‘New York’: Robin Hood in the Big Apple

By THOMAS J. BILLITTERI

Twelve years ago, three rich, young Wall Street traders started a foundation that bucked the philanthropic establishment. Now the Robin Hood Foundation has become known as the “most innovative backer of eclectic good works” in New York — and one of the most vivid examples of a new model of giving called venture philanthropy, New York magazine says (June 12).

“Where other high-octane charities benefit such upmarket causes as the opera, the ballet, and the Met’s fashion collection,” the magazine writes, “Robin Hood actually lives up to its namesake’s slogan of stealing from the rich to give to the poor. (Or in this case, persuading the rich to invest in the poor.)”

Robin Hood has given more than $100-million since it was founded, and this year it is providing more than $18-million to 100 programs, New York says.

What sets Robin Hood apart from many other high-profile funds is its “activist approach,” the magazine says.

The traders who started the fund “were tired of writing checks and never knowing how their money was spent,” the magazine explains. “They thought most charities were not aggressive enough, either in making grants or in investing assets. And they decided it was better to waste money on wrongheaded ideas than never to try anything daring.”

Despite its rule-breaking roots, the magazine says, the foundation has become more selective in its grant making. “Eighty-five percent of the programs it funded a decade ago have been dropped from the portfolio, as the sadder-but-wiser board and staff bailed out of organizations where money was mismanaged, activists burned out, projects tanked, or results were disappointing,” it writes.