Ade Adeniji

Los Angeles, New York

Staff Writer @InsidePhilanthr. Other✍🏽: @WIRED @VICE @RollingStone @RecordingAcad @accuweather etc NBA Fan. Weather nerd. Alum @PomonaCollege #ForbesBLK

Articles

Project Healthy Minds: A Star Mental Health Nonprofit Draws in Diverse Donors

1 week ago | insidephilanthropy.com | Ade Adeniji

I first met Phillip Schermer on a blustery April afternoon in New York, where we bonded over growing up on the east coast and our ties to the University of Michigan (go Wolverines!). His nonprofit, Project Healthy Minds, which aims to tackle the mental health crisis — particularly among young people — had come up before in my philanthropy reporting. Home Depot billionaire Arthur Blank supports it as part of his broader mental health work.
Joseph Neubauer and Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer’s Philanthropic Journey

2 weeks ago | insidephilanthropy.com | Ade Adeniji

Joe Neubauer and Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer at the 2025 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy ceremony. Credit: Sandy Young, GettyThe last time we caught up with the Neubauer Family Foundation, my colleague Connie Matthiessen wrote about its work to increase graduation rates across Philadelphia schools, driven in part by the couple’s own positive experiences of education as a gateway to success.
How Fashion Mogul Tory Burch Boosts Fellow Women Entrepreneurs

1 month ago | insidephilanthropy.com | Ade Adeniji

TBF founder Tory Burch (right) and TBF president Tiffany Dufu (left). Credit: Tory Burch FoundationFor the sartorially sophisticated among us — including, hopefully, yours truly at times — Tory Burch is a staple in fashion, offering a suite of women’s dresses, designer shoes, handbags and accessories. The woman behind the brand, fashion designer and entrepreneur Tory Burch, launched her first store in 2004 in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood.
Barbara Hostetter on the Barr Foundation’s Growth and Evolution

1 month ago | insidephilanthropy.com | Ade Adeniji

Barbara and Amos Hostetter. Credit: Barr FoundationThe Barr Foundation is one of the largest foundations in Massachusetts, with nearly $3 billion in assets and giving that tends to prioritize its home region but also extends nationwide. Now over 25 years old, the foundation makes grants that range across its three main focus areas: arts and creativity, climate and education.
Inside the Giving of Carol Colburn Grigor and Her Music-Loving Family

1 month ago | insidephilanthropy.com | Ade Adeniji

Carol Colburn Grigor. Credit: Colburn FoundationSome major arts patrons aren’t just arts lovers but actual practitioners who, maybe in an alternate timeline, would be known more for their canvases and chords than their fortunes and business empires. What if Bruce Kovner stuck with being a Juilliard musician moonlighting as a New York City cabbie instead of becoming a hedge fund billionaire who could give millions to the legendary arts institution?
Inside the Giving of Carol Colburn Grigor and Her Music-Loving Family

1 month ago | insidephilanthropy.com | Ade Adeniji

Carol Colburn Grigor. Credit: Colburn FoundationSome major arts patrons aren’t just arts lovers but actual practitioners who, maybe in an alternate timeline, would be known more for their canvases and chords than their fortunes and business empires. What if Bruce Kovner stuck with being a Juilliard musician moonlighting as a New York City cabbie instead of becoming a hedge fund billionaire who could give millions to the legendary arts institution?
Inside the Max and Marjorie Fisher Foundation’s Multigenerational Giving

1 month ago | insidephilanthropy.com | Ade Adeniji

Some of the foundation's work focuses on its home city of Detroit. Credit: BobNoah/ShutterstockBorn in 1908 in Pittsburgh to Russian Jewish immigrants who passed through Ellis Island, Max Fisher grew up in Ohio, ended up at Ohio State on a football scholarship, and then headed to Detroit to work in the refinery oil business. He went on to found Aurora Gasoline, among the largest independent oil companies in the Midwest, operating nearly 700 Speedway gas stations.
Early Amazon Wealth Powers Liesl and Jeff Wilke’s Giving for Lyme Disease, Education and More

1 month ago | insidephilanthropy.com | Ade Adeniji

Many early dot-com boom winners have gone on to use their enormous financial gains to make their mark on philanthropy. That includes major billionaire founders we’ve all heard of, but also extends to early employees and investors who got in at the ground floor. For example, there’s Nick Hanauer, the first nonfamily investor in Amazon, and Rao Remala, Microsoft’s first South Asian hire, who focuses on work in India and stateside.
The Morenos: A Billionaire Latino Family Gives in Arizona and Southern California

2 months ago | insidephilanthropy.com | Ade Adeniji

Arturo “Arte” Moreno owns the Los Angeles Angels baseball franchise. Credit: Miune/ShutterstockToday, the Tuscon, Arizona-born businessman Arturo “Arte” Moreno, 78, is among the richest Latinos in the United States. Coming from humble beginnings, he was drafted into the U.S. Army in the 1960s and served a stint in Vietnam. Upon his return, he attended University of Arizona and then started working sales for a local billboard company.
A Former NFL Player Started an Environmental Education School. How’s That Going?

2 months ago | insidephilanthropy.com | Ade Adeniji

Robert Golden with a Golden Charter Academy student at Monarch Waystation. Credit: Golden Charter AcademyRobert Golden, 34, played college football at the University of Arizona before being signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2012. As a football safety, he earned more than $6 million in salary with the Steelers over six years, before a short stint with the Kansas City Chiefs.