Bill Gates announced he is departing the day-to-day running of Microsoft within two years to devote more time to the foundation that bears the names of him and his wife Melinda. Because he is the world's richest person and the size of the foundation is huge, this attracts a lot of attention.

Two qualities of the Gates' giving, however, are even more impressive than the massive sum of money involved: their values and the way they focus on results. The Gates Foundation motto is, "Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to reduce inequities and improve lives around the world." They structure their grants to assure that they achieve measurable progress in causes they are funding.