Gates Fund Finances a Technology Business

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announcement Wednesday that it is putting $2-million into a company that makes a Facebook application to foster community among college students, marks the first time the world’s biggest philanthropy has put money into a for-profit company in pursuit of its social goals, the business magazine Fast Company and technology-news site Mashable report.

The Schools App, developed by Inigral, allows students at a college to create their own group and close it off to anyone outside the institution. The goal is to allow students to join groups and interact with peers based on shared interests. Michael Staton, chief executive of Inigral, likened it to a “virtual student union.”

Educators consider interaction with peers to be a key ingredient in whether a student stays in college, which is what has made the social network attractive to Gates. The foundation has made raising college graduation rates a major component of its education efforts.

The foundation’s investment will support bringing the Schools App to institutions with large numbers of needy students.