At Google.org, we’re fortunate to work with some of the world’s best social innovators. In 2018, we donated over $240 million to nonprofits around the globe, and Googlers gave more than $56 million of their own money and 227,000 hours of volunteer time to great causes. As we start the new year, here are the most important lessons we learned from our work.

1. Ask bigger questions, and test the answers.

To identify and fund innovative ideas, we ask “how might we” questions. For instance, along withGiveDirectly and USAID, we asked, “How do outcomes compare when we give people cash versus traditional (in-kind) aid?” We funded a first of its kind project testing the impact of cash transfers and a nutrition-focused (non-cash) intervention. While neither the traditional intervention nor a cost-equivalent cash transfer shifted nutrition metrics, a larger sized cash transfer did, and also impacted a number of economic indicators. We hope this study provokes greater discussion about the potential role of cash.

We’ve supported with many other organizations and think tanks which are asking tough questions that can impact how we address pressing issues, like the future of work. We funded research analyzing how demographic change is driving automation, and how an economy with an aging population can sustain growth. With The Workers Lab, NDWA and The New School, we’re looking at studies to test new ways to help today’s workers, such as benefits which aren’t tied to a specific employer, a tax benefit to helpcaregivers become more financially secure and pooling resources to help gig workers.

2. Googlers have huge potential to amplify community work.

In 2018 we connected Google engineers with dozens of local nonprofits, particularly in communities where they live and work. Each time Googlers and our grantees come together, we can test the impact of introducing people with certain technical skills to people who have expertise in issues that impact communities, like disaster response. As a result, we can deploy smarter solutions faster.

Several devastating fires hit very close to our California home in November. Google.org sent 18 Google volunteers to support with Information Technology Disaster Resource Center (ITDRC) to repair wifi connections and capture aerial and street-level imagery to help evaluate the damage. In 2018, more than 20 Google employees, working alongside The Last Mile, prepared incarcerated individuals for successful re-entry into the workforce, specifically helping the organization expand its coding curriculum to juvenile facilities. And in London, Googlers inspired students from Color in Tech to get excited about technology and computer science through hands-on AR/VR and robotics exhibits.

3. Global tech solutions require global participation.

One of my favorite parts of my job is to meet social innovators from around the world. Each time I do, I am reminded that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the myriad of problems we are addressing globally, both within Google.org and as a community. I’m particularly proud of the work our team has done through our Google.org Impact Challenge program, which asks local and regional nonprofits how they would make their community—and beyond—an even better place.

In 2018, we held nine Impact Challenges, our most ever in one year. Local leaders and experts identified 164 winning ideas from around the world, from Australia to Kenya to Cleveland. We provided seed funding for exciting new ideas, like monitoring ocean ecosystems using drones, AI and a sea mammal, applying Big Data to help small farmers allocate water and fertilizer and advancing manufacturing careers for inner-city youth. These ideas demonstrate how technology isn’t just something that can come out of Silicon Valley. It’s something for all of us to build together.

4. We have even bigger goals for 2019.

Our latest and most ambitious ever challenge, Google’s AI Impact Challenge, is how we plan to hit the ground running in 2019. We are inviting nonprofits, social enterprises and researchers with big ideas on how AI can help them further their mission to apply by January 22. Winners will receive funds from a grant $25 million grant pool, plus coaching, so they can test and implement their ideas.

Stay tuned: We’ll announce the recipients at Google I/O 2019.

Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from Jason Jones, a recent graduate of The Last Mile, a program that prepares incarcerated individuals for successful re-entry to the job market through business and technology training. Today, Google.org announced a $2 million grant to The Last Mile, which will allow the program to expand to prisons across the United States, and to establish its first program in an Indiana juvenile facility, Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility. Now that more people will be able to benefit from this program, Jason wrote a letter to future students to help prepare them for their journey.

Dear students,

My name is Jason Jones and I am a software engineer; however, that wasn’t always the case. For the majority of my life, I was whatever stereotype that public opinion thought would fit: at-risk, system impacted, low-income; the list goes on. I’m 35 years old and recently released from prison after 13 years.

I come from a broken home, where gangs became family and the streets became my household. In 2014, while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, I entered The Last Mile program with no understanding of the opportunity it presented. It gave me a home and my new family. No one could have told me that this one decision would turn my life around.

Before The Last Mile, I had no idea what coding was or how technology worked. I had no real plans of rehabilitation or changing my mind set. Through coding, I was able to redefine how people perceived me. I became part of another underrepresented group: a person of color in tech with a non-traditional background.

Through the program, I found classmates, instructors and volunteers who were genuinely invested in my education and in me as a person. We spent thirty-two hours each week learning skills like JavaScript, web development, team collaboration and how to navigate the workplace. I discovered mentors and positive role models who I could go to with problems or for advice.

Since graduating from the Last Mile, I signed a contract with a tech company that was interested in my success, and I relocated to a better place for growth and prosperity. And just two months out of prison, I’m able to travel on a plane for the first time in my life, visit parts of the country I’ve never been, and do things that I thought were out of my reach.

This process has been anything but easy. It takes a lot of hard work, commitment, discipline, focus and sacrifice.

I’ve faced a lot of adversity in my life, but coding gave me a different approach to solving problems. It taught me how to break down the larger problems into smaller, workable ones and create a workflow that leads to a solution. I’ve learned better communication skills and how to collaborate successfully on a team. I’ve learned how to break down some barriers that were stunting my growth and learned how to ask for and accept help. But most of all, I’ve learned how to take control of my life and set the direction in which it is going.

All of you have the opportunity to reimagine what you want your life to look like—always be your best self and believe in the process. This keeps me on a positive path.

Yours truly,

Jason Jones

Over the last week, three wildfires have devastated communities in California, and there's been a tremendous effort—on the part of firefighters, first responders, local officials and NGOs—to contain the flames and help thousands of displaced families. Since the start of the fires, we've deployed resources to help those affected in our own backyard. Here's a bit more on that, and how you can help.

Improving access to information

When the fires broke out, Google’s Crisis Response team activated SOS Alerts , allowing people impacted by the disaster to access local emergency information, news and maps of the affected areas. With networks down, it soon it became evident that getting online was a top concern.

In collaboration with the Information Technology Disaster Resource Center (ITDRC), Google volunteers have been on the ground helping communities get back online, allowing many to reconnect with families and friends, file insurance claims, and—when possible—get back to school or work. They set up WiFi and connected Chromebooks at shelters, distribution centers, churches and clinics, serving over 1,000 evacuees. In just a couple of days, these connections allowed over a dozen shelter guests to be matched to missing persons list entries.

ITDRC and our volunteers are also working in Southern California to capture aerial and street-level imagery of the impacted areas. These images will be used to augment existing digital maps allowing emergency managers to evaluate the impact of the fires.

Beyond information, there are many critical needs to be met during a crisis of this proportion, including food and shelter. Google.org and Googlers have donated over $1.5 million to support those impacted by the fires. This includes a $500,000 direct grant from Google.org to efforts like the NorCal Disaster Relief Fund and the Southern California Disaster Relief Fund.

Everyone can help

SOS Alerts is a gateway for people to make donations, 100% of which goes to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, and will be directed to highly impactful organizations spearheading recovery efforts. To date, over 3,500 people have given money to support the victims of the fires through Google, making donations from five dollars, to as much as $500.

Today, we want to invite others to donate as well, to the victims of the Camp Fire or to the victims of the Southern California fires. Anyone can also make donations directly to organizations like the American Red Cross, which is working shelter to those displaced, the Wildfire Relief Fund, which is supporting long-term recovery and preparedness, or the Latino Community Foundation as they support groups providing aid to families and farmworker communities in the affected areas.

California is our home. It’s where we were founded and where over a third of all Google employees live. There is much more to be done and we’ll stay engaged in support of recovery efforts throughout the state during the days and months ahead.

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.