Program: Why Bill Gates Partners With Rotary To Eradicate Polio

Posted on Jun 14, 2019

Why Bill Gates Partners With Rotary To Eradicate Polio

by Devin Thorpe
Champion of Social Good | Bestselling Author | Educator | Speaker

Published in Forbes - May 31, 2019

Devin Thorpe calls himself a champion of social good. As an author, educator and keynote speaker he focuses on those doing good in the world. As a Forbes Contributor, he covers social entrepreneurship and impact investing. Past president of the National Speakers Association Mountainwest Chapter, he shares inspiring insights to help others do more good. His books on personal finance and crowdfunding draw on his entrepreneurial finance experience as an investment banker, CFO, treasurer, and mortgage broker helping people use financial resources to do good. He recognizes blockchain and crypto will change the world. Previously he worked on the U.S. Senate Banking committee staff and earned an MBA at Cornell. Visit devinthorpe.com to learn more.

“When I asked Bill Gates, 63, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, why polio, he began, "Polio is a terrible disease." An hour later, speaking to a group of Rotarians in Spokane, Washington, he said, ‘You know, we're going to get to the end of this and Rotary will be the reason that will happen.’

Before continuing, I must note I am a Rotarian who has occasionally been paid to speak at Rotary events. Even for me-perhaps especially for me-the pairing of the Gates Foundation with Rotary seems unlikely, almost akin to the well-known viral story of the elephant who befriended a dog.

The Gates Foundation has nearly 40 times the assets of the Rotary Foundation's $1.25 billion. While Rotary engages in a variety of global public health initiatives it does not have the expertise of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization or UNICEF-the three organizations that round out the five key members of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.”

Read the full Forbes article here: http://bit.ly/devinandbill.

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