Development Co‑operation Profiles: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Table of contents
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is a U.S.-based foundation established in 2000 by Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of Intel, and his wife, Betty I. Moore.
Driven by the founders’ vision, this foundation aims to create positive outcomes for future generations through scientific discovery, environmental conservation and patient care. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation focuses on both local and international causes. Development-related grantmaking is primarily administered through its Environmental Conservation Program.
This profile presents verified data on development assistance allocation. See the Development Co-operation Profiles.
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation provided USD 74.1 million for development in 2023 through its grantmaking activities. Compared to 2022, this amount represents a decrease of 23.2% in real terms. Grants represented 100% of the gross disbursements of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
In 2023, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation channelled its bilateral development finance mainly through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (USD 67.2 million) and universities, research institutes or think-tanks (USD 3 million).
In 2023, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation provided USD 2 million to the multilateral system, representing 2.7% of its total development finance. All of these contributions were earmarked for specific countries, regions, themes or purposes and were channelled through United Nations (UN) funds and programmes.
The UN system received USD 2 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in 2023, all to UNEP.
See the section on Geographic and thematic focus of ODA for the breakdown of bilateral allocations, including ODA earmarked through the multilateral development system.
In 2023, civil society organisations (CSOs) received USD 67.2 million of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s gross bilateral finance, of which 45.5% was directed to developing country-based CSOs. Overall, 90.7% was earmarked to specific projects or programmes, while none of these contributions were allocated to CSOs as core support. From 2022 to 2023, the combined core and earmarked contributions for CSOs increased as a share of bilateral ODA, from 74.2% to 90.7%.
Learn more about the DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Aid.
In 2023, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s development finance was primarily focused on Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa. USD 64.6 million was allocated to Latin America and the Caribbean and USD 2.7 million to Africa, accounting respectively for 87.1% and 3.7% of gross bilateral development finance. A sum of USD 3.6 million (4.9%) was unspecified by region in 2023, mainly including multi-regional programmes, core support and research grants.
In 2023, 78.8% of gross development finance went to the top 10 recipients, most notably Brazil and Peru.
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation allocated the highest share (76.8%) of its bilateral development finance to upper middle-income countries in 2023, followed by lower middle-income countries (2.2%), noting that USD 15.5 million (20.9%) was unallocated by income group.
Furthermore, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation allocated USD 1.6 million of its development finance to land-locked developing countries in 2023.
In 2023, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s largest allocations went to multi-sector. Investments in this area accounted for 77% of bilateral commitments (USD 57.1 million), with a strong focus on general environmental protection. Bilateral contributions allocated to production sectors amounted to USD 16.9 million, while those allocated to social infrastructure and services totalled USD 200 thousand.
In 2023, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation committed the largest shares of its contributions to SDG 15 (life on land), SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production) and SDG 2 (zero hunger) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Contributions to SDG 13 (climate action) totalled USD 2.9 million.
Access the full list of providers at this link: Development Co-operation Profiles.
Official website: https://www.moore.org
The methodological notes provide further details on the definitions and statistical methodologies applied, including the grant-equivalent methodology, core and earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations, country programmable aid, channels of delivery, bilateral ODA unspecified/unallocated, bilateral allocable ODA, the gender equality policy marker, and the environment markers.
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