Kenneth and Kathleen Tropin
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Graham Capital Management
FUNDING AREAS: Health & Human Services, Poverty, Education & Youth, Environment
OVERVIEW: Ken Tropin conducts his philanthropy through the Orchard Farm Foundation. Available tax filings indicate that the foundation awarded $734,000 in grants in 2017. Tropin's giving largely centers around the Northeast, particularly Connecticut, where he lives and where his hedge fund is headquartered. Tropin serves on the board of directors of antipoverty giant Robin Hood Foundation, which he heavily supports, along with other human services organizations.
BACKGROUND: Kenneth G. Tropin served as president and CEO of John W. Henry & Company and as senior vice president and director of managed futures at Dean Witter Reynolds. In 1994, he founded Graham Capital Management, a leading alternative investment manager focusing on global macro discretionary and quantitative hedge fund strategies.
ISSUES:
HUMAN SERVICES & ANTIPOVERTY: Ken Tropin is on the board of directors of Robin Hood Foundation, the recipient of The Orchard Farm Foundation's largest sums in recent years. Supporting the poor and homeless seems to be a top priority. Apart from Robin Hood, Tropin has also backed Inspirica, Services for the Underserved, Pacific House, Connecticut Food Bank, Building Homes for Heroes, 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," and Homes With Hope, which deals with foster care and adoption.
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Tropin has supported 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," as well as Achievement First, Kids in Crisis, Rowayton School PTA, Teach for America, and Future 5, which "helps motivated, low-income high school students in Stamford connect to their full potential." Tropin has also supported Dartmouth and is a Dartmouth parent.
HEALTH: Grantees have included American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Autism Speaks, Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia & Parkinsons Foundation, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and Stamford Health Foundation. Grantmaking here seems to take on a more national quality.
ENVIRONMENT: The Orchard Farm Foundation also earmarks funds for environmental organizations like Nature Conservancy, The Everglades Foundation, and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
LOOKING FORWARD: Tropin is still very much engaged in business, and in recent years his foundation's annual grantmaking has hovered around the $1 to $2 million range. Perhaps this will change down the line. Tropin also has a residence in Florida, a potential site of philanthropy.
CONTACT:
The Orchard Farm Foundation does not provide a clear avenue for getting in touch with Tropin, but below is contact information:
The Orchard Farm Foundation
505 South Flager Dr. No. 155
West Palm Beach, FL 33405
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