Bezos Family Commits $102.5M To Fight Homelessness—but Where Is The Money Headed?

Since 2018, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been providing grants to organizations aiding homeless families via the Bezos Day One Families Fund. Since then, the fund has released over $850 million in grants to around 300 different foundations. In early December 2025, Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, announced the recipients of its 2025 donations. According to a release on the Bezos Day One Fund's website, 2025 grants totaled $102.5 million, with the money going to more than 30 programs working to aid homeless families across 20 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam. That's a sizable dent in the Fund's $2 billion commitment to both helping families experiencing homelessness, and operating tuition-free early childhood education centers in underfunded areas.

Nearly 25% of those grants — $25 million — went to organizations in California and Florida alone, two states with some of the highest rates of homelessness. Another $25 million went to foundations based in Washington, Ohio, and the District of Colombia's metropolitan area (DMV), with smaller allotments going to various charities in Minnesota, Oklahoma, Illinois, Colorado, Indiana, Connecticut, Nebraska, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Louisiana, Hawaii, Georgia, Missouri, Texas, Wisconsin, Maryland, and Guam. While Jeff Bezos has made some grim predictions about the economy, those working for or receiving aid from any of the organizations being awarded these grants are surely going into 2026 with a bit more hope. That said, even though donating seven figures to any cause can absolutely make a significant difference, it's important to remember that Jeff Bezos sits well above the 1%'s wealth threshold.

Though not every region of the country was hit with a major donation this year, the consensus from receiving organizations is that the funds were badly needed. Four organizations in the DMV — LifeStyles of Maryland, Harford Family House, and Friendship Place, and Community Crisis Services — received a total of $11.25 million in grants, and that still won't be enough according to some experts in the region. Even so, it could open doors. Community Crisis Services CEO Timothy R. Jansen told The Washingtonian that his organization intends to use the $5 million it received to aid people in need that "typical housing programs don't always support."

Across the country, Shakirah Simley, executive director of San Francisco's Booker T. Washington Community Service Center, called the $5 million her organization received a "game-changer" in continuing its efforts to "divert families from homelessness, disrupt the taxing and often demoralizing process towards stability, and move families forward into hope and a forever home." Even those in areas that received smaller grants are grateful. Under 1 Roof in Dallas, Texas, for instance, received $1.25 million, with the organization's Board Vice President, Kathy Furraya, sharing, "These resources will allow us to accelerate emergency housing assistance, invest in sustainable development projects, and deepen outreach efforts that empower families to achieve long-term stability."