Private equity pros invest in programs benefiting local children
By Dean D’Angelo
Capital for Children’s founders have raised over $250,000 for local programs to assist underprivileged youth. They include Ken Doyle (seated) and (back row, left to right): Peter Manos, Kevin Lavin, Morten Kucey, Dean D’Angelo, and James Hanna.
While sharing a beer one night with Ken Doyle, a managing director of Halifax Partners, a Washington-based private equity firm, an impromptu brainstorming session began.
“It’s about time we pulled together some of the folks in the local private equity community to help children in our area,” Ken said, pointing out that many area youngsters “don’t have all of the resources we are able to give our kids.”
Almost two years later the idea has become reality. The group we founded, Capital for Children, now has 23 members (all active in the private equity community in the metropolitan area), and has created a strong base from which to support philanthropic efforts focused on children’s educational issues. We have contributed over $250,000 to date and are looking for opportunities to offer our experience in organizing and growing businesses to help committed organizations reach their operational and financial goals.
We hope to be more than just another group that contributes money, which is why we seek out organizations that are facing challenges of managing growth – areas where our professional experiences and skill sets can be helpful. Peter Manos, a managing director of Arlington Capital Partners who heads up Capital for Children’s Philanthropy Committee, notes that the group “takes a private equity investing approach to find great non-profits with strong management teams and stable operations that need capital to grow and also expertise to address some of the challenges that come along with that growth.”
