The Robin Hood Foundation’s annual gala raised over $60 million dollars in donations this month in their ongoing effort towards fighting poverty in America. The organization which is known for its philanthropic activities in public education, food programs, job training, and combatting homelessness, kicked off the event at New York City’s Jacob Javitz Center. The venue can hold more than twice that of any ballroom in the city and was packed with leading figures in the finance and business sectors.
One of the largest charity events in the country (and the largest in New York), the event boasted over four thousand attendees. To kick off the fundraiser a $10 million dollar challenge grant comprised of a $5 million dollar donation by the Pershing Square Foundation and a $5 million dollar anonymous donation was unveiled. The highlight of the evening was the launch of the new Robin Hood Dream Fund – a campaign designed specifically to help immigrants and their families as they transition into life in the United States. The evening’s success has now pushed the foundation’s total charitable contributions to over $1.45 billion dollars since 1988.
In addition to the organization’s board of directors and leadership council the foundation engages with accomplished experts, recruiting them to play important leadership roles in their active campaigns. These board members include influential philanthropists like Jacklyn Bezos of the Bezos Family Foundation and Kenneth Mehlman, Global Head of Public Affairs for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (kkr), who serves on the foundation’s Veterans Advisory Board. Ken Mehlman is one of many volunteers in the non-ideological organization that generously underwrites the administrative coats in addition to actively fund raising for the event.
Since he public ally came out in the Atlantic in 2010, Kenneth Mehlman has been an active advocate for LGBT equality across the country. In addition to his activities with the Robin Hood Foundation he has helped raise over $3 million dollars towards marriage equality in New York, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Washington State. He also serves on the board of directors of the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and the United States Holocaust Museum.