Omidyar Network
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Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, and his wife, Pam, established Omidyar Network based on the belief that every person has the potential to make a difference. Founded in 2004, Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. The organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic, social, and political change. To date, Omidyar Network has committed more than $270 million to for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation across multiple investment areas, including microfinance, property rights, government transparency, and social media.
Omidyar Network sees philanthropy as more than a type of funding and as a tool for improving the lives of others, independent of the mechanism. Therefore, the organization uses a wide range of tools in its work, embracing market-based systems and open, web-enabled platforms as key means for making the world a better place.
Composed of a 501(c)(3) and a Limited Liability Company (LLC), Omidyar Network is uniquely structured to work across the social, business, and government sectors. Like a traditional foundation, it makes grants through its 501(c)(3) entity; Through its LLC, it invests in for-profit entities.[1] Inspired by the social impact of eBay, Omidyar Network's work is based on the belief that business can create extraordinary opportunity and value, and that market-based solutions can generate significant social returns. The Network recognizes sustainability, innovation, and scale as hallmarks of the private sector that are critical to addressing the global challenges we face today.
Omidyar Network has recently hired three employees in the UK, based in London. Ian Callaghan, Tanya Lobel, and Stephen King who was the former head of the BBC World Trust.
The managing partner of Omidyar Network is Matt Bannick, the former general manager of eBay International. Matt Halprin, also formerly of eBay and Sal Giambanco, formerly of Paypal have recently joined as partners.
[edit] Partners
Omidyar Network counts the following organizations as partners (April 2009):
- Ashoka
- The Balkan Financial Sector Equity Fund
- BlueOrchard Microfinance Securities I
- Bridgestar
- Catalyst Microfinance Investors
- CellBazaar
- Common Sense Media
- Comat Technologies
- Creative Commons
- Digg
- DonorsChoose
- Endeavor
- Federated Media Publishing
- Global Commercial Microfinance Consortium
- GlobalGiving
- Goodmail
- GuideStar
- International Association of Microfinance Investors (IAMFI)
- International Development Law Organization (IDLO)
- IGNIA
- KaBOOM
- Linden Lab (developer of Second Life global virtual community)
- Meetup
- Metaweb
- Microfinance Centre for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States
- Microfinance Information eXchange, Inc. (The MIX)
- Microvest
- Opportunity International
- Peer to Patent
- PRBC
- Prosper
- RDI
- Sa-Dhan
- SeaChange
- Seesmic
- Socialtext
- Solidus Investment Fund
- SONG Growth Company
- Sunlight Foundation
- The Boulder Institute of Microfinance
- The SEEP Network
- Unitus
- Unitus Equity Fund L.P.
- Virgin Money
- Wikia
- WITNESS
- World of Good
[edit] References
- ^ Guth, Robert A. (October 22, 2008). "EBay Founder's Philanthropic Firm to Donate More". The Wall Street Journal: pp. A4. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122463722341457039.html?mod=todays_us_page_one.
