The UN Foundation was founded in 1998 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner to support the UN and serve as a strategic partner and resource for the UN in solving global problems. Ted’s goals in establishing the Foundation were to demonstrate the value of investing in the UN, encourage new partners to work with the UN, and promote strong U.S. leadership at the UN.
In our first 25 years, the Foundation mobilized over $2 billion, numerous initiatives, and countless partners to support the UN and UN causes. This support helped the UN pioneer work in areas we all now take for granted, from supporting elections to the rights of adolescent girls to our shared interest in a clean energy future for all.
Today, the Foundation focuses on mobilizing ideas, people, and resources to help the UN tackle some of the greatest collective action challenges of our time, including scaled collaboration to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the promise of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Ted Turner attends the United Nations Association dinner at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel and announces he is donating $1 billion to UN causes.
The UN Foundation is established as a nonprofit organization and is officially incorporated in the state of New York. The UN Foundation Board agrees on thematic UN issues to guide grant-making – children’s health, women and girls, climate change, biodiversity, U.S. – UN relations, and strengthening the UN.
UN and UN Foundation sign relationship agreement at UN Headquarters in New York.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan establishes the UN Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP) as an autonomous trust fund to interface with the UN Foundation.
UN Foundation funds UNICEF’s Polio Eradication Project.
UN Foundation supports Tobacco-Free Children and Youth Initiative launched in coordination with WHO Tobacco-Free Project under the directorship of Dr. Gro Brundtland.
UN Foundation partners with Rockefeller Foundation to support Dr. Gro Brundtland’s transition to Director-General at WHO.
UN Foundation launches the Global Reporting Initiative with UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to advance corporate sustainability reporting. The Foundation also funds early World Heritage initiatives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with Wildlife Conservation Society (to protect primates and parks affected by conflict) and the Galápagos Islands with Charles Darwin Foundation (to tackle invasive species).
UN Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Rotary International jointly fund major boost to Polio Eradication Initiative; UN Secretary-General facilitates ceasefire in DRC to ensure vaccinations for nine million children.
UN Foundation launches the Better World Campaign, which subsequently launches “Great Nations Pay Their Bills” to eliminate U.S. arrears to the UN.
Heads of State adopt the Millennium Declaration during the UN General Assembly with the eight Millennium Development Goals.
UN Foundation Board approves $4.2 million grant for Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (UNEP) to establish baselines for habitat and species in critical ecosystems.
UN General Assembly agrees on formula to reduce U.S. assessment; Ted Turner contributes $31 million of his personal funds to the UN to finalize the agreement, facilitating implementation of Helms-Biden formula to eliminate U.S. arrears.
UN Foundation opens first fiduciary account to accept private and government contributions for the Global Fund (later called The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria).
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and UN jointly receive Nobel Peace Prize.
UN Foundation, UNAIDS, UNFPA, WHO, and key philanthropies support Istanbul Conference examining reproductive health services and supplies in HIV/AIDS prevention and subsequently form the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition.
The Measles Initiative is launched with American Red Cross, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the UN Foundation, UNICEF, and WHO as founding partners (The Measles Initiative became the Measles & Rubella Initiative in 2012).
UN Foundation supports UN Curricula Development, making grants to New York University, Harvard University, and Stanford University to highlight in academic settings the UN’s role in advancing peace, prosperity and human rights.
UN Foundation joins with Ad Council to launch “Apathy is Lethal” public service announcement to improve awareness about the global AIDS epidemic; on December 1 (World AIDS Day) 100 cable channels run the ad simultaneously.
UN Foundation launches Fulbright Fellowship Program to offer UN internships to foreign graduate students studying in the U.S.
UN Foundation and UN Development Programme (UNDP) announce the Equator Initiative to promote village management of protected areas and biodiversity.
World Bank agrees on a first-of-its-kind debt buy-down framework within the UN Foundation and other donors to expand funding for the Polio Eradication Initiative in endemic countries.
UN Foundation Board of Directors extends mandate of UN Foundation to 2015.
Senator Timothy E. Wirth co-authors “The Future of Energy Policy” in Foreign Affairs with Energy Future Coalition members John Podesta and Boyden Gray.
UN Foundation establishes Energy Future Coalition to promote bipartisan U.S. policy solutions that promote both clean energy and reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan launches Commission on Threats, Challenges and Change to respond to emerging threats to peace and security, economic prosperity, and environmental stability. The Commission releases its report, which initiates a significant UN reform effort.
UN Foundation creates The People Speak program to highlight the importance of multilateral cooperation on peace and security and organizes 2,200 debates across the U.S.
UN Foundation launches Friends of World Heritage at World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa.
UN Foundation partners with Ceres to launch the Investor Summit on Climate Risk at the UN, the first in a biennial series.
UN Foundation launches UN Wire.
UN Foundation and Nike Foundation launch the first Fund for Adolescent Girls, with $5 million from Nike Foundation.
UN Foundation establishes partnership with Vodafone Foundation that contributes a total of $30 million to advance use of mobile phones in health surveillance and humanitarian response.
All UN member states endorse Responsibility to Protect, formally accepting the responsibility of each State to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.
UN Foundation establishes its first multi-partner alliance, the World Heritage Alliance, with Expedia, Inc. and UNESCO. During its five years, the World Heritage Alliance grew to more than three dozen members and spurred the development of internationally-recognized standards on sustainable tourism, now used by the UN World Tourism Organization.
UN Foundation, Nike Foundation, UNICEF, and UNFPA establish Coalition for Adolescent Girls.
UN Foundation establishes Nothing But Nets, a global grassroots campaign to raise awareness, funds, and voices to fight malaria.
Ban Ki-moon of South Korea becomes UN Secretary-General.
UN General Assembly creates Human Rights Council.
UN Foundation and Club of Madrid create Global Leaders for Climate Action to promote stronger climate policy; UN Foundation also partners with Ecologic to plan for 2007 UN Commission on Sustainable Development.
UN Foundation publishes “Realizing the Potential of Energy Efficiency,” an expert group assessment urging the G8 countries to commit to doubling their annual rate of energy efficiency improvement.
UN and UN Foundation revise and renew relationship agreement for 10-year term.
The UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign reaches $25 million in funds raised from more than 100,000 individuals, corporations, and foundations to purchase and distribute nearly 2.5 million long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets to areas of greatest need in Africa.
UN Foundation hosts an event focused on energy efficiency at UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) in Poznan, Poland.
UN Foundation, Italian Ministry of Environment, and FAO launch sustainable bioenergy in West African countries, illustrating how countries can incorporate bioenergy, food security, and poverty reduction into their development strategies.
UN Foundation launches the Universal Access Project to empower girls and women by improving their access to reproductive health and family planning services globally.
As a spinoff of the Technology Partnership, the UN Foundation, Vodafone Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation establish the mHealth Alliance to promote quality health and wellbeing to the furthest reaches of wireless communications and develop interoperable and scaled mobile health systems.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon establishes Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change, chaired by Kandeh Yumkella, with UN Foundation President Timothy Wirth as a founding member.
The UN Association of the USA becomes part of the UN Foundation.
UN Foundation launches the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (now the Clean Cooking Alliance), an initiative to support large-scale adoption of clean and safe household cooking solutions as a way to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and reduce climate change emissions.
The Imagine No Malaria campaign is launched by United Methodist Church in partnership with the UN Foundation.
UN Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation finalize an Anchor Partnership, building on a decade of collaboration.
UN Foundation launches Girl Up, a leadership development training program for girls united in a global movement for gender equality.
Mashable, 92Y, and UN Foundation hold first Social Good Summit to make UN Week accessible to the public. The Social Good Summit gathers digital, policy, and media leaders focused on the use of technology and social networks to solve persistent global problems.
In support of Sustainable Energy for All, UN Foundation launches the Energy Access Practitioner Network to catalyze the delivery of modern energy services, particularly decentralized solutions for rural electrification.
UN Foundation partners with Human Rights Watch to help build advocacy for increased accountability and transparency for the UN Human Rights Council’s election process.
UN Foundation launches Shot@Life Campaign to educate, connect, and empower individuals to champion global vaccines as one of the most effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries.
UN Foundation establishes Data2X, an initiative to improve the quality, availability, and use of gender data in order to make a practical difference in the lives of women and girlS.
The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) adopts “The Future We Want” declaration to set the stage for UN General Assembly consideration of the 2030 Agenda.
London Summit on Family Planning brings countries, donors, and the broader family planning community together to launch Family Planning 2020 (FP2020), an ambitious partnership centered around enabling 120 million women and girls to use modern contraceptives by 2020.
The Girl Declaration, created in partnership with 25 leading development organizations, is launched as a call to action, for girls and by girls, to put adolescent girls’ rights, needs, and voices at the heart of the post-2015 agenda.
UN Foundation begins partnership with Southern Voice on Post-MDGs Development Goals, a think tank network, to bring more evidence and data from Africa, Asia, and Latin America to the creation and adoption of the next set of development goals.
UN Foundation launches partnership with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to support release of its Fifth Assessment Report.
IPCC launches Fifth Assessment Report with broad public acceptance, a critical precursor to the Paris COP in 2015. The UN Foundation highlights report findings through a series of panels, opinion editorials and blog, and television appearances for lead author Chris Field.
In collaboration with USAID, Sida, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UN Foundation establishes DIAL, an initiative advancing an inclusive digital society in emerging markets so everyone can benefit from life-enhancing digital services.
UN and UN Foundation revise and reinstate their relationship agreement.
UN Member States adopt Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development, which aims to support achieving the SDGs.
UN Foundation launches Global Bureau initiative to help increase the capacity of journalists and media to report on global issues and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Paris Agreement on Climate Change is adopted at the UNFCCC COP in Paris, marking the first time all countries of the world sign a climate change pact.
UN Foundation launches fundraising and coalition-building partnership with UN Free & Equal campaign, a global education campaign of the UN Human Rights Office supporting the fair treatment and equal rights of LGBTI individuals globally.
UN Foundation establishes the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, a global network bringing together governments, the private sector, and civil society organizations dedicated to using the data revolution to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
UN Foundation launches “Earth To Paris” – a social media campaign reaching more than 100 million individuals to build momentum for and encourage finalization of the Paris climate talks.
2030 Agenda, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, is adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York after more than three years of negotiation. The UN Foundation offers extensive support to the process.
UN Foundation helps the UN commemorate the 70th anniversary of the UN in San Francisco.
António Guterres elected as UN Secretary-General-designate.
UN Foundation supports first World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016, training journalists on humanitarian issues, relaying reports from the Summit to policymakers and NGOs in Washington, D.C. and beyond, profiling UN humanitarian workers, and hosting events highlighting energy access, clean cooking, and gender data in humanitarian contexts.
UN Foundation agrees to host the U.S. Climate Alliance secretariat.
UN Foundation establishes 3D Program for Girls and Women, which facilitates convergent action across stakeholders and sectors to increase economic opportunities for girls and women and address their health, education and safety needs.
UN Foundation celebrates its 20th anniversary.
California Governor Jerry Brown hosts the first-ever global non-state international climate conference, the Global Climate Action Summit, in San Francisco. The UN Foundation acts as fiduciary and primary logistical and strategic partner for the organization of the event.
UN General Assembly approves reforms of the UN development system in accordance with UN Secretary-General’s proposals; Member States also reach agreement on management reforms and reform of the UN’s peace and security architecture.
The UN Foundation helps coordinate the UN’s first-ever Youth Climate Summit, which brings hundreds of young activists, innovators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers from across the globe to its headquarters in New York for intergenerational discussions on climate change.
Reacting to a once-in-a-generation pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) comes together with the UN Foundation, the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, and other partners to launch the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. The Fund raises $243 million in its first year—at one point becoming the second biggest single contributor to WHO’s global response. WHO is able to use the Fund’s resources to establish and finance a global supply chain for protective equipment, tests, and supplies.
The historic milestone comes in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and global upheaval, prompting renewed calls for a stronger, more inclusive multilateral system.
The UN Foundation and the UN partner on 75th anniversary activities, rallying the world together for dialogues, events, and a global survey that asks people from all countries and all walks of life what it will take to build a better world. The UN Foundation also partners with Upworthy and ARTECHOUSE to bring the UN’s 75th anniversary commemorations to people of all ages around the world.
The UN Foundation launches “Say It With Science,” a public awareness campaign to combat misinformation and enhance scientific understanding of climate change. The campaign complements the release of the Sixth Assessment Report of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); galvanizes action, advocacy, and commitment to climate action; and connects the world’s top climate scientists with members of the public and press.
In partnership with the Spotlight Initiative, the UN Foundation establishes the WithHer Fund to provide financial support to frontline women’s rights organizations that address gender-based violence. The Fund is guided by feminist grantmaking principles of flexibility, trust, and transparency.
The UN Foundation and Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution form a partnership to expand and connect U.S. leadership on the SDGs in communities across the country. Drawing on the experience and expertise of SDG pioneers across the United States, the project aims to help all Americans make sustainable development a reality in their own communities.
At the end of a year-long global listening exercise initiated by world leaders and supported by the UN Foundation, Secretary-General Guterres presents “Our Common Agenda,” his vision for reimagining multilateralism in the 21st century. The report proposes a path forward centered around a renewal of our social contract, greater solidarity with young people, and a new global deal.
The UN Foundation honors the legacy of the late biologist Dr. Thomas Lovejoy (1941-2021), known as the “Godfather of Biodiversity” for his work in the field, by launching a press fellowship in his memory. The fellowship brings global journalists to the research camp he founded in the Amazon rainforest, putting biodiversity and climate research in headlines across the planet. From 2010 until his passing, Dr. Lovejoy served as a Senior Fellow at the UN Foundation.
