People:
Jim Anderson, MBA '77
Russ Hall, MBA '81
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Photograph
by Saul Bromberger & Sandra Hoover |
IMAGINE HOW GOOD IT WOULD BE if Silicon Valley’s wealth-creating wizardry
were harnessed for charitable causes. Russ Hall (left), MBA ’81, and
Jim Anderson (right), MBA ’77, let their imaginations run. The result:
a prototype for high-impact philanthropy, bringing together individual
investors’ funds and venture capitalists’ skills—plus, above all, a
growing desire to give the public more than just another IPO.
Anderson and Hall founded Legacy Venture in 1999, closing their first
fund last year with 36 investors’ contributions, all earmarked for charities
of their choice. The $40 million raised has been invested in about a
dozen VC firms, to be plowed in turn into promising early-stage businesses.
If all goes according to plan, the original contributions will multiply
in value, and in four to five years’ time, Legacy Venture will be able
to distribute to its investors’ chosen charities a significantly enlarged
pool of donations. As a bonus, the investors will enjoy magnified tax
benefits.
Legacy, based in Menlo Park, Calif., also organizes regular lunches
and forums. “They allow VCs and entrepreneurs to meet in small groups
to exchange views on ways to solve heartfelt social problems,” says
Anderson. One outcome of these interactions is a plan by three investors
who happen to share a concern about Down’s syndrome. On top of investing
almost $3 million that they hope will grow into a sizable war chest
to fund medical studies, the three have pooled resources to hire immediately
a researcher to do an audit of current work on the disease.
Anderson is also a general partner at the VC firm Foundation Capital.
He is married to an attorney, Carrie Anderson, and has four children,
including one from his earlier marriage. Hall, who worked previously
in money management and consulting, is Legacy’s managing director. He
and his wife, GSB classmate Debbie Atkins Hall, have a 10-year-old daughter.
The two men say that the recent downturn has not dampened their enthusiasm
for their venture. “By and large, we’re dealing with people who have
seen this all before. If you stick with the funds you know well, you
can ride out the ups and downs,” says Anderson. Hall adds: “We’re able
to invest at pretty attractive prices, so we’re actually optimistic
about the current environment.”
—Cherian George
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