How Lauren Sánchez Bezos is supporting organizations fighting homelessness with $102M in grants

Author and philanthropist Lauren Sánchez Bezos joined “Good Morning America” on Monday to make an exclusive announcement for the Day 1 Families Fund, a nonprofit founded with her husband, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, that has made a $2 billion commitment in grants to nonprofits fighting homelessness.

Bezos announced the organization has committed $102.5 million in new grants this year for 32 nonprofits across the country.

“This year, we’re able to give more than $100 million — it makes a huge impact,” Bezos said of the funds, which are directed to organizations that help families “get moving in the right direction.”

“This is just the beginning,” she continued. “It’s a $2 billion commitment, so we’re gonna continue doing it. We have an incredible group of advisers on the ground — they know what communities need. We’ve been able to give to all 50 states, and they really tell us what places like the [Washington, D.C., nonprofit] Community of Hope need.”

The advisers who select the grantees are leading advocates and experts on family homelessness and its solutions, in addition to housing policy, she said.

Since 2018, the Day 1 Families Fund has given more than $852 million in grants to organizations like Community of Hope, which helps fight homelessness in the nation’s capital, particularly for pregnant women, and assists vulnerable families with everything from housing to supportive services.

Kelly Sweeney McShane, CEO of the D.C.-based charity, told “GMA” that the two grants it has received from the Day 1 Families Fund have been “transformative for families” who are dealing with vulnerable and stressful times.

“We’ve been able to use it for many of our programs, and we serve about 1,600 households a year in our housing programs, everything from preventing families becoming homeless to shelter to providing housing with supportive services,” McShane said.