Paul and Susan Tierney

SOURCE OF WEALTH: Development Capital Partners, Aperture Venture Partners

FUNDING AREAS: Education, Global, Arts

OVERVIEW: Paul and Susan Tierney, as well as their three children, move philanthropy through the Tierney Family Foundation, an art, cultural and humanities organization that provides grantmaking assistance. 

BACKGROUND: Raised in suburban Chicago, Paul E. Tierney, Jr. graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1964 and with his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1968. He starting a merchant bank in London and was later a senior vice president at White, Weld & Co., which Merrill Lynch purchased. He is a partner of Development Capital Partners and a general partner of Aperture Venture Partners, two private investment vehicles specializing respectively in emerging markets and early stage health care ventures. Tierney once owned MLS team, D.C. United.

ISSUES:

EDUCATION: Tierney supports his alma maters University of Notre Dame, and Harvard Business School. The family has also given funds to son Matthew’s schools Georgetown and Columbia University, where Tierney has taught. Other grantees have included Trinity School (Matthew is a parent), University of Cape Town, and San Francisco Day School, where daughter Trish is on the board of trustees.

The foundation once partnered with American Indian College Fund for scholarships for American Indian students. Susan sat on the board of the fund.

GLOBAL: Tierney has been active on the global stage both in business and on the nonprofit side. He was in the Peace Corps in Chile working for an economic development program. As Tierney puts it, “I’ve really had two careers…one as a for-profit financial entrepreneur and one as a crusader for economic development.” For some three decades, he served as chairman of TechnoServe, a nonprofit organization operating in nearly 30 countries that works in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. 

Through their foundation, the Tierneys have supported places like African Leadership Foundation, and Global Greengrants Fund, which works in global environmental justice. Trish is CEO and co-founder of WAKE (Women’s Alliance for Knowledge Exchange), a nonprofit in the the Bay Area works to alleviate resource constraints for women, especially in areas such as Cambodia, Guatemala, Peru and the Ukraine as well as in the United States. The family support WAKE via their foundation.

ARTS: In 2003, the Tierney Family Foundation created the Tierney Fellowship, which supports emerging artists in the field of photography. The Fellowship supports recipients both through funds and with with mentorship and guidance from seasoned experts. The current status of the fellowship is unclear however. Matthew Tierney is on the fellowship committee and has long been interested in photography and supporting the arts. Through their foundation, the family has also supported places like Metropolitan Opera, and Market Photo Workshop in South Africa.

OTHER: The Tierneys have made other grants in the realm of health, including Stamford Hospital. They’ve also given support to public policy organization Hudson Institute, where Tierney has served as a panelist discussing his book on philanthropy.

LOOKING FORWARD: The family’s three children should be watched carefully as giving moves into the next generation. Philanthropy may yet deepen down the line.

CONTACT:

The Tierney Family Foundation does not provide a clear avenue for getting in touch with the family, but below is an address:

The Tierney Family Foundation
17 Butlers Island Rd.
Darien, CT 06820