By Ingrid W. Reed

When Mayor Michael Bloomberg concluded his unprecedented 12 years of governing New York City, his record was assessed in the local and national media, and by organizations that agreed and disagreed with his performance in office as well as in the political campaigns of his would-be successors. In spite of epithets like “Nanny-in-Chief,” the ultimate consensus was that he instituted modern management, safeguarded the health of the City’s inhabitants, initiated long-range plans to protect its environment, upgraded performance of schools, reformed transportation policies to include pedestrians and bicyclists, and invested in the arts for the public good.

This list is no surprise to those who had followed the words and deeds of the philanthropic Bloomberg while he was in office. Since 2006, he has defined and carried out the mission of his foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, focused on five key areas: public health, environment, education, government innovation, arts and culture. While his official capacity as mayor is over, Bloomberg has chosen a leadership role as a private citizen, using his wealth to support causes in which he believes.

The resources he has brought to Bloomberg Philanthropies are impressive. They have grown to a level that makes the foundation No. 12, with assets of $4.2 billion, on the Foundation Center’s list of the top 100 foundations as of March 15, 2014. Based on total giving of $131.2 million for the year 2012, it is No. 43 on the list of foundations.

This capacity for giving and generating change is the result of the entrepreneurial Bloomberg’s efforts as well as his successful leadership of Bloomberg L.P., which he founded in 1981. He has the opportunity to become a 21st Century version of extraordinarily wealthy individuals such as Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie and now Gates—whose legacies are tied to the public good rather than the business acumen that generated their wealth.

RENEWED EMPHASIS ON PHILANTHROPY

The Bloomberg philanthropic effort outlined at length on the website www.bloomberg.org is as clear and direct as Mayor Bloomberg himself.

His stated approach is entrepreneurial. He does not avoid controversy or failure, and promotes ideas and solutions that have worked in one place and have potential to do so in others. Bloomberg Philanthropies uses data to measure and improve performance, and recognizes the power of advocacy to influence public opinion and leaders.

Partnerships are key since current challenges are seen as complex, requiring both public and private institutions working together with a common purpose. The Bloomberg Philanthropies’ website lists more than 30 partners in alphabetical order. To mention a few, those at the beginning of the alphabet include Association for Safe International Road Travel, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids while those at the end are United States Artists, Women for Women, and the World Health Organization.

A board of directors serves in “an advisory and oversight capacity” with members who have exemplary careers in the private, public, or non-profit sectors. The names of some of the 13 members may be familiar such as scientist and skater Tenley Albright; designer of the Vietnam Memorial Maya Lin; former Florida Governor Jeb Bush; former U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao; President Bush’s Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson; and Michael Bloomberg’s two daughters, equestrian Georgina Bloomberg and Emma Bloomberg, who serves as chief of staff of the Robin Hood Foundation.

Recent significant grant-making by Bloomberg Philanthropies has helped international organizations reduce tobacco use, promote road safety in low-middle income countries, and create economic opportunity for women in post-conflict countries. In the United States, millions of dollars have gone to promote clean energy, reduce dependency on coal, create opportunities for young men in NYC, and support the capacity of cities for solving the important problems of our society.

In the last years of his tenure as mayor, Bloomberg provided significant grants to cities both to non-profit organizations in cities and to city governments themselves. He believes that changes in cities have the capacity to change the world. Among those that received funds to encourage innovation are New Orleans, Atlanta, Chicago, Louisville, and Memphis. The Cities of Service program provides grants to engage volunteers as a way to address critical needs.

NEW INITIATIVES FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL GIVING

A new grants program, The Mayors Challenge, was begun in the United States as a competition to generate bold ideas to address important problems and to craft solutions that have the potential to be used in other cities. Its success has inspired a European version launched in September 2013 with a 10 million Euro fund. More than 600 cities are eligible to demonstrate their ability to show they would improve services, increase efficiencies and enhance engagement with the public. The five winners will be awarded grants to implement their prize-worthy ideas.

When the New York Times revealed two weeks before Mayor Bloomberg was to leave office that he planned to create a no-cost consulting practice designed to help cities around the world address major urban problems, the reaction was not surprise but rather “of course.” The expert administrators on the Bloomberg team who implemented his initiatives are in demand. Those joining the enterprise will be known as Bloomberg Associates, an ideal resource to spread the legacy of the Mayor’s tenure and his belief that cities are the catalysts for change.

According to the New York Times story, the Associates and the foundation will be housed together in an imposing six-story property at the corner of Madison Avenue and 78th Street designed by Stanford White at the end of the 19th Century. Only blocks away from Bloomberg’s home as well as the offices of Bloomberg L.P., it will serve as the place where he can map out his intention to give away his fortune in his lifetime.

The building has a history as the home of the former governor, U.S. Senator, secretary of state and railroad executive Hamilton Fish. It will be completely renovated to accommodate the needs of a “modern entrepreneur, mayor, philanthropist,” the words used to identify Bloomberg on his website, www.mikebloomberg.com. With the building’s renovation and reuse, it will add vitality to the City he governed while the individuals in its new offices will generate ideas, investments and initiatives that may reverberate around the world.

As a former mayor, Bloomberg will be honored, respected and in demand, but he will also be free to more fully pursue his role as philanthropist and apply his experience and resources to solving the global challenges he has defined.