where we make
a difference

Inspired by a shared desire to improve the lives of children living in urban poverty, Michael and Susan Dell established the Austin, Texas-based foundation in 1999.

In its early years, the foundation’s work focused on improving education and children’s health in Central Texas. Since then, our reach has expanded, first nationally and then globally. As of the end of 2010, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation had committed more than $730 million to assist organizations working in major urban communities in the United States, India and South Africa.

United States

The achievement gap that separates rich and poor students in the United States is profound. By age 24, some 95 percent of American students in the top quartile of family income have graduated from college, while only 23 percent of those in the lowest have. Meanwhile, the percentage of children who are overweight or obese is skyrocketing. The foundation’s U.S.-based efforts seek to address those issues by providing urban children with access to quality educational opportunities; by ensuring that educators have the insights and tools they need to address each child’s needs; and by helping researchers and communities understand and address the root causes of complex childhood health issues like obesity and related diseases.

India

With eight to 10 percent projected gains in gross domestic product year over year for the coming decade and an unusually young population, India is poised for enormous positive growth. But the possibility of unbridgeable rifts between the country’s poor and its growing middle class is real. In 2006, we began working in India, targeting six major cities with 18 million slum inhabitants, including some 7 million children. Our efforts focus on urban programs that improve education and use microfinance to promote family economic stability and health. Our goal in India is twofold: We’re seeking immediate positive impact on individual children’s lives, and also working to ensure that our investments support organizations capable of scaling their reach and sustaining their operations over time.

South Africa

The foundation opened its South Africa office in 2009. A mix of factors—including steady economic growth, radical income disparity, a well-developed infrastructure and political system, and the ability to exert positive influence across sub-Saharan Africa—make South Africa an environment ripe for interventions that can scale exponentially. With an eye on helping to catalyze systemwide reforms, our work in 2010 focused on health issues among the nation’s orphaned and vulnerable children, and on creating high-quality educational opportunities for underserved students with an ultimate goal of increasing the numbers who attend top-tier universities, graduate and, ultimately, find employment.