Facebook Inc COO Donates $100M In Stock Through Donor-Advised Fund

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Facebook COO and billionaire Sheryl Sandberg has put more than $100 million worth of her stock into a fund for philanthropic donations. Her donation aims to alleviate poverty and improve rights for women, reports the Financial Times.

Facebook COO transfers shares to donor-advised fund

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Facebook COO has transferred 880,000 shares worth $103 million (at Wednesday’s price) into a donor-advised fund. The fund is controlled by Fidelity, but it gives Sandberg the chance to steer the money where she wants.

Citing people familiar with Sandberg’s plans, Recode said the COO aims to donate to anti-poverty organizations like Second Harvest Food Bank, grief organizations like Kara, and women’s empowerment groups like Lean In. Citing people familiar with the matter, the Financial Times says the donation, which will be put in a fund renamed “the Sheryl Sandberg & Dave Goldberg Family Foundation,” will be used to fund OptionB.org and LeanIn.org.

On Tuesday, Sandberg wrote on Facebook that she supports organizations fighting against hunger, including her local food bank, Second Harvest Food Bank, where she and her children volunteer, and Feeding America, a network of food banks.

“This is a cause close to my heart,” she wrote. “Forty-two million people in the US — including 13 million children — may face an empty plate this holiday season.”

Sandberg always up for social causes

Last year, Sandberg lost her husband Dave Goldberg, a beloved Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Now she is writing a book entitled Option B, which is about grief, and founding an eponymous organization to assist people coping with the loss of loved ones. This is not the first huge philanthropic push by Sandberg, but it is her largest. The Facebook COO put aside about $31 million last year for similar causes.

Sandberg has been Facebook’s COO since before it went public. She has also signed the Giving Pledge, which is signed by billionaires who vow to donate the majority of their wealth to charity within their own lifetime. Outside her duties at the social media giant, she became famous for her book Lean In which is about women’s empowerment at work.

Last year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative with his wife Priscilla Chan shortly after the birth of their first child. The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative focuses on connecting people, curing disease and personalized learning.

Also Facebook collaborated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to match up to $1 million in donations raised by fundraising campaigns on the tech giant with around $1,000 for each fundraiser.

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