David Becker/Getty ImagesDorsey, who is CEO of both Twitter and Square, announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he's created a new fund called Start Small LLC that will be funded by $1 billion in his Square equity. He said it's about 28% of his wealth.
After the coronavirus outbreak has been contained, Dorsey said, Start Small will shift its focus to funding girls' health and education, as well as universal basic income, a regular cash payment made to citizens by the government.
"Why UBI and girl's health and education? I believe they represent the best long-term solutions to the existential problems facing the world," Dorsey said in a follow-up tweet. "UBI is a great idea needing experimentation. Girl's health and education is critical to balance."
Dorsey said that having a separate LLC allows for some flexibility and specifically dedicates his shares to causes. Start Small will hand out grants directly to beneficiaries, which Dorsey said he's done in the past anonymously, to the tune of $40 million. Going forward, all the grants will be public "so I and others can learn," Dorsey said.
"Suggestions welcome. Drop your cash app ;)" Dorsey tweeted.
Dorsey will be sharing all transactions made by the fund in a public spreadsheet, beginning with $100,000, which he gave to America's Food Fund.
Start Small is funded by Square equity because Dorsey owns more shares, and he'll need to pace sales of the shares over time, he said. He decided to set up Start Small now because "the needs are increasingly urgent" and he said he wants "to see the impact in my lifetime."
"I hope this inspires others to do something similar," Dorsey said. "Life is too short, so let's do everything we can today to help people now."
I'm moving $1B of my Square equity (~28% of my wealth) to #startsmall LLC to fund global COVID-19 relief. After we disarm this pandemic, the focus will shift to girl's health and education, and UBI. It will operate transparently, all flows tracked here: https://t.co/hVkUczDQmz
- jack (@jack) April 7, 2020