Robin Hood Foundation

The Robin Hood Foundation is a charitable organization which attempts to alleviate problems caused by poverty in New York City, New York. The Robin Hood Foundation was featured in "Fortune"'s 18 September 2006 issue where the article states that the foundation is "one of the most innovative and influential philanthropic organizations of our time."http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/09/18/8386204/index.htm The Legend of Robin Hood, Fortune, 8 September 2006.]

Founded in 1988, Robin Hood was the brainchild of hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones. In 2006, the board of directors included such names as Jeffrey Immelt, Diane Sawyer, Harvey Weinstein, Marie-Josee Kravis, Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, Richard S. Fuld, Jr. of Lehman Brothers, Marian Wright Edelman, and actress Gwyneth Paltrow. The foundation has implemented a unique approach, combining investment principles and philanthropy to assist programs that target poverty in New York City. World-famous bands and artists such as The Rolling Stones, Shakira, John Legend, The Who, and Aerosmith have performed at fund raisers for the group.

Approach

According to Fortune Magazine, "Robin Hood was a pioneer in what is now called venture philanthropy, or charity that embraces free-market forces. An early practitioner of using metrics to measure the effectiveness of grants, it is a place where strategies to alleviate urban poverty are hotly debated, ineffectual plans are coldly discarded, and its staff of 66 hatches radical new ideas."

More specifically, the foundation applies the following principles:
*Give 100 percent of every donation directly to programs helping poor New Yorkers.
*Identify and stop poverty at its roots.
*Protect and leverage Robin Hood’s investments by using sound business principles to help programs become more effective.
*Constantly evaluate programs, measure results, and insist on the best.

Programs

The Robin Hood Foundation works with more than 240 of the best poverty-fighting nonprofit organizations in New York City. They initiate and operate projects to meet community needs, and may be best known for a 9/11 Relief Fund. The four core fund grant recipient categories of the Robin Hood Foundation are:

*Early Childhood & Youth
*Education
*Jobs & Economic Security
*Survival Relief Fund categories were established to ensure that low income victims of the attacks of 9/11 had their needs met immediately and in the long term:

*Employment
*Lower Income Victims' Services and Relief
*Mental Health Services
*Other Grants

References

External links

* [http://www.robinhood.org/home.aspx The Robin Hood Foundation]
* Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT) (Robin Hood grantee)