Jonathan Lavine

NET WORTH: Unknown

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Bain Capital 

FUNDING AREAS: Youth & Education, Health, Justice & Human Services, Jewish Causes

OVERVIEW:  In 2007, Jonathan Lavine and his wife, Jeannie, formed the Crimson Lion Foundation, which along with direct contributions from the Lavines, provides financial support to numerous community-based organizations. A major focus is City Year, where Lavine chairs the National Board of Trustees. Lavine has also supported his alma maters. The couple support causes that help level the playing field, create opportunity, and promote fairness.

BACKGROUND: Jonathan Lavine graduated from Columbia College, and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. He began his career at Drexel Burnham Lambert in mergers and acquisitions, and also worked at McKinsey & Company as a consultant. In 1993, Lavine joined Bain Capital’s private equity group and in 1997 founded Sankaty Advisors, the credit affiliate of Bain Capital, now named Bain Capital Credit. Lavine is currently the Co-Managing Partner of Bain Capital and Chief Investment Officer of Bain Capital Credit. 

ISSUES:

EDUCATION & YOUTH:  Jonathan and Jeannie are longtime supporters of City Year, a national youth service program that addresses the drop out crisis. In the early 1990s, when Lavine was still a Harvard Business School student, he offered to sponsor a City Year volunteer for $18, an amount symbolic in the Jewish faith. Lavine has chaired the National Board of Trustees of the organization since 2013 and in 2012, the couple gave $10 million to City Year to enhance the organization's systems for corps member recruitment, training, and impact measurement.

Apart from City Year, a few years ago the Lavines provided a $5 million grant to the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI).  In 2011, Jonathan Lavine and Gerry Lenfest established a $5 million match for Core Curriculum at Columbia University. They also dedicated the Lavine Family Center for College Affordability at uAspire, which works with students and families to overcome the financial barriers to a college degree. The Lavines, via their foundation, have also supported places like Berklee College of Music, Hebrew Union College, and Stand for Children Leadership Center.
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HEALTH: The Lavines, through Crimson Lion Foundation, have strongly supported Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute. They've also supported Boston Children's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.

 

JUSTICE & HUMAN SERVICES: The couple recently gave a $1 million gift to Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization that provides representation to indigent defendants and prisoners who have been denied fair and just treatment in America’s legal system. The couple also seems interested in financial literacy and empowerment as a way to alleviate poverty. Grantees have included The Capital Good Fund, Cradles to Crayons, and LIFT, a national nonprofit organization that helps families break the cycle of poverty. Overall, Lavine says that he's interested in "helping improve systems" with their philanthropy. The Lavines have also supported New Profit, "a nonprofit venture philanthropy fund that invests in social entrepreneurs; Horizons for Homeless Children, an organization in Massachusetts focused on the needs of homeless children and their families; and Brandeis University’s Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism.

JEWISH CAUSES: Apart from Hebrew Union College, the Lavines also support a number of Jewish organizations including the Anti-Defamation League, Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston, Hebrew Union College and American Jewish World Service.  Lavine is a past recipient of the New England Anti-Defamation League’s Distinguished Community Service Award and Columbia/Barnard Hillel’s Seixas Award. 

LOOKING FORWARD: Lavine is only in his 50s. So far, a lot of the family's giving has gone under the radar as most of their donations are private, though the Crimson Lion Foundation's grantmaking is becoming more active.

CONTACT:

The Crimson Lion Foundation does not provide a clear avenue for getting in touch with the couple, but below is an address:

Crimson Lion Foundation
31 St. James Ave., Ste. 740
Boston, MA 02116