to fundraising, and $8.9million going to management and overhead. History In 1998, Ted Turner, an American media proprietor, producer, and philanthropist, announced his decision to make a $1billion contribution to the United Nations at the annual United Nations Association of the USA gala dinner, with then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan present. This $1billion donation was used to establish the United Nations Foundation. Beyond his philanthropy work, Turner is best known for founding cable television network CNN, as well as the Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) and Turner Entertainment Company. Turner chose to donate to the UN and create the UN Foundation because he was a prior donor to similar causes and felt strongly that the UN was critical to solve the world’s most pressing challenges. Turner’s gift was also inspired by the fact that the UN was underfunded at the time because the U.S. government had not met its allocated financial contribution to the UN due to a lack of sufficient appropriations in the federal budget. Prior to his $1billion donation to the UN, Turner was already an active philanthropist and had been a proponent for the protection of the environment, especially in combating global warming. Turner believed that his $100million per year donation over the course of 10 years would make a difference to the United Nations, and that he could use this donation to encourage other wealthy members of society to make financial contributions to the work of the UN. In 1996, Turner was worth $3.2billion due to his shares in Time Warner (which had bought TBS that year). By giving away nearly a third of his wealth while still living, Ted Turner became a noted participant in the Giving Pledge movement. Leadership The UN Foundation is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Cousens, who stepped into the role in January 2020 after serving for four years as Deputy CEO. Prior to her time at the UN Foundation, Cousens served as U.S. Ambassador to the UN Economic and Social Council, and Alternate Representative to the UN General Assembly where she led U.S. negotiations on the SDGs. Kathy Calvin, the former President of AOL Time Warner Foundation, served as the UN Foundation’s prior President and CEO from 2013 through 2019. Timothy E. Wirth, a former United States Congressman, U.S. Senator, and the first Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs in U.S. President Bill Clinton's administration, served as the