Facebook co-founder Moskovitz gives $20M to help Clinton win

Moskovitz, and his wife Cari Tuna, have also signed the Giving Pledge, and started Good Ventures

Silicon Valley is going to go heavily for Hillary Clinton. The fact that so many have made their negative feelings about Donald Trump crystal clear means it is going to be a cakewalk for her. No question.

Yet, so far, those same people who donated so much money to the Obama campaign four years ago could barely be bothered to give Clinton even half of what they gave him in 2012. The enthusiasm simply isn't there. 

That all just changed in a big way, as Facebook founder Dustin Moskovitz, along with and his wife Cari Tuna, announced a major donation to a number of organizations to the Clinton Campaign in order help Democrats get elected in the fall.

In total, they are giving $20 million, which will be spread across a number of different organizations: the Hillary Victory Fund, the DSCC, the DCCCm, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Victory Fund, For Our Future PAC, MoveOn.org Political Action, Color Of Change PAC, and several nonpartisan voter registration and GOTV efforts.

Half of the money will be split among the LCV Victory Fund and For Our Future PAC, with both receiving $5 million. 

In a blog post on Medium, Moskovitz and Tuna explained why they decided to give such a large donation. It seems to have more to do with stopping Trump than from any kind of excitement of the prospect of putting another President Clinton in the White House. 

"Will we be driven by fear, towards tribalism, emphasizing the things that divide us? Will we focus on how to advantage those most similar to us while building barriers to separate us from the rest of the world? Or, alternatively, will we continue in the direction of increased tolerance, diversity and interdependence in the name of mutual prosperity?" they wrote.

"We are the first generation that can choose to aim resolutely down the second path, unencumbered by fears around scarcity once considered insurmountable, and unified by global communication mediums that connect us intimately to our most distant neighbors. In this version of society, we all work together to create a thriving worldwide community."

They are particularly unhappy Trump's policies on immigration, which have included repeated calls for the building of a border wall, which he says Mexico will pay for, as well as mass deportation, and a “total and complete” ban on Muslims entering the United States, something that even Dick Cheney found to be morally repugnant. 

"If Donald Trump wins, the country will fall backward, and become more isolated from the global community. This distinction is starkly caricatured by his #1 “policy” position: the literal building of a wall between us and our neighbor," they said. 

They also stressed how hard of a decision this was, which isn't surprising given the size of the check, also they also think its not a great idea for any party to have so much. They also acknowlegded that some people would be unhappy about the decision. 

"We may be criticized by some for taking this action and there will be theories projected onto our reasons — but those who know us best will see the sincerity of our intentions, and can attest that the thoughts above represent the full scope of our motivations. We offer them humbly, and with the deepest love for America, and for the world," said Moskovitz and Tuna.

The couple are no strangers to giving away a large amount of money, either, as they founded Good Ventures in 2011, a philanthropic foundation whose mission is "to help humanity thrive." It has made grants to organizations that include Drug Policy Alliance, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Center for Court Innovation and Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition.

In addition, Moskovitz and Tuna have also both signed the Giving Pledge, in which billionaire pledge to give away the majority of their wealth in their lifetime. It was started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, and has also been signed by Moskovitz's fellow Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.

In addition to being a founder of Facebook, Moskovitz is also the co-founder of Asana, an app for helping teams track their work.

(Image source: goodventures.org)