth an estimated $9.4 billion, has made in the last two years. Back in 2010, he announced a $100 million donation to the crumbling Newark public school system. He immediately followed that up by agreeing to sign The Giving Pledge, an effort led by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett to commit the country's wealthiest people to step up their charitable donations.

 

"People wait until late in their career to give back. But why wait when there is so much to be done?" Zuckerberg said at the time. "With a generation of younger folks who have thrived on the success of their companies, there is a big opportunity for many of us to give back earlier in our lifetime and see the impact of our philanthropic efforts."

 

While the Silicon Valley Community Foundation's $235 million in grantmaking last year went to a majority of educational causes, the group also supports areas related to the environment, health, arts and culture.

 

"Together, we will look for areas in education and health to focus on next," Zuckerberg said in a post on Facebook. "I'm hopeful we'll be able to have as positive an impact in our next set of projects."