A Roof of One's Own: This Hedge Funder Fights Homelessness and More

It's been awhile since I've dug into some of Robin Hood Foundation's donors. The New York antipoverty giant seems to be a powerful magnet for donors who've made it big in hedge funds. Glenview Capital Management Founder and Robin Hood Director Larry Robbins, for instance, gave $5 million to the outfit in just one recent tax year. We've written about other financiers, like Glenn Dubin and John Overdeck, who've also been big backers. 

Here's another Robin Hood donor and director we haven't yet brought up: Connecticut-based Ken Tropin, founder and chairman of Graham Capital Management. It's unclear how much Tropin is worth, but his hedge fund manages some $13 billion in total assets. Via his charity, the Orchard Farm Foundation, Tropin has given Robin Hood nearly $1 million in two recent tax years alone.

While the New York-based organization is perhaps the most well-known human services outfit Tropin supports, he's written big checks to quite a few others through his low-profile charity. Much of Tropin's giving through his foundation focuses on the Northeast, particularly Connecticut, where he lives. Tropin is strongly involved with Shelter for the Homeless, now called Pacific House, which is the "only regional men’s emergency shelter serving Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan and Darien." The organization received some $145,000 recently.

Tropin has also supported organizations like Inspirica, Services for the Underserved, Connecticut Food Bank, Building Homes for Heroes, and the Inner-City Foundation For Charity & Education, which "supports organizations providing assistance, including food, clothing, shelter, counseling and education, to at-risk and needy children and adults of Fairfield County."

Education and youth organizations are another Tropin interest. He has supported Achievement First and A Better Chance Inc., "the oldest, largest and only national program providing academically talented minority children with access to some of our nation’s finest college preparatory schools, both private and public." For a complete overview of this funder, read our profile of Ken Tropin linked below. His foundation, by the way, has a minimal web presence and does not appear to accept unsolicited proposals. 

Related: Kenneth G. Tropin