A Better World is Possible: The Gatsby Charitable Foundation and Social Progress

On 17 March 1967, the 26-year-old David Sainsbury wrote out a cheque for £5 and established the trust which would become the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. Gatsby's purpose was ambitious: to make the world a better place by taking on some of the social, economic and scientific challenges that face humanity.

In recent years, Gatsby has spent around £50m annually on charitable activities, and by its 50th anniversary in 2017 it will have spent over £1bn on programmes that range from reducing po...