About 20 years ago, five years before founding Schox Patent Group and ten years before investing in early- stage startups, my wife Kate and I started a practice of donating to early-stage nonprofits. In contrast to donating to established organizations like the ACLU or Sierra Club, finding and selecting an early-stage nonprofit is really challenging. But, once we found and met the entrepreneurs behind the nonprofits, we trusted that they would transform our donation into a meaningful impact. After some practice, we became great at finding, interviewing, researching, and selecting early-stage nonprofits (and would later carry these same skills over to investing in early-stage startups).
We know many founders care deeply about social issues, but when much of your wealth is tied up in equity and time is your most precious resource, you may be tempted to put off philanthropy until you are older and wealthier and you can find the right cause and make a large donation. We believe that startup entrepreneurs shouldn’t have to wait until an IPO or acquisition to begin giving back to nonprofit entrepreneurs, which is why we created a philanthropic circle for startup founders. By pooling together equity from several founders, we increase your opportunity to make meaningful donations, earlier. And, by doing all the legwork for you, we make it easier.
If you’re a nonprofit organization interested in being considered for a grant,
please click the link below and complete the form to let us know
more about your organization.
"The big idea here is to get budding entrepreneurs giving sooner and more often so they get into the habit of giving and build up their philanthropic muscles."
"By pooling ownership, we reverse the VC model and take our collective minds to allocate funds to deserving institutions."
"I joined Schox.org given that it's a hugely innovative approach to entrepreneurs pooling resources to invest in world-class non profits."
"Participating in Schox.org has been invaluable for me as I have begun developing my approach to philanthropy."
