©$year Pivotal Ventures
About Pivotal
We’re focused on
creating lasting change.
Founded by Melinda French Gates, Pivotal is a group of organizations working to accelerate the pace of social progress for women and young people in the U.S. and around the world. We use philanthropy, investments, and advocacy to drive momentum where we see the biggest opportunities for impact.
Photo courtesy of Pivotal
Renata Aráuz-DeStefano speaking on a panel at the Growth Warrior Capital Summit in 2023.
Photo by Marlena Sloss for Pivotal
Melinda French Gates joins an AI learning session with Terah Lyons (left) and Dr. Lan Xuezhao (right).
Photo by Katie Hayes Luke for Pivotal
(left to right) Kelsey Noonan, Emily Weinstein, Katya Hancock, and Kyra Kyles on stage at Pivotal's SXSW 2024 panel, "Teens, Screens & Wellbeing."
Photo by Kate Green for Pivotal
Celiné Justice speaks to attendees during a private breakfast, alongside Skoll World Forum in Oxford, England, on April 1, 2025.
Photo by Martina Machackova for Pivotal
Brooke D. Anderson speaks with colleagues at Pivotal’s 2025 staff retreat.
Photo by Martina Machackova for Pivotal
Paul Silva speaks with colleagues during a panel discussion at Pivotal’s 2025 staff retreat.
Photo by Jenny Jimenez for Pivotal
(left to right) Erin Harkless Moore and Haven Ley during a team meeting.
"We see expanding women's power and influence not as a single issue but rather as a prerequisite to progress for everyone on more or less every issue."
Our Story
Melinda French Gates founded Pivotal in 2015 to advance progress on issues that matter to women and families.
So far, Melinda French Gates has committed $2 billion to expanding women’s power and influence.
Expanding women’s power and influence benefits everyone by putting more women in positions where they can make decisions, control resources, and shape policies and perspectives.
Philanthropy
Investments
Advocacy
“For too long, a lack of money has forced organizations fighting for women's rights into a defensive posture while the enemies of progress play offense. I want to help even the match.” Melinda French Gates
Our Leadership
Melinda French Gates
Melinda has spent more than two decades working with a wide range of partners to build a world where every person has the chance to reach their full potential.
When it comes to solving some of society’s biggest, most complicated problems, it helps to have a lot of tools in your toolbox. That’s why Pivotal bridges the worlds of philanthropy, advocacy, and venture capital.
Since our founding in 2015, we've used different kinds of funding to achieve our mission to advance social progress—including philanthropic grantmaking, advocacy funding, and venture capital investments. Pivotal includes Pivotal Philanthropies, focused on charitable grantmaking and impact investing; Pivotal Initiatives Fund, focused on policy and advocacy work; and Pivotal Ventures, focused on direct investments and partnerships.
