Next year, the world will reach an important milestone: the 50/50 moment, when half of the world’s population will be online. Thirty years after Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web, it makes a huge difference in people’s lives—whether it’s the chance to access a world of information, to improve their education, develop new skills, or build new businesses.

For all the billions of people that are already online, there are billions more who aren’t benefiting from the economic potential of the world wide web, or its wider promise—the ability to exercise fundamental human rights such as access to information and free expression.

At Google, we’re working to expand both access and opportunity to people around the world. In India, for example, every month, more than 8 million people use Google’s public Wi-Fi program, Google Station, to get online and access job training material or educational resources. And around the world we’re working with Learning Equality to help them close the education gap caused by limitations in access to the internet.  

Alongside this progress, advancements made in technology and the vast scale of the web present challenges, too—whether combating illegal content, preventing misuse of personal information, or ensuring that the benefits of the technology are widely shared. These challenges require thoughtful solutions, and for many years we’ve worked with governments, civil society groups, academics and our users to find the right way forward—toward a web that builds on the best in humanity and challenges the worst.

As we approach the 50/50 moment, we support the World Wide Web Foundation’s call to create a new Contract for the Web. Over the coming months, we’ll work with the World Wide Web Foundation and many other partners from government and business, as well as web users around the world, to draw up principles that protect the open web as a public good and a basic right for everyone. We’re also backing up that commitment with a one million dollar Google.org grant to the World Wide Web Foundation so that it can continue to drive forward its important work #ForTheWeb.

When I was a kid, I was in awe of first responders. At 15, I joined the Youth Corps of my hometown ambulance squad to learn First Aid. When the crew answered an emergency call, I rode in the ambulance with them. The best part was when we came to a stop. Once the doors of the ambulance opened, what happened next could be life changing.

Millions of brave women and men make their living or volunteer their time helping people in crisis, often risking their lives in the process, not once, but over and over—floods, traffic accidents, or pulling someone to safety from a burning building. For the average person, it could be devastating to experience just one of those events in a lifetime. For a first responder, that could be any day of the week. That’s why I’m excited to be part of Google’s announcement today, especially in light of the series of recent natural disasters in the US and around the world.

We wanted to find a meaningful way to thank first responders, one that would be as valuable to them as their work has been to us. From our research and from talking to organizations that work with these men and women, we know that being brave and strong doesn’t mean first responders aren’t impacted by the stress of their jobs. Many first responders struggle with the memories of those they didn’t save or the traumas they witnessed.

The First Responder Support Network (FRSN) was developed by and for first responders. Their goal is to provide education and assistance to those still recovering from incidents that impact their day-to-day life and thoughts, such as a child who didn’t make it or a wounded colleague.

Pat Green, FRSN.org’s executive director, told my colleague at Google: “It’s hard for a first responder to ask for help. I know this from personal experience. Together with our volunteers we provide understanding, hope, and a community of care, letting others know they don’t have to walk this journey alone."

FRSN’s one-week residential programs offer first responders access to counselors attuned to their unique experiences with a 2:1 ratio of volunteer peers who can share how they coped with similar situations. The waiting list for these programs is up to six months long.

Today we are granting $1 million to help the First Responder Support Network extend the reach of its programs. We will help expand its operations in Missouri, Arizona and Oregon, as well as help them open in two new locations by 2020. In addition, we will fund 80 scholarships for first responders who might not otherwise be able to attend the program.

I consider it a privilege to have worked side by side with first responders from my years as emergency medical services (EMS) volunteer to my recent work with the Google.org Crisis Connectivity program. Now I want to say thank you to first responders for all you do to keep our communities safe.

As a seventh grade teacher in rural Mississippi, Michelle Brown's serious love for teaching was only matched by her serious lack of resources. Frustrated by trying to teach with outdated books, she turned to technology to find a solution. She built CommonLit in 2014 to help teachers like her better address the unique needs of students at different reading levels. A free online reading program, CommonLit combines high-quality reading materials with guiding questions, assessments, and data analytics for teachers and students. In the handful of years since launching, CommonLit has created a more personalized and engaging classroom reading experience for more than 5 million students from Wichita to New Delhi to Johannesburg, helping them become more confident and skilled readers.

Since 2005, Google.org has given more than $250 million toward education with over $60 million going directly to nonprofits that serve teachers, and we’re proud to continue building on this commitment. Today, in honor of World Teachers’ Day, we’re announcing a $3.5 million grant to CommonLit to help expand their free, literacy resources to more teachers around the globe. To start, they’re collaborating with local education organizations like UNETE to pilot a Spanish-language version of their platform in schools across Mexico with a goal of adding 500 reading lessons in Spanish for students by June 2020. From there, they’ll continue to explore other opportunities to expand to even more countries, classrooms and teachers.

Technology alone can’t solve all of the challenges teachers face, but it can be a meaningful tool for closing educational gaps like access to quality, engaging learning materials. We’re proud that over the years, we’ve supported a number of organizations that are teacher-obsessed. From DonorsChoose.org, a crowd-funding platform for U.S. public school teachers to get classroom resources, to Nova Escola’s digital teacher lesson plans in Brazil, to the TeacherApp in India, we are committed to supporting and cheering on teachers for the dedication they show to their students day in and day out.

Consider recognizing a teacher in your life by donating to a nonprofit in their honor today and sharing your #WorldTeachersDay story about someone who has inspired you to keep learning.

Two years ago, Shoniqua Kemp was unemployed, homeless and living in a broken car with her 12-year-old daughter. It would have been easy to give in to despair, but Shoniqua had a conversation that would change the trajectory of her life. A friend told her about a nonprofit that was empowering people like her to escape poverty. Shoniqua was skeptical; it didn’t sound like the other assistance programs she knew. Nonetheless, she decided to attend the next meeting of the Family Independence Initiative (FII). She wanted a better life for her daughter.

FII was founded in 2001 on the belief that low-income families can decide for themselves the best solutions to improve their lives, especially when guided by their own data. We believe in this approach, too, which is why Google.org is continuing our commitment to FII with over $2 million in new grants, and a team of full-time Google engineers who are lending their technical expertise.

The fundamental components of FII’s approach are monthly group meetings and detailed journaling. For two years, each family keeps track of their goals, financial information and what academics would call “social capital exchange,” which are behaviors like helping one another with childcare or letting a neighbor borrow a car for a job interview. Families share this information on FII’s web platform called Uptogether.

Each family sets its own economic and social mobility goals, which might be buying a home or continuing a child’s education. By filling out journals, attending group meetings to share solutions, and receiving a $100/month stipend for doing both, they create a virtuous circle, reinforcing the habits of success. Over the two year life that families participate, they can earn up to $3,200.

“I already had a circle of friends and, growing up, I kept a diary,” Shoniqua told us. “I wasn’t sure how the program was going to help.” But then she started getting the FII reports, which turned her monthly data into graphic charts, visual proof of progress. “There, in black and white, I could see all the positive things I was doing. It changed how I saw myself.”

In 2015, we helped FII in California expand from 100 to 1,000 families. After two years, the families increased their income by 22 percent, their savings quadrupled and they decreased their reliance on government subsidies, such as food stamps, by 55 percent.

We want to keep the momentum going. Last week, we announced a $2 million grant to bring FII to Chicago, and today, along with the St. David’s Foundation, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, and the Harold Simmons Family Foundation, we’re helping expand FII to Austin, with a total commitment of $1.3 million.  

In addition, for six months full-time, a group of six Googlers will build a tool that uses natural language processing to analyze the journal entries uploaded on UpTogether, looking for trends or patterns. With this new information, FII will gain a much deeper understanding of what leads to family success.

Today, Shoniqua is no longer homeless, her income has quadrupled, and she was able to repair her car. But something else gives her the most pride. Last year, a middle-class woman told Shoniqua how she paid for college with a savings bond her parents had given her as a child. Shoniqua didn’t know savings bonds still existed. “It’s hard to talk about this without getting emotional,” she said, her voice catching. “But this year, I set aside enough money to buy a $200 savings bond in my daughter’s name.” She paused a moment, and then smiled. “My daughter is going to have generational wealth, just like that woman got from her parents.”

Shoniqua is living proof that FII's approach can not only help families escape poverty, but thrive in a new life that they create for themselves. We're grateful to be part of a community of funders helping FII to reach 2,000 more families.

Two years ago, Shoniqua Kemp was unemployed, homeless and living in a broken car with her 12-year-old daughter. It would have been easy to give in to despair, but Shoniqua had a conversation that would change the trajectory of her life. A friend told her about a nonprofit that was empowering people like her to escape poverty. Shoniqua was skeptical; it didn’t sound like the other assistance programs she knew. Nonetheless, she decided to attend the next meeting of the Family Independence Initiative (FII). She wanted a better life for her daughter.

FII was founded in 2001 on the belief that low-income families can decide for themselves the best solutions to improve their lives, especially when guided by their own data. We believe in this approach, too, which is why Google.org is continuing our commitment to FII with over $2 million in new grants, and a team of full-time Google engineers who are lending their technical expertise.

The fundamental components of FII’s approach are monthly group meetings and detailed journaling. For two years, each family keeps track of their goals, financial information and what academics would call “social capital exchange,” which are behaviors like helping one another with childcare or letting a neighbor borrow a car for a job interview. Families share this information on FII’s web platform called Uptogether.

Each family sets its own economic and social mobility goals, which might be buying a home or continuing a child’s education. By filling out journals, attending group meetings to share solutions, and receiving a $100/month stipend for doing both, they create a virtuous circle, reinforcing the habits of success. Over the two year life that families participate, they can earn up to $3,200.

“I already had a circle of friends and, growing up, I kept a diary,” Shoniqua told us. “I wasn’t sure how the program was going to help.” But then she started getting the FII reports, which turned her monthly data into graphic charts, visual proof of progress. “There, in black and white, I could see all the positive things I was doing. It changed how I saw myself.”

In 2015, we helped FII in California expand from 100 to 1,000 families. After two years, the families increased their income by 22 percent, their savings quadrupled and they decreased their reliance on government subsidies, such as food stamps, by 55 percent.

We want to keep the momentum going. Last week, we announced a $2 million grant to bring FII to Chicago, and today, along with the St. David’s Foundation, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, and the Harold Simmons Family Foundation, we’re helping expand FII to Austin, with a total commitment of $1.3 million.  

In addition, for six months full-time, a group of six Googlers will build a tool that uses natural language processing to analyze the journal entries uploaded on UpTogether, looking for trends or patterns. With this new information, FII will gain a much deeper understanding of what leads to family success.

Today, Shoniqua is no longer homeless, her income has quadrupled, and she was able to repair her car. But something else gives her the most pride. Last year, a middle-class woman told Shoniqua how she paid for college with a savings bond her parents had given her as a child. Shoniqua didn’t know savings bonds still existed. “It’s hard to talk about this without getting emotional,” she said, her voice catching. “But this year, I set aside enough money to buy a $200 savings bond in my daughter’s name.” She paused a moment, and then smiled. “My daughter is going to have generational wealth, just like that woman got from her parents.”

Shoniqua is living proof that FII's approach can not only help families escape poverty, but thrive in a new life that they create for themselves. We're grateful to be part of a community of funders helping FII to reach 2,000 more families.

In 2004, our founders wrote that we were not a conventional company and never intended to become one. In that same letter, they set a vision for philanthropy that would contribute significant resources and Googler time to help solve the largest of the world's problems. Out of that tall order, we created Google.org. With other teams at Google, we’ve donated over $1.5 billion since 2005. Also, over the past four years, our Googlers have logged more than 1 million volunteer hours.

Since then we've had the privilege to partner with hundreds of organizations and nonprofit leaders from nearly every corner of the globe. When choosing our grantees, we look for new thinking on how to tackle all sorts of challenges—like closing global education gaps, using data science to improve criminal justice and supporting communities when disaster strikes.Importantly, we also look for organizations that are testing their effectiveness and sharing results transparently with the broader sector to increase understanding of what works.

As we celebrate Google’s 20th year anniversary this month, we’re recognizing the accomplishments of one of those organizations, where the impact of an investment that we made years ago is just coming to fruition.

In 2012, I met GiveDirectly co-founders Michael Faye and Paul Niehaus, who had a thought-provoking idea: what if it’s more effective to give money directly to individuals instead of through philanthropic programming? Enabling beneficiaries to have more of a voice in how to spend aid is not only more empowering, Faye and Niehaus thought, it can be more efficient.

The question sparked the beginning of a multi-year partnership. Since 2012, Google.org has provided $6 million to support unconditional direct cash transfers that benefit people in need and to research the impact of GiveDirectly’s approach. We’ve also had Googler volunteers provide services from engineering help to serving on their board of directors. In 2014, we joined USAID in funding GiveDirectly to study two methods to reduce malnutrition in Rwanda: providing cash directly to people who can choose how to spend it or using the same amount of funding on programs pertaining to water, sanitation, and hygiene and nutrition.

Last week, researchers released the findings. This study found that large cash transfers (~$530 per household) had a meaningful and significant effect on reducing malnutrition while small cash transfers or the tailored programming did not. With more cash, families could expand their children’s nutritional intake, improve the quality of their homes and pay down debt.

This research highlights the importance of evaluating different approaches to solving big problems: weighing the monetary value of cash transfers against the cost of developing other programs to tackle the issue. This evaluation framework is now being used by USAID in several studies. Along with GiveDirectly’s leadership, we hope that these types of studies will help other organizations identify the most effective ways of creating a better world, faster.

We admire GiveDirectly’s willingness to put forward big ideas and work with us to expand our understanding of how we can use capital and technology to support great leaders to improve social outcomes.