The foundation makes its first grant to the Special Olympics. Two years later, the foundation made a five-year, $5 million commitment to help the organization meet its goal of doubling the number of people they serve by 2005.

In 2014, Jean Case was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy. In the words of the school’s founding dean, Gene Tempel, Jean was chosen for the honor as “one of the most visionary, forward-thinking leaders in philanthropy today.”

In honor of its 15th anniversary, the Case Foundation launched its Be Fearless campaign in 2012, based on the belief that those of us finding and funding solutions to social challenges should embrace risk, make big bets and learn from (and share) our failures. As part of the campaign, the Case Foundation released its “To Be Fearless” report outlining five key principles of a fearless approach to social change; hosted Fearless Forums for thousands of social sector leaders and practitioners; received 25,000 pledges from fearless individuals; and conducted the “Finding Fearless” campaign in partnership with Microsoft and REI to identify and award emerging changemakers. The Foundation’s efforts to evangelize the Be Fearless message continues today through the development of the Be Fearless Action guide.

The Case Foundation’s work to expand the movement for corporations to provide skills-based pro bono to nonprofits began in 2008, when A Billion + Change was launched as a public-private partnership by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, which was chaired by Jean Case.

The initiative was reinvigorated in 2011 with expanded leadership under the honorary chairmanship of Senator Mark Warner, and is now housed and managed by the Points of Light Institute. A Billion + Change has a goal to inspire more than 5,000 companies to commit to providing over $5B in pro-bono service to nonprofits.

Jean and Steve Case join the Giving Pledge, an initiative created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet, reaffirming their commitment to giving more than half of their wealth to charitable causes. From their commitment letter: “We hope the Giving Pledge will inspire many others, and we stand ready to do whatever we can to share what we learn and shine a spotlight on the extraordinary commitments millions of people make each and every day.”

On a trip to South Africa, Steve and Jean Case first encounter the PlayPump® water system, a child’s merry-go-round attached to a water pump and storage tank that provides safe water to rural and peri-urban African schools and communities. The following year, the Case Foundation helped establish the nongovernmental organization PlayPumps International – U.S., and joined USAID, MCJ Foundation, and First Lady Laura Bush at the 2006 Clinton Global Initiative to announce a $16.4 million cross-sector partnership to install PlayPump systems in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2010, the Case Foundation made the difficult decision to sunset the PlayPumps International organization and turned the remainder of the PlayPumps inventory to Water for People, an organization it continues to support today.

The foundation publishes Social CitizensBETA, a new discussion paper about the potential impact of the Millennial Generation on the civic landscape. By encouraging feedback and discussion both online — at the Social Citizens Blog — and offline, the foundation dedicates itself to examining the impact that new technologies and strategies can have on engagement and activism by Millennials in our country and around the world. In the years that followed, the Foundation has supported a number of initiatives focused on the next generation of social changemakers – including development of the Social Citizens Ambassadors group and support of the Millennial Impact Project, which includes the annual report and convening.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asks Jean Case to co-chair the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership (UPP), a new public-private initiative launched by President George W. Bush and U.S. business leaders to facilitate progress toward a two-state solution. Chaired by The Aspen Institute president and CEO Walter Isaacson, UPP focuses its efforts on sustainable economic development, job creation and training, and youth education and leadership development. The partnership is developing a number of quick-impact projects, such as an information communications technology venture capital fund, that will promote an engaged youth population and a sustainable Palestinian economy. UPP also encourages investment opportunities through Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s Palestine Investment Conference and the Palestinian Business and Investment Forum.

The foundation welcomes “The Cat” to its team. For more than seven years, The Cat has been part of a series of fun practical jokes amongst team members.

In 2006, the Case Foundation moved to its current office, located at 1717 Rhode Island Ave., NW, in Washington, D.C. The office space, which was designed to inspire collaboration, has been a site for hundreds of brainstorms and convenings for both the Foundation and many other nonprofits looking to take a fearless approach to tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges.

The Case Foundation helps to lead an effort to bring together high-tech companies, nonprofit organizations, and state and local governments to create PowerUP. Based in after-school settings in Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCAs, independent nonprofits, faith-based institutions, housing developments, and other community locations across the country, nearly 1,000 PowerUP computer technology centers provided underserved youth with access to a range of educational content and information. The program also linked up with local volunteer organizations to provide community service opportunities for youth and their families.

The foundation makes a five-year, $10-million commitment to Habitat for Humanity, including support of capacity-building efforts in Steve Case’s home state of Hawaii and the remainder split among affiliates in Florida and Oklahoma.

The foundation begins its relationship with Share Our Strength, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America. Over a period of seven years, the foundation provided nearly $700,000 in funding to Share Our Strength. In 2006, the Case Foundation and the Sodexo Foundation provided funding for the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in the Nation’s Capital, an initiative led by D.C. Hunger Solutions, the Food Research and Action Center, and Share Our Strength to support the creation of a 10-year strategic plan to end childhood hunger in D.C.

With a $1 million contribution, the Case Foundation becomes a founding investor of Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP), a philanthropic organization that invests in nonprofits serving the needs of children from low-income families in the National Capitol Region. The focus of every VPP investment is helping leaders build the strength of the organization behind their programs. In 2006, the Case Foundation renewed its commitment to VPP with a five-year, $1 million investment.

The foundation makes its first investment in Network for Good, an organization and web portal that helps nonprofits expand their reach, connect with more people, build stronger communities, and improve their effectiveness at fulfilling their public interest missions. Network for Good was established in 2001 by a coalition of companies, nonprofits, and associations working to transform an earlier e-philanthropy initiative known as Helping.org. In 2007, the Case Foundation provided $1 million to Network for Good to help support the creation of a next-generation donation processing platform. To date, Network for Good has processed more than $1 billion in donations to nonprofit organizations.

The Case Foundation launched its first website in 2005, recognizing the potential of the platform for open, transparent communication about the organization’s programs, grantees,  and lessons learned. Since the first launch, the Case Foundation team has innovated on its digital engagement strategy, leveraging its website, social media and other digital communication tools to connect, inform and activate the Foundation’s partners, the non-profit sector and the greater public.

The foundation publishes Citizens at the Center: A New Approach to Civic Engagement, a report authored by Dr. Cynthia Gibson which suggests that if people are going to get engaged and stay engaged in their communities, they must be given more chances to connect with one another and figure out how they can work together for the common good. Based on interviews with researchers and experts in service/civic engagement, politics, and marketing, the paper offers specific recommendations for giving citizens the tools they need to identify problems and develop solutions — and warns against top-down solutions that require people to “plug into” existing programs or campaigns (audio highlights of some of the interviews that informed the paper).

In an effort to bring bring newcomers into impact investing, the Case Foundation launches the Short Guide To Impact Investing, a framework that includes a simple taxonomy and several profiles of impact ventures to help people get their arms around impact investing. The Short Guide aims to to help high net worth individuals, family offices and others get to know the basics about impact investing to determine what’s right for them and how to move toward meaningful, measurable impact.

To find even more Be Fearless stories, the Foundation launches Finding Fearless 2.0, an online campaign with a call to action. Individuals can nominate themselves or someone they know, sharing stories of big bets, risk-taking, overcoming failure and more. The stories that rise to the top are included in Jean Case’s book, Be Fearless: 5 Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose, or featured in the Foundation’s online Be Fearless video series.

In our continuing work to mainstream impact investing and showcase the potential for a burgeoning impact investment market, the Foundation launches the Impact Investing Network Map, highlighting real investments into innovative companies seeking both financial and social returns. This tool aims to make impact investing information transparent and easily accessible, demystifying and busting myths within impact investing.

Inspired by the iconic 1910 speech by Teddy Roosevelt, The Case Foundation dedicates its 20th Anniversary Year to calling on all to Get In the Arena. We highlight lessons the Foundation has learned over the past 20 years and those who are joining us in taking action on the issues they care about, challenging ourselves and others to get off the sidelines and “get into the arena” to address the world’s most pressing challenges.

The Foundation partners with 10 inspiring young changemakers for an Instagram takeover and blog series. The Foundation has spent ten years researching how the Millennial generation engages with causes, and uses the 10-day takeover to highlight powerful examples of young Americans taking action to do good through their diverse interests, backgrounds and skills—opening doors for more young people to see themselves as the keys to creating change in their own communities.