Dear Commons Community,

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, on the occasion of the birth of their daughter,  announced the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a nonprofit that will look “to join people across the world to advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation. Our initial areas of focus will be personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities.”

Zuckerberg had already committed to The Giving Pledge, a promise signed by wealthy individuals to donate most of their fortune. He said that the couple would be donating 99% of their Facebook shares to the cause, currently worth around $45 billion.

The new initiative follows on other major philanthropic efforts by Zuckerberg including a $20 million donation to provide public high schools with high speed Internet, a $75 million donation to a San Francisco hospital and $100 million to the Newark school system.

Congratulations to Mr. Zuckerberg and his wife.

Tony