Robin Hood Foundation

The Robin Hood Foundation is a charitable organization, which attempts to alleviate problems caused by poverty in New York, United States.

History

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., formerly of Lehman Brothers, Glenn Dubin, of Highbridge Capital, Marian Wright Edelman and actress Gwyneth Paltrow. The foundation combines investment principles and philanthropy to assist programs that target poverty in New York City. Artists including The Rolling Stones, Robert Plant & The Strange Sensation, Shakira, John Legend, The Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, The Who and Aerosmith have performed at the group's annual galas.

In 2009, George Soros gave the foundation a US$50 million contribution. The money reportedly helped the organization raise significantly more than that amount.

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."<ref...
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