SOURCE OF WEALTH: Goldman Sachs
FUNDING AREAS: Education, Health, Environment, Public Service & Global Development
OVERVIEW: George and Patricia Wellde conduct their philanthropy through the Kat Foundation. Available tax filings reveal that the foundation awarded just under $1 million in grants in 2018. The couple has strongly supported Wellde’s alma maters, and recently created an endowment for a two-year professional fellowship program at George Washington University to promote careers in public service. In addition to their strong interest in public service, the couple’s philanthropy involves health and the environment.
BACKGROUND: George W. Wellde Jr. graduated with a B.S. from the University of Richmond and an MBA from George Washington University. He worked for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., before joining Goldman Sachs in 1979. He became partner in 1992 and served as vice chairman of the Securities Division from 2005 until his retirement in 2008.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION: Wellde and his wife Patricia recently endowed a two-year professional fellowship program at George Washington University to promote careers in public service. The Welldes are deep into supporting public service, and the motivations here are personal: Wellde’s father worked for the Department of State and Patricia’s father worked for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The couple has steadily funded Partnership for Public Service, a “nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C., whose mission is to inspire a new generation of civil servants and transform the way government works.”
Apart from this work, the couple, through their Kat Foundation, has recently supported University of Arizona Foundation, The Spence School, University of Richmond, Randolph-Macon College, Georgetown University, Democracy Prep Charter School, and Oliver Scholars Program, which “prepares extraordinary African-American and Latino students for success at top independent high schools and prestigious colleges.” It is worth mentioning that Wellde’s undergraduate alma mater, University of Richmond, is the site of the Patricia A. and George W. Wellde Jr. Distinguished Chair in Finance.
HEALTH: Recent grantees include Continuum Center for Health and Healing, Autism Speaks, Mount Sinai, Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and Brigham & Women’s Hospital.
ENVIRONMENT: The foundation also earmark sums for environmental outfits. Recent grantees include Wildlife Rescue Center, Environmental Working Group, The Conservancy of SW Florida, and Humane Society of Naples.
PUBLIC SERVICE & GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT: Apart from supporting Partnership for Public Service, the couple has also supported Council on Foreign Relations, and ARZU, which “transforms lives by empowering Afghan women to lift themselves and their families out of poverty through ethical, artisan-based employment, education, and access to healthcare, thereby changing the way they see the world and their place in it,” among others.
LOOKING FORWARD: Wellde is in his 60s. In his later years at Goldman Sachs, it appears he moved a bit more out of his foundation than he has since retiring. It is unclear how much the couple is currently worth, but in a recent fiscal year the foundation held around $23 million. Expect the couple to stick with their established interest areas, particularly public service.
CONTACT:
The Kat Foundation does not provide a clear avenue of contact, but here’s an address:
The Kat Foundation
Bowling Green Sta., P.O. Box 73
New York City, NY 10274
